rjhammett

I started this thread a year and a half ago. I sold my Grand Sports last summer. After looking at this thread I now have seller's remorse. Sure wish I had kept mine. It was in very nice shape and was my size.

due ruote 

Well, sorry you miss it, but they do come up with some frequency, and it certainly appears that you still have more than a couple really fine bikes.

Obviously I'm biased, having owned a GS for 40 years, but I do think they have a great ride.

Has anyone done an analysis of the geometry, comparing the GS to other Raleigh models of the same time period? Mine has some toe overlap so I'm guessing the head angle is fairly steep, and the stays seem long-ish, but again, I haven't tried to compare with other models. Come to think of it, I've never ridden the other models either, save for the Pro which I had briefly in the late 70's. As I recall, that one was nice but not nearly as supple as the GS; much more of a race geometry, as you'd expect.

I've always kind of thought of the GS as the poor man's International, and the Competition as the poor man's Professional, but that may just be the way they were positioned, and have little to do with actual geometry or ride properties of the various models.

3alarmer 

......I have two of these now from different decades, so when I get a chance, I'll do a side by side photo and post it.



My impression right now is that Gran (Grand) Sport Raleighs changed over the years according to current fashion.

jeirvine 

Any Gran Sport owners wanna go in on this? We could corner the market on 128 BCD Nervar chainrings:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/121188200742

EddyR

I removed the Nervar set from my Gran Sport as I did not care for the looks of it. I did put it on my 1972 Super Course to get rid of the heavy cottered set. Also I had three Maxies with 39 tooth small gear. The old campy handles the 39 to 52 shift very smoothly with the newer style chain.
Ed

due ruote 

Oh sure, but I'll be needing all 26 of the 54t rings. I wear those things out like crazy.

Also, what's up with that shipping charge?!

Hope you know I'm kidding; anyway mine's a mod. 93; 122 bcd.

noglider 

I never should have sold mine way back in 1979. I bought it new in 1976. Ah well.

When I had it, I was working at a bike shop, and a customer came in with a 1962 model, just like the two above. I hadn't known about the older ones. I asked the owner if his frame was butted. He replied, "Buttered?" Oh never mind. And his was neither butted nor buttered.

The one with butted 531 tubes was a nice, light bike with a long wheelbase. I toured on it with panniers and handlebar bag. The thing that eventually annoyed me was the extra-long reach rear brake.

orangeology

how i ended up assembling last year (there's before pic of the f/f earlier in this thread)
first ever home-build.
home-painted orange + Chorus crank + Suntour mechs + some originals i.e) Weinmannl brakes, GB bar+stems etc.

sure it was pretty, getting some street compliments and ride quality was great,
just a bit too much 'relaxed' geometry didn't feel me much.

parted out, not in commission now.
gonna repaint the frame—this time properly—and do some experiments i.e) fat 700c tire or something.

RaleighSport

Well I am pretty grand, so hi! (Sorry couldn't resist)

67tony 

I believe the parts list on the '73 pictured in post #38 is original equipment.
It was given to my friend by her college boyfriend, and she has done nothing to it since.

due ruote 

If that's correct, I'm surprised by the Suntour parts. I've only known these to come with Simplex; mine definitely did. Glancing at the 1973 catalog, there doesn't seem to be a Japanese part on the specs page. Not that it's inconceivable - I know they were trying hard to keep orders filled in those days, and the product didn't always match the specs 100%. It's also a switch that could have easily happened at the shop level by special order. At any rate, I think most would consider the Suntour parts a solid upgrade from spec.

bknipes

Hi from Brad... I have a smaller frame '62 I might swap if you still have yours.

Warm wishes... bradfordknipes@gmail.com

big chainring 

Here's mine. Super ride quality.

a_diethelm

I think I have a '72 Grand Sport. The Raleigh logo is in cursive. Is it normal to have Zeus dropouts with a Stronglight crank?

BadBoy10

Stunning! LOVE the color....

due ruote 

Thanks. That's RAL 6019 powdercoat.

CO_Hoya 

I built up this 1973(?) for a co-worker.



The bullhorn handlebar set up makes me ashamed, but the customer always wins. I saved the original GB stem/bars in the hope that someday he'll come to his senses.

jimmuller 

Since this thread has come back to life, my '73 Gran Sport at my office from a few weeks ago. (I rode it today too.) Gran - no d, Sport - singular.

jeirvine 

Cool. Same as my GF's mixte. They could be siblings with the VO fenders:


And on topic: I rode my GS today for a very nice morning ride. The Glen Echo carousel was running, with calliope playing.

auchencrow

Here is my '73.
Did I post this before?
If so you'll just have to forgive me because the Raleigh Grand Sports / Grand Sport/ Gran Sport - RULES ! ! !

Grand Bois

I read somewhere on this site recently that all of the Reynolds-framed Raleighs of the seventies had exactly the same geometry. Is that true?

Fred Smedley

jyl

My son's Raleigh Gran Sport, built up with Campagnolo Veloce (drivetrain, brakes, hubs), Mavic Open Pro rims, original seatpost/stem/bars, and well-beaten-up Brooks Pro saddle. He likes it. Heck, I don't even have a brifter bike.

nlerner

No.

John Hood

I've got a '73 that I've put a lot of miles on. The guy that I got it from used it as his sole transportation for a year after getting a DUI, including a 30 mile commute, and who knows how many miles were on it before he had it.

It's the same blue, white and chrome color scheme as many of the bikes pictured here, but it's not as pretty and I haven't even attempted to keep it stock. I'm currently running it as a 21 speed with a crankset from an old BikeE and the old 700c wheelset from my 90's era Cannondale. I reset the rear end to handle the wider spacing and redished the original 27" wheel. Later though I got tired of bent axles and switched to the 700c's with a cassette. No more bent axles.

The original brakes and derailers both work with the 3x7 gearing and the 700c wheels, although on the front derailer I could simply remove the travel stop adjustments. They're all the way out and that's just enough to shift through all three rings.

My biggest gripe about these old Raleighs are the crazy thread pitches. The pedal threads, bottom bracket threads, nipple threads and just about everything else require Raleigh's unique threads.

Comparing the ride to my Cannondale 2.8, it's not as fast, but it sure is a helluva lot more comfortable. After 20 miles on the Cannondale my back is screaming at me, but on the Raleigh I'm just a little tired. As a general purpose beater bike I really like it.