RaleighSP

Dear vintage bike know-it-alls,

Here it is. My new/old road bike. I'll tell you what I know and maybe you can tell me what I don't. The frame is bonded with titanium main tubes, aluminum lugs, a Reynolds 531 fork and Reynolds 753 stays. The frame is in great shape but several of the components looked as though they were bathed in acid. So, I replaced the crankset, the rear brake caliper, the front derailleur, the handlebars and the stem. Oh, and the mechanic cracked the rear rim while truing the wheel so I replaced that too. Now she's ready to ride!
I read on another post about the SP 1000 that these frames were made by Raleigh SPD in Nottingham, England and shipped to the U.S. where the bikes were assembled. There are two serial numbers on the bottom bracket. The first and largest, presumably stamped in Nottingham is C43126. The second, smaller serial number stamped in the U.S. is R915240411. Does this help anyone date the bike? Let me know if you have any insight into the bike's age. The folks at Raleigh were no help at all.

Thanks for looking. Greg

RaleighSP

Does no one recognize this bike or have any idea how to date it?

Bianchigirll 

I can't believe no one commented on this. perhaps there was something else that caught everyons attention and this fell off the page quickly.

interesing mix Ti main tubes with Aluminum luggs and steel triangle. I don't recall ever hearing about it. how many speeds is it? the real derailleur and headset make me thing late '80s

RaleighSP

But I think the fact that it has a 7-speed rear casette would indicate that it's in the 1990-1992 range. Could be wrong though.

wrk101

Just look up the component codes on the vintage Trek site. All of the Shimano parts will be marked.

I've seen plenty of seven speed bikes in the late 1980s. I've got three right now. 1988 Cannondale SR1000, 1988 Falcon Sterling, and a 1987 Schwinn Prologue. All seven speed. But I would just look up the component codes.

cb400bill

Maybe you can get a date code from the rear derailleur.

illwafer

i was bored:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=273327

looks like its 1994.

RaleighSP

Thanks for the replies. Here's the problem. The gentleman that sold me the bike told me that he had taken the components off of his old bike and put them on this bike. Therefore, as the components are not original, I was hoping someone with a knowledge of Raleigh serial numbers would be able to narrow down the frame's production date.

RaleighSP

I've seen that post before illwafer. Thanks for checking it out. This may be a stupid question, but does the alternate paintjob of my bike indicate that it was produced in a different year? Or is there no way of knowing that? Ultimately I suppose it doesn't really matter what year it was manufactured. It's a sweet ride and I love it.

illwafer

i would PM the OP of the other post. he was able to date his bike, so he might have an idea on how to date yours.

wrk101

Almost everything will have date codes: seat post, stem, sometimes handlebars, brake levers and calipers, etc. Often when people upgrade components, they leave some stuff alone.

paducahrider

According to Reynolds, they never made a tube entitled “Reynolds 753 Titanium“!
The decal on your bike implies that it is made Reynolds 753 heat treated steel, which is merely a heat treated version of the 531 steel alloy, AND Titanium.
The front triangle used titanium tubes and the stays were of 753 steel.
The front fork on mine is labeled as 4031 steel, which is a slight variation of the 531 steel alloy.
As you stated, the amount if misinformation about this bike makes it difficult to dig out the real history of it.
One problem is that the SP-1000 is confused with the TI-1000 which has some similarity but really a totally different bike.
mine was built in the USA, but had the top tube mis-pIned as an RT-500 aluminum bike, which allowed me to purchase it, brand new/ old stock for a VERY low price.
When I figure out how, I’ll post a picture.
It’s a darker red than commonly used by Raleigh, and it just do happens to be very dimilar to Raleigh’s retro version of the TI-1000 they only recently brought out.

paducahrider

This bike’s had some respray done on it, as there’s red overspray on the inside if the chainrings, plus lots of rough eggshelling on the bottom bracket that’s a bit crude for a factory paint job.
Corky.