Raleigh Rapide Worksop built pearl color you can see this well in the first picture
Malliard 600 f/r hubs Rigida Ceramic Rims
Flat Bar and thumb shifters
Campagnolo f/r derailleur
stronglight 90? crank
Commuter bike a gentleman named Graham brought this over from England these were unavailable here in USA

Hey, that's different from my Rapide. Looks nicer actually. Mine's gaspipe with Huret stuff, or at least was when built in '66.

Here's my Rapide, also different:

Mine, again, for the record. I have to admit, I sold it to a neighbor last week. He's got it painted and assembled and he's commuting on it already.

When did the Rapide go from "nice 531" to "boy, that's heavy?"

Robbie, I really can't find much of anything about this model

I've come across 2 one in blue, one in black/red. I think both were Taiwan-made, had Raleigh-Suntour components, chrome wheels....

Interesting, My Carlton Rapide made 75-77 ? has Raleigh head badge and panto components, 531 frame 26.4 seat post I'm unsure if it's straight gauge or DB.

As found.

Here a Raleigh Rapide at my parent's home. Needs quite a bit of cleaning & maintenance to get into better condition. Been in the family for over 20 years

Wouldn't be the other way around? Unless the OPs bike was rebuilt all the parts look more mid '80s than the other bikes.

+1 1980s bike, I doubt those flat bars are original. Date codes will tell you more.

It has 968 Campagnolo Derailleur what year is that?

That's a non Nottingham built probably Asian with the
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headbadge
I love that color

A 968 would have produced for a few years but would also a date code on the back somewhere like a letter in a circle or diamond. I don't see a 968 on Velo Base and my catalog 18 and 18 bis only list '980 Gear. Velo Base shows the 980 as being offered from '80 to '85ish so I would think the 968 is right in that timeline.

Surely Asian (its about 20 plus years old) & less nice than Nottingham built

Used it extensively the 4 years I was in university.

Found this write up at Lovely Bike

Rapide Transit









One day several months ago I met a man astride a beautiful vintage roadbike. It was the colour that first made me notice it - similar to Bianchi's celeste, but metallic and with a bit more green in it. But what really piqued my interest was the unusual lugwork. A quick visual survey of the frame revealed a Raleigh headbadge, a Reynolds 531 decal, and Campagnolo downtube shifters. "That is a beautiful bike!" I said to the owner. We chatted and I took some snaps before we parted ways.

Some time later, we ran into each other again and he said he was looking to sell the bike: "It's too small for me you see, and I have lots of others." "It's too big for me," I said. "But I know someone for whom it's just right." The bike, I knew by now, was not exactly valuable. And I could see a small dent in the top tube. But the price was right and I decided to risk it. Notes were exchanged. Then I dragged the bicycle home and waited with bated breath till my loved one returned from work.














I have been in my "new" relationship for nearly 3 years now. In the course of that time - and much to my delight - my partner's interest in cycling has increased steadily. A lapsed roadie, he was by no means a stranger to cycling. However, prior to meeting me, he had been off the bike for over a decade, so getting back into the swing of things took some time and trial-and-error.

In addition, his understanding of cycling had revolved around sport - not transport. But keen to join me on errands and casual rides without having to kit up, he made a good effort to get into the utility side of things as well. Only problem was, he routinely rejected the bikes I'd nominate for the task. Anything with an upright riding position he found uncomfortable. Anything that felt heavy or inefficient he couldn't abide. And he vehemently disliked "clutter." Racks and baskets? No. Handlebar bag? Hell no. No matter what utility-ready gem I pushed his way, he felt most at ease on his road racing bike. Except that it didn't have fenders, or flat pedals, or any way of carrying stuff. What he needed perhaps was a roadbike - fast and responsive, but with just enough accessories to turn it into a bike he could ride in street clothes and carry things on. So I kept on the lookout for something suitable. What exactly, I wasn't sure, but I had a feeling I'd know it when I saw it.









Introduced to the vintage Raleigh, he approached it cautiously - circling it slowly and with animal-like concentration, almost sniffing it.

"I've always wanted a vintage racer."

And I knew then that, at least on aesthetic merits, the bike had been tentatively accepted.

Following that, the first thing he did to the bicycle was clean it. He cleaned it with meditative thoroughness. The frame, the drivetrain, the wheel rims and spokes - It must have taken a couple of hours. Then, and only then, he rode it - declaring finally: "I like it."


























The vintage handlebars and levers were eventually swapped for my spare set of Nitto Noodles and Tektros. The decrepit tyres and tubes were replaced with his spare modern ones. The metal road pedals were changed to rubber-grippy flat pedals. And the bike got a new plastic bottle cage. Everything else has remained pretty much the same.





The bicycle itself is a Raleigh Rapide Handbuilt from the early 1980s. And the last part of that model name is crucial: Whereas the standard Raleigh Rapide was a fairly low end model, the Handbuild was apparently a special edition and considerably nicer.










Handmade in England (at a time when standard Raleigh production had begun already to move overseas), it was made with racing geometry, Reynolds 531 tubing,














Vitus dropouts, and a drivetrain which included a Campagnolo rear derailleur and downtube shifters.















While it's not a distinguished or coveted model, the Rapide Handbuilt is not all that commonly spotted "in the wild." And the aspect I find particularly lovely is the lugwork. At first glance, the rounded lug points and the eyelet-lace-like cutouts reminded me of a much earlier style of lugs I'd seen on a pre-WWII Carlton bicycle.















This prompted me to do some digging, and on further research it seems that these likely are Carlton lugs - only from a later period (consider, for instance, this 1980 Carlton Corsair).

Found this on Ebay todayYou can really see the pearl Vintage Raleigh Rapid Reynolds 531 Racer Campagnolo Eroica

Just in! Thought this was worth a punt!