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when were these bikes manufactured?

I recently bought a Raleigh Technium 420 and a Ross [model?] for $45 each. I think the Raleigh was made in 1986 [?] and I'm not sure about the Ross. Is the Ross a touring bike? If so, where can I get a rear rack that clamps to the seatstays? Any information on these bikes would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Raleigh Technium

Ross

Ross went out of business about 1988/89 I believe so that is the newest it could be. Roger

The cable clamps on the ross make me think mid 70s. About 5 years ago, I bought a NOS Ross Super Gran Tour for its early Shimano 600 group. It had a Hi-Ten frame that looked similar but had brazed on cable guides on the top tube.

edit: Looks like I "MissRemembered", Here is a pic of that Ross frame & there aren't any braze ons. Looks like yours might be the same frame. The lugs & seat stay attachment look the same. Don

There is absolutely nothing on that bike which would suggest any kind of "Touring" bike I've ever seen. :rolleyes:

There are no braze-on mounts for racks on the frame, the chainstays do not look long at all for the era, the brake lever "safety" extensions were just tossed onto every Schwinn and most other US made bikes with drop bars during the 70s & 80s, center-pull brakes were common on most every low or middle tier bike well into the 80s, it has only a narrow range double crankset (42x52?), a short cage rear derailleur, and a standard range (14-28?) freewheel, and the stem shifters were commonly used to appeal to the even occasional weekend riders.

... I'd have a near impossible task trying to configure that into any sort of touring bike.

It looks like a generic late 70s/early 80s road bike, with an obsolete old fashioned generator lamp clamped on rather than the battery lights like we usually see mounted today. ... I'd get rid of that clamp-on generator light - they were very inefficient, created a huge drag on the wheel and they put out very little light and weighed a ton.

The good news is it looks to be in very good condition. :)

It should accept ANY after market rack at all simply by using the hardware which is always supplied to adapt them to any bike. ... There is nothing wrong with stem shifters, I have them on a couple of my commuter bikes and they work fine! ... you could even duplicate the 4-piece foam grips with a new set which are still made, for only around $7 per set.

Should be a comfortable riding bike! ... And, looks like a good buy for $45. :D