The price of C&V membership
 

There is the price, as in the quite reasonable yearly fee one pays for the stylish yellow jersey next to one's screen name, and there is the real price, as in the consequences of one's regular visits to this forum and becoming assimilated into the C&V Collective.

This is about the latter, of course.

Until today I had never seen a Raleigh Super Course in real life. I don't believe they were ever sold here. Yet, ever since I joined this forum I felt that not having one meant I had a void in my life. I mean, this thread spans 89 pages, and after ten years I am still not in it! :(

So, when this dilapidated 1976 Mk II turned up in the local classifieds in my size, I could not resist.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e34cde6672.jpg

Lots of clues point to it being a personal import from the US: the reflectors, the spoke protector, the Pletscher rack:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0fe5dd5dd3.jpg

The Avocet Touring saddle:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...965ad506bd.jpg

The real give-away are of course the schrader valves:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4f200e4c77.jpg

Apparently the bike has been left outside for quite some time. The chrome on the frame looks like it might clean up reasonably well, and there is still some life in the Huret Jubilee déreailleur:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...908108288c.jpg

Other parts look to be beyond salvation:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...01fb2b9f87.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...270109daff.jpg

I need to think about what to do with it: keep it original (which it seems to be), restore it, or restomod it. Whatever the outcome, another lock-down might actually come in handy, as this will be a time-consuming project. :)

Yeah, you have some work on your hands there, but the frame looks like it might clean up pretty nice. A couple of years ago, not knowing anything about Raleighs other than the Professional, I passed up a great deal on an International in my size and still kick myself for it.

Don't give up! Evaporust and light oil + brass wool + patience can transform rusty parts.

There might be rust there but it looks like the good stuff has pulled through. I would do what it takes to make it a rider. Everyone who owns one comments on that aspect.

Looking forward to your progress!

Just saw the seat tube decal, it’s a Carlton made Raleigh!

You got a pretty rare mk.II! Few and far between have forged dropouts.

Thank you for the motivating comments! I need those. :thumb:

Yes, the fact that most Super Course owners seem to have an above-average fondness for these bikes is one thing that attracted me. The other is the Raleigh habit of keeping top tubes short on their taller bikes, which seems to work well for me. This is a 64.5 x 56 frame.

This is definitely meant to be a rider. First order of business will be to disassemble, clean and see what's what.

Yup:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8f1b616bd3.jpg

So I gather. I especially like that it has a derailleur hanger.

non-fixie

Plain gauge 531 or butted tubes?

Congrats on your membership eligibility!!

The tubing decal is missing, but as far as I have been able to establish these have a straight gauge 531 main triangle and 20-30 stays and forks.

two words: "penetrating oil"

just seeing the rust gives me the heebie-jeebies. Getting the corroded aluminum and steel apart will be a challenge.

On the other hand, I used to have a Raleigh Gran Sport, and loved how well a Stronglight 93 crank would polish up! Beautiful!

Steve in Peoria
(penetrating oil, lots of it, and frequently reapplied)
(good luck!)

non-fixie

So, have you shared with the collective yet?

I think you'll be able to salvage a lot and the nice thing is if some parts dont clean up so well the middling bits are fairly inexpensive to obtain...minus the huret stuff of course.

I had a super course and really enjoyed how it rode but I just couldnt get over not having a derailleur hanger. It just seemed to cheapen the whole bike and with a very limited capacity to store bikes I decided to part with bikes that werent top of the range. You've got that derailleur hanger so I will be waiting with a kudos on strava once you get it back on the road.

The one I had was very tall. 1972 if memory serves - script ‘Raleigh’ on down tube. And yes - on short top tubes for given seat tube length in larger sizes. I rode a 14cm stem on a 63cm frame! :eek:!!!

Lascauxcaveman rendition is cool. I had it too close to original with those old creme coloured Carlton hoods, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if that frame was originally meant to be a Competition. The lugwork, forged dropouts and short top tube seem out of place in a Carlton Super Course. It may even have Reynolds stays. From a distance, the fork ends look stamped and have a Vagner crown which would be consistant with a SC.

You may have a rare hybrid!

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retrora...ompetition.jpg

My eyes are drawn to the boldly dimensioned dork disc and (Wiccan?) pentagram on the crankset.

I'd be tempted to replace and maintain where necessary, but avoid anything cosmetic. This could be the (covertly excellent) ratbike par excellence, to be ridden with pride wherever the Rapha-clad gather. Savour the horrified reactions, and let them eat your dust.

The dork disc is pure Sturmey Archer goodness.

....also, the seatpost size would be another clue.....

I'd love to see it on some 1x11 drivetrain :lol: I bet it's big enough to fit a 40t cog.

Welcome to the club!
Tim

Yeah, that's not a typical SC II. I've never seen one with the forged dropouts, only in a couple of pictures. We have a couple of 75 frames and a 74 and none has the forged dropouts. Also, never seen one with the Jubilee RD nor the Stronglight crank with the Ben Hur guard. The crank is what you will see on GS bikes of the era. Two of ours had steel Nervar Sport cranks and the other an alloy Nervar Star. That Stronglight is a bonus.

The headset appears to be one of the proprietary 26 tpi headsets so the steerer is threaded 26 tpi to match. Just like all three of ours. 27.0 mm crown race machining. Those headsets are pretty unique, you'll discover when you open it up. the races are not angled, the balls sit pretty much straight up and down. Fortunately, they are pretty durable headsets but used parts are available, if needed, as that hs was used on everything from the Sports up through the Super Course. There are a lot of them out there.

The British chrome from this era is actually pretty heavy nickel chrome so you can clean the rust of with steel woo and WD-40 or other penetrating oil even if you get bit aggressive there will still likely be enough chrome to to polish and wax. I would say there is a very good chance that this bike can be brought back to look close to new. I really like the Nottingham work shop forge tempered frame sets from the 70's even lowly Gran Prix and Super Grand Prix so the Super Course II is just a great bike.

Having a forged dropout is a good thing, but having a Huret forged dropout may limit your choices if you want to change derailleurs. The little step is in a different place on a Huret dropout than a Campy or Suntour one.

Nice find!