Some of you gave me some good guesses (and advice) when I bought this Raleigh Competition off Ebay (basically blind, due to a fuzzy pic). Here's the original post about this bike:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/404195-there-ever-black-raleigh-international.html

After spending some time thinking about it, I decided that a full restoration would be too expensive, given the amount of changes that had already been made to the bike. So I essentially kept it as I got it, and threw on some parts that were kicking around in the basement to complete the customization so I could ride it.

So the bike is a 1976 Raleigh Competition. All Reynolds 531 tubing. It was in decent condition when I got it, but there was some rusting on the frame which required some paint touching-up. Also, the chrome on the forks and stays was rusted in spots. This cleaned up mostly, but there are some bare spots. I have waxed the frame in these places to keep them from rusting further. I don't know what to do for a more permanent solution. There were no dings or dents in the frame.

The seatpost is a two-bolt Campagnolo and the saddle is a broken-in Brooks B17 Narrow, which seems to fit me well.

The brakes are Weinmann centre-pulls that work well, so I changed the brake-pads to Kool-Stop ones, and the levers were also changed to Tektro aero levers with the Campy-style quick release buttons.

The handlebars are from my old Schwinn Tempo, and the stem was just something I had hanging around. Since I take a while to decide on a stem length, I use a pop-top stem. Once I have it adjusted to the right length for me, I'll probably change to a standard quill-type stem. At the moment, it looks like I'll need a 110 mm stem, and the LBS does not have one for me to try. The tape is cloth that has been sealed with shellac.

The whole drive-train was changed out when I got it, and I retained it all the way I received it. The cranks, and chainwheels are Nervar Star (in good shape now, but I don't know what I'll do when the chainwheels wear out). The derailers (Sheldon's English spelling) are Suntour Cyclone (Mk II), and they work really well, so they're staying. It originally came with down-tube shifters (also Suntour), but I switched those out for ratcheting Suntour bar-end shifters, which I adore. The cable-stop looks a little wonky in the attached photograph, but it has been straightened.

I received the bike with 27" steel rims (probably from a Raleigh Record, as they had the Raleigh marked hubs). These had to go, so I threw on a set of Mavic GP-4 rims with a Dura-Ace hub in front, and a 7-speed Suntour Sprint hub in the rear (dunno if it's any good). There is a Dura-Ace 7-speed cassette on there. The tyres are Continental triathlon sew-ups.

To finish it off, and make it more useful, I threw on some SKS fenders, for the inevitable wet weather. I had to chop off the rear fender to make it fit. Because the front derailer sticks out so far to the rear, I could not get the wheel on and off with a full fender, so it was 'abbreviated'. This is not optimal, but it will do until I decide to change to Suntour Superbe derailers. Also, a Carradice Nelson Longflap has been added to carry my stuff.

That's about it. It's not a restoration, but a good 'user' that I've already enjoyed, and look forward to using more frequently.

You did a nice job. I had a Competition a few years back and it was very pleasant to ride. I'm sure you will enjoy yours!

Thanks, I appreciate it.

It does ride well, but it is a little 'racy' and there tends to be a lot of front-end vibration. We'll see how it does on 50+ mile rides. So far over 20-30 miles it has been fine.

Neil (nlerner) suggested that 650c wheels would make the ride less harsh, and if I do have a problem with harshness, I'll consider switching the wheels out.

Actually, it's 650B (584mm ISO) wheels that I just put on a Competition GS. It's possible that the GS models had different geometry than the early Competitions. I had a '71 Competition set up as a commuter, and that worked great with its fairly stretched out geometry. And the GS models were spec'd for 700c wheels originally, so that makes the conversion much easier as far as fitting brakes.

Neal

Whoops! Sorry about that, Neal. I got both your name, and the rim size wrong. I should have checked my messages before posting.

As far as I know, the '76 model was a GS too, and did come with 700c wheels. This bike was sold to me with replacement 27" wheels; something I was quite pissed about.