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Old 10-23-16 | 06:01 AM
  #23  
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verktyg
verktyg
 
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 4,034
Likes: 1,271
From: SF Bay Area

Bikes: Current favorites: 1988 Peugeot Birraritz, 1984 Gitane Super Corsa, 1980s DeRosa, 1981 Bianchi Campione Del Mondo, 1992 Paramount OS, 1988 Colnago Technos, 1985 RalieghUSA SBDU Team Pro

Steve,

Nice bike. In that frame size Reynolds 531c (531 Competition) is a good choice of tubing for a smooth ride that's not too flexy.

The lighter weight Reynolds 531p (531 Professional) and 753 tubing could be a little whippy in a larger frame!

See attached tubing chart for wall thickness comparisons.

I have a 1985 SBDU built Reynolds 753 Raleigh USA Team Pro. I did a ton of research on it. The frame was one of the last ones made at Raleigh's SBDU in Ilkeston, UK.

It was raced by several sponsored teams and kicked around the northwest for several years - listed on eBay and Craigslist.

In it's final iteration, back in the early 90's the frame was painted pearl white with purple pink and gold 1992? Raleigh USA Technium Team decals.

The fork is still the original black color. I suspect that it had a carbon fiber fork at one point and that's why the original fork wasn't painted white.

The Technium decals were a red herring that threw my research off until a shop in Portland, OR filled me in with some info on the bike. It may have been a spare local team bike.

A friend snagged it in 2010. He told me that BB was filled full of dirt when he got it. I guess someone p**sed somebody off!

We were out riding one day and switched bikes for a few miles. I didn't want to get off of the Raleigh! It had the Goldilocks Holy Grail ride I'd been looking for since 1975! Super smooth!

I offered him a fair market price for it but he wasn't interested. Six months later he gave me a call at tax time!

The bike came with a well used mix of Suntour Superbe Pro and Cyclone components. I have some almost new Superbe Pro replacement parts but the old stuff is still working fine.

One problem, the bike had hard old narrow 700 x 20c tires with a 1/4" rib down the middle. It handled squirrely at slower speeds and didn't corner well. That and the front was a little harsh riding which I wrote off to the short rake Reynolds 753 forks.

There's not much tire clearance. I mounted a pair of Pasela 700 x23c TG tires and they cured all of the ride and handling issues. It's one of my top 5 favorite riding bikes.

First picture is how it looked when my friend got it. I replaced BB with a Campy Veloce cartridge when I got it. The original red paint is still visible.

verktyg

Chas.
Attached Images
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Reynolds531C-531P-753R.jpg (100.8 KB, 412 views)
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RaleighTeamPro1985 056.jpg (85.4 KB, 410 views)
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RaleighTeamPro1985 043.jpg (99.2 KB, 407 views)
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RaleighTeamPro1985 047.jpg (96.9 KB, 406 views)
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RaleighTeamPro1985 074.jpg (95.9 KB, 408 views)
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RaleighTeamPro1985 075.jpg (98.3 KB, 408 views)
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Raleigh1985TeamPro 002.jpg (99.9 KB, 405 views)
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Raleigh1985TeamPro 004.jpg (98.9 KB, 408 views)
__________________
Don't believe everything you think! History is written by those who weren't there....

Chas. ;-)


Last edited by verktyg; 10-23-16 at 06:09 AM.
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