Believe it or not, back in the ‘70s, Bicycling Magazine was actually worth reading. So I had a subscription, and when the December ’76 issue showed up, my wife phoned me to say that someone had finally built by dream bike. http://bikesmithdesign.com/temp/ProTour1.jpg and http://bikesmithdesign.com/temp/ProTour2.jpg Note that back then, 10 speeds was considered adequate for heavy touring. Back then I was strong enough that I believed them.

Through the shop I worked at part time, I was able to get the 1st ProTour in Minnesota. Absolutely georgeous in metallic Robin’s Egg Blue. The brazed on centerpull brakes worked so well that I incorporated that feature in many of my early frames. The brazing is every bit as good as my Jack Taylor Super Tourist, maybe better. I hated the clamp-on top tube cable guides, but I never replaced them with braze ons as I couldn’t bear to ruin the beautiful paint. The bike still has the original headset and the Sanshin Pro-Am hubs are still smooth as a baby’s cheek.

The racier Semi-Pro, with lighter tubing and more chrome, came in an orange that glowed like fire.

It’s easy to believe the postings about a Raleigh connection. Some features of the frame were so similar to those on Raleighs that Cecil Behringer (The father of modern framebuilding) called it my Rarreigh.