Poguemahone

Here you go guys. Identify this recent auction find. 99% positive it's British made. Can't find a serial # in any of the standard places (BB, rear drops). It may be covered w/ paint, as the bike is a repaint. My hunch is 70s Raleigh; There are three holes in the headtube where a badge was attached.


The group will do you no good, as this mish-mash is what was on the bike when found:
Campagnolo pedals (Super Record?) Quill style w/campy toe clips
Dia Compe Gran Compe brakeset
Dia Compe Aero levers
Sugino Super Mighty crankset 52/42 Mighty competition chainrings
Suntour Sprint RD (six speed index)
Dura Ace FD
Right hand shifter suntour index
Left hand shifter Campy
Stem Sakae Ringyo Bars Win
Headset Campy
Michie Competition hubset
Rigida red label rims
Suntour two prong six speed FW
Sugino BB, English thread

The frame features:

Nervex lugs and fork crown
Campagnolo drops, drive side drops slightly spread.
Repaint looks to be powder coat or rattlecan, darn if I can tell.
Three holes on head tube for badge attachment
Calipers read seat tube at 27.2, there was no post on the bike when found.
Note window cut-out on fork lugging.

Notes: Not the best shape overall-- rust, but no dents or cracks. The campy headset had beautiful races inside, but the chrome on the outside is certainly not a thing of beauty.
Some of the stuff is in much better condition, though the clamp bolt on the FD sheared off.
Prolly worth the 150 for the parts, and although the frame is my size (62) don't think it is a keeper. Of course, I could always turn the little sucker into a FG, It's got beater bike written all over it, whatever it is. Might be fun to build, I dunno.
I've already torn it down and feel no guilt as the parts group is quite obviously not original. Happy to get the crank, brakes (nice long reach, nutted) pedals and wheelset. Certainly will use the brakes and pedals.

cudak888 

Fork crown suggests Raleigh International.

-Kurt

Poguemahone

Thanks, Kurt! That was pretty much my guess. I will note that this now gives me possesion of 4 of your five most overrated C&V rides. If someone would be so kind as to ship me a Colnago (I won't pay anything, natch, it's over-rated, but I'll take it off your hands, no prob) I will possibly be the only C&V member to have all five!

cudak888 

I'll keep my eye out for you. What size?

-Kurt

Poguemahone

62, my friend.I can ride down a bit, though, my Eisentraut is a 59 c to c.

cudak888 

Good - I'll keep a lookout.

-Kurt

Charles Wahl

Serial number WD4004075.



I bought this frame from Poguemahone. So it's ostensibly a 1974, unless Raleigh was still making frames with Nervex lugs in 1984. What's a bit puzzling, with respect to it's being a Raleigh International, are the 3 braze-on brake cable guides on top of the top tube, and that there's bright red paint under the seat for the crown race at the base of the steerer tube. Has anyone ever seen a bright red International? Or one with later-style brake cable guides and braze-on shifter bosses? I'm thinking that someone "updated" it. I didn't find any red paint on the BB, just crappy white over gray primer. So maybe it was treated to an "update and rattle-can" job.

BTW, bare frame weighs 2250 g, and the fork 862. No super lightweight, but not so bad for a larger frame. The fork blades have a very pleasing curvature, and the chainstays are quite shapely too. Seat tube appears to be 73 degrees, didn't measure head tube.

The good news is that now I have one of the celebrated top 5 overrated bikes; and I can file the lugs and clean up the brazing swarf too. First, though, I'll get it rolling it to see if its ride merits such derision.

cudak888 

This thing has been to the framebuilder at least once. Nothing in '74 that Raleigh offered had top-tube cable braze-ons, or over-the-BB braze-ons. Can't tell if those shifters are clamp-ons.

One other conceivable theory is that it is a Competition, though the fact remains that the fork crown is something that is distinct to the International (within Raleigh's lineup):



-Kurt

mkeller234

Well, my 78 professional has top tube cable guides too. The speculation was, maybe it was repainted... or maybe that is just what Raleigh had at the moment. Now I assume that any Raleigh could come in any form, the competitions seem to be all over the map too.

cudak888 

Yours also has braze-on downtube shifter mounts, correct?

-Kurt

Charles Wahl

Unless there were some Competitions that were built with the square-shouldered Wagner fork crown and Nervex lugs, I don't think it's a Competition. I looked at the 1974 Raleigh catalog, and the Competition is advertised as having sloping crown. It's clear from the image on Mark Bulgier's catalog archive pages (clearer than the one on retroraleighs) that despite the description and specifications, the Competition in the photo has a square-shouldered fork crown. But it also has Capella lugs, not Nervex; and no chromed rear stays either.



This frame has almost exactly the same geometry as a mid -70s Bob Jackson frame I have (same size), except that the BJ has less fork rake. Neither is really laid-back at 73 degree seat tube, and they have chain stays that are in the 42-43 range -- not really long. But the brake mounting holes on this frame are clearly higher than on the BJ.

I'm inclined to believe that it's an International; but I'm not so sure about it that I would restore it to look exactly like one. Maybe I'll trick it out like a PX-10 ;-)