Raleigh Professional (1974?)
 

I love starting a new thread, because that means it's new bike day! This one is special enough (and well priced enough) that I spent my day driving from Tulsa to Salina, KS and back. It came from an estate sale and was paired with a Super Course Mk II that I haven't really looked at, yet.

Enough of the chit chat ... on with the first pictures!
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a1951d5265.jpg
It measures 56 cm c-c on both seat and top tubes. Perfect for me!
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f6da8ddcee.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d614402b44.jpg
It has its Campy hubs.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...685a2db7a7.jpg
But 27 x 1 1/4 clincher rims?
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...869b585d8a.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...65bd7c344b.jpg
Saddle looks good, as does the B17 on the Super Course.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...825693df8c.jpg
Any cryptographers on the thread?
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9a100ad148.jpg
My theory: guy had a spectacular race bike, guy got old, guy triple-ized and switched to 27 rims with a rack.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...abbd39e62e.jpg
Can this RD really handle the triple?
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ce64bd4885.jpg
3TTT stem and GB bars are here.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ec7b5377d6.jpg
Bonus content: If you ever find yourself in Salina, Kansas, I can't recommend the Cozy Inn highly enough. They've been making onion sliders, and nothing else, in a room with just six stools for more than 100 years.

The frameset looks identical to my '73 Pro. Some general weirdness going on there.
That small chainring must grind away on the FD. Do you plan to return it to its original glory?

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c0a68a7e1b.jpg
Here's the pair of Raleighs. Not sure what I'll do with the SC.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c67ba93b72.jpg
I brought the bonus bike inside, thinking just maybe the wheels had mistakenly been swapped. But these, too, are 27 x 1 1/4, Nisi-Evian Super Sport.

Breakdown and first cleanup was a breeze.

I find myself sympathetic to the triple-izing; maybe a more fitting crank would make it feel less wrong? This is a keeper, after all.

On to the frame in the coming days. There was a lot of tape and other goo, and that still needs attention. But after that, polishing will make the paint and chrome really pop. I don't even think I'll replace worn out decals.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...78048f6a6a.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d011c0ceed.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0985503ea4.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...459c4f64f7.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2367121e2b.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c540768e9d.jpg
That's a 12-32, matched with the 52-45-28 crank. Thats more like my modern gravel bike.
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What a score!

That design Professional is probably my favorite... I just adore the seat cluster. And used 70s Raleigh paint doesn't often come better these days.

The Mk II Super Courses have a pretty good rep around here, so if you like it and you want to have a build-a-whatever frameset, that's a good reason to keep it around. (One of the many advantages of having extra bikes!)

Of course, I would say that... I'm a Raleigh dude... I think it's hereditary.

--Shannon

The numbers on the pump appear to be gear ratios, perhaps for the original gearing? The RD looks like a nuovo gran sport with a Soma cage for more chain wrap. Would have been a nuovo record originally.
Nice find and worth the drive!

Love a nice Raleigh Pro in the blue mink & silver paint scheme! The paint is in nice condition too, which isn't that common. Wonderful!

As noted above, the numbers on the pump are probably the gear sizes. It was more common to tape a table of gear sizes on the handlebars where you could see them while you are riding, but I guess this must have worked for the former owner.

Changing from tubulars to clinchers was pretty common for folks who weren't racing. 700C wasn't a common tire size in the mid 70's, so I'm not surprised that it is 27 x 1 1/4".
Similarly, making changes to get wider gearing is not a surprise either. The Sugino AT crank is a great option, since you can run it as a double or triple, and the chainrings are easy to find. I've got two bikes equipped with the AT, and am very pleased.

Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the cleaning and rebuild goes! Have fun!

Steve in Peoria

If the spokes are too far gone, that's a good excuse to rebuild with better rims.

Congrats on a great bike. I love the way the Raleigh Pros look, especially in that blue. I am currently on a self imposed bike buying ban. When I emerge, I am going to be thinking about a 25" double butted 531 frame. Raleigh offers several of those, including the Pro. I would likely be thinking about a 650b conversion but I know some folks have negative opinions about that.

I hope you enjoy the heck out of it.

Given that I now own a Campy RD and FD that can handle a vast gear range, I'm inclined to work with that. The Sugino AT is a fine and flexible crank, but it does look all kinds of wrong on this bike. I do have this triple Stronglight, which is interesting since I'd hesitate to invest in the more appropriate Campagnolo version. Thoughts most appreciated.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...14fc724492.jpg
It's a Stronglight 99, if I'm not mistaken. The aluminum drillium rings have their own charm!

In other news, I went at the frame pretty gently with Meguiar's Ultimate Polish and T-Cut in a few spots. Mother's on the chrome with some 0000 steel wool as needed. Here it is with some carnauba:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fe1dc1e9e1.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8b78aa5902.jpg
I think I'm happy with this. This bike was ridden and parked in the sun, and it shows. I'd hesitate to go at the paint more aggressively.

Modest component progress while watching my teams lose basketball games. 😔
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...78796c3470.jpg
Haven't even glanced at the wheels. The easy solution is to clean and true them, then go with some Paselas. I'm not going to be racing, after all. I can always come back to this to work on my wheel building skills later.

Thanks for the feedback!

The Stronglight 99 is certainly appropriate for this bike, at least in terms of being of the same era.
The Cyclo-Pedia catalog was selling it at this time. This is the page from the 11th edition of the catalog. It's very close to being as adaptable as the Sugino AT. Not sure how easy it is to get new chainrings of the correct BCD, though. That's a problem for later, however.

https://www.flickr.com/photo_downloa...ret=c8e2825546

Glad that the paint is turning out to be as good as hoped! Love that blue mink & silver!

Steve in Peoria

My opinion is the Pro Mk IV is a thoroughbred, not a pack horse. Yes, it has head and seat tube angles that would be considered "touring" these days, but I'd be surprised if the original owner could get pannier heel clearance with those short chainstays plus the absence of eyelets on the dropouts meant the rack attachment had to have been somewhat improvised. My Pro was set up as a compact double even before compact doubles were cool, using a period-correct 110 BCD crank. That offers saner gearing but still looks "clean". Best to you in the refurbishment.

Always loved Raleigh Pro blue-mink and silver. Should add it to Vintage road bike signature colours

The Professional features upright 74-degree angles in this vintage as I recall, same as the Competition of the same year.

Now the Super Course has more like gravel-bike or hybrid 71/73 angles that give the bike it's particular character, making it a most calm descender.

The trick to running a triple on the Pro is not ending up with excess chainline, meaning the shortest spindle possible, then making a front derailer pull inward far enough for a robust downshift to the granny.

I appreciate the thoughts on my crank conundrum and gearing possibilities. As to geometry, I posed the 1974 Professional and 1974 Competition together - close cousins, certainly. Oddly, with the bonus 1974 Super Course, I now feel a compulsion to find a 1974 International to complete the basic set.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...36623c486b.jpg
That photo also shows clearly the gear-range workaround I managed on the Competition. That's a pretty huge drop in chainring size, but the long cage Jubilee RD takes it easily.

The frame, even with it's imperfections and a small dent on the top tube, looks pretty in the sunshine! Most of these flaws will end up hidden by the cable and clamps that caused them. I neutralized the existing rust and buried it under carnauba wax, which should keep things clean for now. I also sprayed the inside of the top tube with TriFlow, just in case. Will that be useful in preventing future rust, or should I invest in Frame Savers?
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e5b03743ff.jpg
I'm close to talking myself into a wheel building project ... it can be kind of a Zen exercise, but also frustrating for those of us who don't do it often.

This week, I focused on cleaning up the Super Course and its parts so they can be set aside for another day. With a little polishing, the paint isn't so bad, though the decals are pretty rough.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f3fe0737f5.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...661c24adfd.jpg

I also realized I don't need to make any decisions about wheels right now. I built these last year for a PX10 project and they'll stand in very nicely during this build.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1418476ab2.jpg

Those wheels will be perfect for the Pro - pretty much what I have on my ‘74 Professional, other than the MA40’s anno.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...812f936164.png

[QUOTE=dbhouston;23676030]
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...825693df8c.jpg
Any cryptographers on the thread?

That's a chart of his gears calculated in inches.

No, I don't think so. Be careful not to shift into the big-big combo.

There's also the Grand Sports. Also, there's the un-basic Super Tourer, RRA and Team Pro would round it out. 1974 was busy. :innocent:

Those are in the Deluxe Set!

@gugie has a set like that, not to mention more Gran(d) Sport(s) than any reasonable person would own. Personally, I’ve got a Professional, an International, and a Competition, and I feel like I can stop there.

Just tryin' to help a fellow traveler. :D

Full deluxe set here too. With a couple duplicates even. Only in a proper size. :innocent:

I'm enjoying the progress! During the year after I started cycling, I coveted a 1973 Mk IV. It became my platonic ideal racing bike, but it was beyond my resources as a 16-year old. I ended up with a Zeus Professional and never really looked back. About 40 year later I was in my LBS and spotted a blue mink Pro frame and fork in the rafters. I asked the owner to pull it down. It was complete but patina'd, and I was surprised to learn that my desire was gone. It was just another frame. The sentimental part of me still finds them quite beautiful but I've taken myself out of the market for one. Unless it was gifted! ;)