Tarsyn

I am suppose to go look at a 70's era Silver Raleigh Competition tomorrow. I don't know much about them and the seller did not have a picture but he said that it is in excellent shape. It has front and rear racks for touring. Did they come with racks? I've only seen their tourer model come with them. Just would like some input as to whether or not this is a nice bike and what I should pay for it. Thanks Thanks

robertofergy

I have one, its awesome. Click on my sig to check it out. I think I paid 225$ for it and I dont regret it at all. Depending on the condition of the bike and whether you can fix a few things yourself I wouldnt say you should pay as much as I did. If you dont wrench then it had better be ridable right of the bat in order to buy it.

Take some pics when you check it out and post them up whether you buy it or not.

Henry III

I have a '73 Competition and their very nice bikes. The tubing is Reynolds 531 for the frame and fork with nice lugs depending on the year. Mine only came as a frame and fork and derailleurs but the Huret jubilee pieces are very nice but sometimes fragile. They do pull a decent price on eBay.

Grand Bois

No, they didn't come with racks.

rhm

The Competition was an excellent frame with components that varied over the years, some nicer than others, but all nice. If I recall correctly they sold for about $700 in 1980. If you could get one for half that, you'd be getting a whole lot more bicycle than your LBS could sell you for the same amount.

It was a racy frame, not ideally suited to touring. If the racks are Jim Blackburn, they too are worth something --especially the front one.

Grand Bois

Despite the name, there's nothing racy about my '73. It's the most relaxed and stretched out frame I own.

rootboy 

Another bike I regret selling. Black, with Jubilee derailleurs. man, was I stoopid back then.

nlerner

The early 70s Competitions had fairly sport/touring geometry. When it morphed into the Competition GS in '77 or so, it had much racier geometry. But it always seemed to come in black.

Neal

southpawboston

The later (GS) version came in silver as well, and there's a good number of them, and I think I've seen at least one older style one in white with blue contrast panels, much like the Gran Sport, but clearly labeled Competition. Who know, it could have been a respray.

nlerner

Yup, I've owned both: a silver Comp GS and a blue/white Comp, but the point I was making wasn't that it was exclusively in black, but that black was always an option (though, perhaps, the blue/white one contradicts that assumption!).

Neal

gmt13

I was commuting on my early '70s Competition until a few months ago. Nice, comfortable ride. I had replaced a lot of the components over the years but got a hankering to restore it to original condition. Check out the Raleigh archive at https://www.jaysmarine.com/TH_raleigh_catdata.html if you want to check out the details of the model year you plan to see.

-Gary

realestvin7

Got any pics? Good luck!

Velognome 

+1 There is nothing relaxed about the geometry of my '81 (and it's black)

cudak888 

Heed what Neal says. Silver = Competition G.S., whether you like it or not. The Competition G.S. is a far more aggressive machine than the pre-'77 "Competition."

End of story.

-Kurt

Henry III

The angles are a bit more tourer then being Competition'ish. Still nice bikes. Only thing is the rear dropouts accept only Huret derailleurs unless you have the adapter washer or derailleurs designed to be used on Huret dropouts.

cudak888 

Before anyone else adds to the potential confusion with generalizations, let me reiterate: Slack angles and Huret dropouts are staples of the '73-76 Competition only.

The '69-72s had a variety of Campagnolo-compatible dropouts. Early ones had Campagnolo 1010A's, later had Zeus, others had whatever was handy in the Nottingham grab bag. The '77+ have Campagnolo 1010A dropouts, with exception to the Japanese-made 1981/2 Competition G.S. examples which used Suntour dropouts; Suntour Superbe in some cases:

(FROM: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...tition-GS-Help )


-Kurt

dbakl

Mine seems to be '75 and has Huret dropouts and its black.

Tarsyn

Thanks for all the input and sorry in the delay. I was not able to get a hold of the guy yesterday, but I went over there this morning to take a look. I was able to talk him down to a hundred dollars. Please let me know if this was a fair price. He also had another bike for sale but needs quite a bit of work. Maybe you can tell me if I should go back and get it (the red one Delmoni). Here are a few pictures of both bikes.

Tarsyn

P.S. Any idea of the date of manufacture?

Tarsyn

The other bike is a Delromi made in Belgium. I don't any more than that.

dbakl

The Raleigh is certainly worth $100. The other is just an old bike.

robertofergy

If the Raleigh fits then thats a great deal. You've just got to "update" it with some old parts, like change the pedals, remove the racks, put a brooks on and match the bar tape with the color brooks you get.

If you can get the other bike for 50$ id say do it. I like the wheelset, mavic? I also like the drop bars, stem, those brake levers are interesting too. Just buy it. At worst it will be good wrenching practice.

roadbike68

more pics!? and it is big too!

roadbike68

I think the other bike is a 5$ bike. stamped dropouts, steel cranks, and simplex. maybe 10 if you needed a specific part.

rootboy 

That left crank arm hanging on the bars is an interesting touch. Might be Ok just as a tinkering bike. Buy the Raleigh.