I'm fixing up a '73 Raleigh Pro so that's where my interest is right now. I don't know much about frame geometry, or the bike itself. I was around in the '70's and do not recall having ever seen a Pro raced. I have always been under the impression the were kind of a "gentleman's" bike. Anyone care to comment?

Roy Knickman in 77? Can't remember anyone in the earlier days...of course they would all be works bikes.

I had one in the late '70s that I bought from a roommate who raced it. iirc he sold it to me because he ordered a Bob Jackson, another 'gentleman's bike'. He raced that too. I don't know about professional racing.

The Raleigh Roy rode was nothing like the Pros so popular in the earlier 70s. Those older ones were raced by some on a fairly low amateur level, but thet were,even then, thought of as rather long-wheelbased, mushy bikes...

A number of guys I knew started out with a Raleigh Professional. By the time they got out of Cat. 4 (no cat 5 back then, and before that 4's were cat. D) they had moved on to a different frame. So, to do so they had to win or place a few times. All were happy to move on, but looked at the bike fondly as the bike they started to race on.

Two of the three got Harry Quinn frames, then moved on again to Masi.

I have a friend who raced on a Raleigh Pro. He likes them, also the Raleigh International. (I wouldn't know either one.) But then he got a Masi and says that's when he learned what a great bike felt like.

He told me a story of having a chance to do a training ride with a bunch of Olympic team candidates. It was a 2 laps around a big course through the Adirondacks, closed to the public and marshaled, maybe 50km per lap. He hung with them for half a lap then got dropped. So he had to run the remaining lap and a half by himself. As he slowed he noticed (finally) the mountains and forests, the scents, the bird sounds, etc. He said that's when he realized he hated racing.

Of course this has nothing to do with a Raleigh Pro, only that he raced on one.

I thought the West Coast guys just bought them to strip the parts off to build up their Masi frames

I can't speak to high Cat ratings or Pros on a Raleigh Professional but locally only one guy raced his Pro. He got it new locally in 1977 and raced local crits. The local Raleigh shop's manager that rode with in our club steered people away from racing the Pro. Actually Jim disliked them for some reason. I coveted one but went with an International using SunTour Superbe brakes for my large butt and local racing. Around here out of town Italian bikes ruled the club races. We didn't have an LBS for them until the mid 80's.

I always wanted a Professional and fully intended to race it as well as fast club rides that I loved doing. The full Campy NR and the Hutchinson tubulars were appealing to me as was the Brooks Team Pro saddle. I don't think the Pro from that era had really great race geometry but I never could tell. Those were and are beautiful bikes.

Bill

I took fourth in an alleycat this weekend on my Pro. Dies that count?

For that matter, how many professional racers used Schwinn Paramounts?

You should have gotten a Capo Sieger -- I have pictures of Adolf Christian riding one in the 1958 TdF and an early 1960s race.

Hmmm, sounds like they did get raced, at least on some level. In the one race I entered, in 1976, most of the guys were riding Internationals. I think they got a good deal on them or something. I was on a Motobecane Grand Jubile, so I guess you could say those got raced as well.

I raced with a guy who rode a Raleigh Pro, Road and Track, and he was a Cat1, National Champion and Olympic cyclist. The Raleigh Pro was a fairly common race bike back in the mid 70's. And as far as Paramounts go, 1/2 the bikes raced on the track were Paramounts, and most guys on the Wolverine/Schwinn Sports Club rode them on the road also. A lot of Paramounts were raced, especially in the midwest where Schwinn had a strong race presence.

Pro's on Paramounts - John VandeVelde always rode them.

For that one bought a Lygie or Atala, no threading hassles.

The shop I worked for mostly sold complete Masis. Maybe it was the Hunt-Wilde handlebar plugs. They did come with race wheels and tires, and the final touches to the cable ends were appreciated.

The team I was on in my teenage years raced mostly Raleigh Pro's.

All of the (few) times I ever raced, it was on a Raleigh Pro. I got it as a bare frame because its first owner had swapped all the parts over to a Colnago.

Schwinn wasn't in the habit of sponsoring pros. There were very few American pros in the '70s. I count 3, Jonathan Boyer, Mike Neel, and George Mount. Seems like there was a short-lived pro track series in the U.S. in the '70s, but I couldn't find anything about that

Thank you........

Watch some classic races on youtube. Its cool! Centerpull brakes, cotter cranks....Goes to show, its all about the engine....

Well, in Oregon, back in the mid-late 70's, Raleigh Pros were very common in cat 3&4 racing. About the only more common bike was the PX10. And your odd Gitane Tour de France, of course...

SP
Bend, OR

I just have to say this is a great thread. It would be even better if folks had any pics of themselves racing these bikes back in the 70's. Maybe there's another thread for that?

Had one of those go up on CL for $100 a few days back. Didn't last a day, wish I had been in town to try for it.

I'd love to see 70s amateur racing pictures!

Of course, cycling was an overwhelmingly amateur sport in the US until very recently. A number of good US amateurs rode Paramounts - including, I believe, John Howard. They supplied some US Olympic squads, which until Boyer was pretty much the top level of the sport. There was also the very prominent Wolverine Schwinn team. I doubt there were many UK pros who rode Raleigh Pros, either - given how few UK pros there were. Even Ti Raleigh started jettisoning British riders when it hit the big time.

Bell Helmets, LaCrosse WI 1978

Michigan Ave Chicago, 1978

I raced one back around 1980 or so. I'm surprised none of you remember that ! (I barely do)