Road Test/Bike Review (1973) RALEIGH Professional
07-21-20, 09:10 AM
#1
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Road Test/Bike Review (1973) RALEIGH Professional
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WTB: Slingshot bicycle promotional documents (catalog, pamphlets, etc).
WTB: American Cycling May - Aug, Oct, Dec 1966.
WTB: Bicycle Guide issues 1984 (any); Jun 1987; Jul, Nov/Dec 1992; Apr 1994; 1996 -1998 (any)
WTB: Bike World issue Jun 1974.
WTB: Slingshot bicycle promotional documents (catalog, pamphlets, etc).
WTB: American Cycling May - Aug, Oct, Dec 1966.
WTB: Bicycle Guide issues 1984 (any); Jun 1987; Jul, Nov/Dec 1992; Apr 1994; 1996 -1998 (any)
WTB: Bike World issue Jun 1974.
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07-21-20, 12:44 PM
#2
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Very cool. Nice to hear someone else write about my 1972 Pro.
If anyone wants a bike world subscription send me $3. thanks.
If anyone wants a bike world subscription send me $3. thanks.
07-21-20, 04:00 PM
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Agreed, and great to read how to modify/adapt the Simplex hanger for a Campagnolo RD! 
Ben
Ben
07-21-20, 04:14 PM
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07-21-20, 04:21 PM
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I like how the author reviewed the raleigh pro--a racing bike--on a tour in northern New Mexico. That's the 2d sentence of the article: the raleigh pro is for racing and touring. That actually makes some sense. In the 70s, racing bikes had eyelets and took long reach brakes so you could fit a 28c tire and a fender. That's why I'm a fan of 70s era racing bikes.
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07-21-20, 04:40 PM
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Ahh, the deal is in the details.
BW was publishing 7 issues a year at a cover price of $.60/issue in 1973.
Enterprising reader/salesperson gets $1 every time he saves $1.20 for a friend.
Each friend can become a salesperson if he/she desires to make some bread this way.
BW gets a bump in subscriptions through an instant sales force without having to actually hire anybody and put them on the payroll.
Win-win-win.
I wonder how successful it was.
Now, back to the RALEIGH Professional.
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WTB: Slingshot bicycle promotional documents (catalog, pamphlets, etc).
WTB: American Cycling May - Aug, Oct, Dec 1966.
WTB: Bicycle Guide issues 1984 (any); Jun 1987; Jul, Nov/Dec 1992; Apr 1994; 1996 -1998 (any)
WTB: Bike World issue Jun 1974.
WTB: Slingshot bicycle promotional documents (catalog, pamphlets, etc).
WTB: American Cycling May - Aug, Oct, Dec 1966.
WTB: Bicycle Guide issues 1984 (any); Jun 1987; Jul, Nov/Dec 1992; Apr 1994; 1996 -1998 (any)
WTB: Bike World issue Jun 1974.
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07-23-20, 08:20 AM
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"The Campagnolo Record and Nuovo Record derailers shifted with an ease and positiveness that must be experienced to fully comprehend; there are no missed or unexpected shifts, even under the most trying circumstances."
While I'll freely admit that the Nuovo is bulletproof, reliable, and beautiful, it also exceeds in providing reliably mediocre shifting - and if he felt this way while riding with an Atom freewheel, I have no reason to believe that statement. A Regina of the time would shift a darn sight better, and I have a COVID-built 1975 Pro with an NR RD and Atom freewheel to prove his hyperbole wrong. To think that the Suntour V series would make this all nonsense the same year.
Yes, this article is entertaining to read nearly 50 years later, but this is more a yarn of the author's riding experiences than an earnest review of the Pro. There's a lot of filler fluff here that sounds like a paid advertisement, when the author's only real point is that the Pro can do racing and touring quite well, and doesn't compromise much in providing good performance. But that's what the Raleigh road lineup was until 1978: Fairly relaxed sporting bikes.
That black hole of a thread entitled "What is/was the best Raleigh road bike of the 1970s?" seemed to prove that almost all of Raleigh's road bike lineup could provide very adequate all-round performance, starting at everyone's favorite hot rod, the Super Course. Not to mention that the never-ending Gugifacazione of old Raleighs - and I'm including all the touring 650B conversions under this term; not just those by @gugie - support this as well. If anything, you'll find an old Raleigh built into a modernized tourer or city commuter before you see it hopped up with the latest Dura-Ace.
It wasn't until the Pro Mk.V that Raleigh seemed willing to build a hardcore, Italianesque racing machine into their lineup.
-Kurt
While I'll freely admit that the Nuovo is bulletproof, reliable, and beautiful, it also exceeds in providing reliably mediocre shifting - and if he felt this way while riding with an Atom freewheel, I have no reason to believe that statement. A Regina of the time would shift a darn sight better, and I have a COVID-built 1975 Pro with an NR RD and Atom freewheel to prove his hyperbole wrong. To think that the Suntour V series would make this all nonsense the same year.
Yes, this article is entertaining to read nearly 50 years later, but this is more a yarn of the author's riding experiences than an earnest review of the Pro. There's a lot of filler fluff here that sounds like a paid advertisement, when the author's only real point is that the Pro can do racing and touring quite well, and doesn't compromise much in providing good performance. But that's what the Raleigh road lineup was until 1978: Fairly relaxed sporting bikes.
That black hole of a thread entitled "What is/was the best Raleigh road bike of the 1970s?" seemed to prove that almost all of Raleigh's road bike lineup could provide very adequate all-round performance, starting at everyone's favorite hot rod, the Super Course. Not to mention that the never-ending Gugifacazione of old Raleighs - and I'm including all the touring 650B conversions under this term; not just those by @gugie - support this as well. If anything, you'll find an old Raleigh built into a modernized tourer or city commuter before you see it hopped up with the latest Dura-Ace.
It wasn't until the Pro Mk.V that Raleigh seemed willing to build a hardcore, Italianesque racing machine into their lineup.
-Kurt
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