It all started a couple weeks ago when a non-BF bicycle friend messaged me a link to an eBay auction for a very lovely Cherubim that had a starting bid of $1,100 and a Buy it Now of $1,800. Lovely bicycle, and my size, but out of budget. It did put in my mind the fact that I have made a handful of efforts to procure a proper randoneuse that have not ended properly.
First, it was the Surly LHT that I bought, specced and built up myself that ended up without lights, and weighed roughly the same as a Varsity with a Pletscher rack. It was a stable ride, but not nimble, not exactly a looker, and no fun grinding up hills on. Then it was converting my Fuji Finest, but gearing and spacing were challenges - not to mention how sad it looked with p-clamps. Then, a few years back, I latched onto a refinished Viking Severn Valley. It had been respaced to 130mm in the rear, so I took a shot at it, even though it was a tad too large. It didn't look too bad (Nervex lugs are known for that effect), and it came out a bit lighter and slightly more nimble than the LHT, but it also lacks lighting and rack fittings and bottle bosses. It has been languishing since I moved away from Pennsylvania, and seeing what I was able to do with converting the Giant Iguana to a drop bar 2 x 10 with proper fittings, I got to thinking that with the right platform, I could end up with something to rival the Cherubim.
For a few years, I have coveted a 73-ish Raleigh International. I've seen what nlerner and gugie and Peter Weigle have done with these, and already providing aid and comfort for virtually every other full 531 that Raleigh offered for more than 2 years in the '70's, that seemed to make sense. So, I posted in the ISO/WTB thread and got a couple generous offers, but as I thought them over, I realized that they were the same size as my Viking - which is a bit too large.
Hopeful, I posted on CR as well, and got a couple offers that really didn't match up, but I got one that seemed as if it might have possibilities. It was my size, had adequate clearance, and geometry that matched that of an International (though with a top tube that isn't 57 cm). The finish looked like it was pretty nice (which concerned me, as I was thinking of adding about 10 braze-ons, and who can feel good about doing that when there's a nice original finish?), but the fellow offering it to me said, "it's not like you'd be defacing a Herse". He told me that he bought it recently for the parts, and that the frame (from a maker I was not familiar with, and not much information is readily available about online) was too small for him. He proceeded to offer it to me for a suprisingly low amount. So... I agreed.
The frame and fork arrived Friday, and I was blown away. I cleaned it up, found the serial number (all 4 characters of it), and asked the builder if they could tell me when it was made. I am now the owner of a 1977 Argos that is far too nice to deface. Not the greatest pictures, but here are a few.
So now it looks like I will be sourcing parts for a very nicely made 1977 Argos, and keeping my eye out for that 21-1/2" International with trashed paint. Maybe someone will want to trade it for a 57cm Viking.
