Originally Posted by
wrk101
Double check those tubing decals. The ones I have seen did not say Reynolds 555, they said Raleigh 555. By using the Raleigh name it allowed them to use whatever they wanted and to change it up whenever they wanted. Of course, they made their decals look like Reynolds decals. Marketing at its "finest".
It's Raleigh 555. I can guarantee that Robbie and the OP typed Reynolds as a force of habit. That's how good this marketing ploy was from Raleigh USA.
Huffy / Raleigh USA probably (undoubtedly?) had licensing of the Reynolds name as part of the deal with Tube Investments (for the Raleigh name) to pull this off. TI Inc. still owned Reynolds at the time, and I'm sure anyone else would have been hit with a big lawsuit had they copied the Reynolds tubing decal right down to the fonts.
Pics:
https://www.velocals.com/raleigh-555...-tubing-decal/ and
https://velocals.com/reynolds-531-wi...c-decal-green/
P.S.: 1984 Raleigh USA Super Course w/Tange fork steerer (marked TANGE4.A):
-Kurt