1972 Raleigh Gran Sport
 

I started a thread in Oct 2011 http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ighlight=eddyr on this bike. It was in very good condition except the original owner had repainted it some time around 1980. It was updated also around that time as the original owner was trying to get the most out of the frame. The repaint was very old and it looked dingy and had a few runs in it. I could not find any remains of the original paint so I did not know the original color. It had been changed so much I decided to give it a racing color from that area. I added a Super Maxie crank set and a SuperBe Pro rear derailleur. It still has the old tires but they will soon be gone. It is complete except for decals and bar tape. It is almost to big for me at 60CM. It weighs 22lb 4 ounces with pedals ready to ride. Duplicolor auto paint with two part clear over it. I have a few miles on it and it rides pretty much like I expected a 1970's 531 frame would ride. NOTE I know I put Grand Sport but it is a Gran Sport. I can't find a way to change the title spelling.
Ed

Looks nice, you have the rear wheel to far back into the drop out.

I've never heard of that one. How does one tell if one is too far back in the dropout?

Middle of the slot is about ideal. It will help shifting a little.,,,,BD

I like it!

What kind of brakes and levers are you using?

Ones that are mount to high on the Handle bars..........

To answer a few questions. The picture was taken just after assembly and nothing was set where it would finally be. I did move the break levers forward and the wheel went forward and then back to where it is in the picture. The chain is to long for this crankset, but the shifting is smooth and it now is a 7 speed freehub. The break levers are drilled Mafac and were on the bike so I used them. The Mafac levers look cool but I always found them to be to much of a reach for my fingers. This bike is to big for me so it will only get used for short Vintage rides. I talked with the son of the original owner ,deceased and he said his dad was 6ft 1in and I am 5ft 10in. I have updated several vintage bike to all modern equipment and STI but this was left like he road it in the 1980's. The bike sat almost unused from 1985 till I got it in 2011. The son did ride it a few times around 1995. The reason for the rear wheel change the original had a Maillard freelwheel and it had problems and I do not have that tool so the replacement went on as it was just sitting there saying use me and it is the same style wheel so it looks OK. Here is my very fancy paint booth for doing clear coat. The Raleigh and a Zeus frames
Ed Note I see someone changed the Grand to Gran in the title Thanks

Here is the Gran Sport catalogue page from 1972 (courtesy of Kurt's Headbadge website):

http://www.kurtkaminer.com/1972raleighcat_us_08_lg.jpg

Although the catalogue photo doesn't show it too clearly, it is evident to me that the curvature at the bottom is quite different from the OP's.

Here are the tech specs from the 1972 catalogue. The column for the Gran Sport is near the middle.

http://www.kurtkaminer.com/1972raleighcat_us_09_lg.jpg

The handlebars are identified as "GB Randonneur", one of the hallmarks of the 72-76 Gran Sport.

I'd be interested in reading from the OP, if known, as to whether the handlebar and fork are factory original, or post-factory replacements.

olds 'cool
This bike came up on Charlotte CL two years ago for $25-30 and it reappeared the next day for $200. It went down and down to $80 and I went to see it. This guy new nothing and was selling it for someone who just got it. I offered him $60 and left with it. Later I got a email from the original seller telling me the bike was sold. I emailed him to tell him I had the bike and I got a little history about the bike. I researched all I could on Raleigh. Here is what is original to the bike. Frame,fork,stem,handlebars,chainwheel and crank arms,seat post,shifters. Here are the parts changed at the same time it was painted. Wheels-700,front derailleur,cable clamps and cable guide,original missing? , brake and brake levers. I do not know if the rear derailleur is original equipment. but it was worn out so I replaced it. I road it a little bit before I tore it down and the big 54 tooth chainwheel was a killer on a over sized bike. I now have that chainwheel on a 1972 55cm Super Course that I got from the original owner this winter. When I tore it down I looked very hard to find some of the original paint, white and blue but never found it. I forgot to ask the son about the original color.In the deapest parts of the frame and fork I found the bronze gold color. Did they paint any that color. The serial number puts it right in the 1972 1973 date line as far as I can tell.
Ed
Ed

What are the dropouts on the fork? On my gran sport they used simplex in the front. That might be a way to tell if the fork is correct. The fork crown looks right to me, but I agree the fork rake looks different. That is not beyond Raleigh though..... every Gran Sport seems to have some kind of variance from the next.

The dropout front and back are the same Zeus. My handlebars do not say Randonneur. They are marked Mavic Competion
Ed

Here both of my 1972 Raleigh's the Gran Sport and Super Course. They have very different forks. The angle on the Super Course looks more like the Raleigh pictures in there catalogue.

I think mkeller is onto something; i.e. "bike du jour" at Raleigh. The 75 or 76 GS that I acquired used (recently) had quite the mixed bag of period correct but non-catalogue components; mostly upgrades from what is in the catalogue. Since there's little rhyme or reason for the suite of components that differ from the catalogue, it seems plausible at least that these were not implemented by the original owner, but rather just resulted from the factory consuming what they had on hand when outfitting the bike. Or maybe the original owner just had a whimsical streak. That said, I should add that all the components in question are not at odds with the GS's purpose and market position:

FD: Campy NR
RD: Crane GS
Shifters: Campy NR
Stem: SR
Bars: SR World Randonneur

Go figure.