CriticalThought

So it happened again... I had been keeping an eye out for a Cinelli stem for the PDM Concorde I picked up a while ago and I saw a bike for sale locally for the price of what the stem seems to be going for alone. I ended up with this Raleigh Super Course, shown as found, and it is an absolute pleasure to ride. It has Campy headset, hubs, 700x35c Paselas, Campy drivetrain (with what I think is a Shimano Arabesque FD?), and Cinelli bars in addition to the Cinelli stem that caught my eye. I had actually also been looking for this RD to complete the original groupset on my Dutch Duell Solo. This feels like a score to me! And until I have time to dive into in as a project (for other projects) I am enjoying it a lot as is!

branko_76 

CriticalThought , very nice find. Someone really loved that SC by adorning it with all of those fancy components.

The front derailleur is a Shimano 105 Golden Arrow, better than Arabesque I think.

Jason845

I'm a big guy, 6' 240#, I have a nice carlton super course frame I'd like to build up. I will use lots of spokes on 650b rims and will not be using the stock fork. Will the frame handle my fat butt? Thanks!

beicster 

I am 6'2" and around 250. I have a 68 Super Course and had a 79 Super Course. Both frames handled my bulk with no problems. I think you will be fine.

Edit to add-I am a bit jealous of your Carlton. Can you post pics?

beicster 

Over on the Is there a reliable way to tell what type of steel based on diameter? thread, conversation came up about seat post size for plain gauge 531. bulgie mentioned his early 70's Super Course had a 26.6 seat post size. My 79 had a 26.4 and I recall that others have reported that here as well. What size seat post does your Super Course take?

noglider 

I'm pretty sure mine is 26.4mm. My Super Course is from 1971.

branko_76 

My vote for the nicest Super Course in this thread.....



and at the other extreme...

Kilroy1988 

Ah, shucks... But I'll bet the "other extreme" might ride just as nice or nicer than mine! Looks rather practical, if not aesthetically pleasing.

noglider 

I like to keep at least one ugly bike that rides well. It's one of my trademarks.

87 Demo

Just picked up what I'm pretty sure is a 72, after years of wanting a SC with nervex lugs!

noglider 

Make one more post and you can then post pictures. What color is your Super Course? I have a 1971. Same frame as yours with different derailleurs. I love it.

87 Demo

I'm thinking it's a 72 from the script, and because it has the ghost of the typical headbadge, not the anniversary badge. I'm puzzled by the seat tube, I'm thinking possibly whoever removed the decals from it may have taken off the top layer of paint and revealed the metallic base, but its also relatively shiny and smooth in person so I'm not sure.






Otherwise it's in great condition. I'm also surprised with how nicely it's built compared to my other Raleighs (for comparison, some photos of the sloppy brazing and lugwork on my '73 Gran Sport)




I have some ideas for what I'm gonna do with it, once i dig around and see what parts i have. I haven't built or worked on a bike in a few years and I'm not sure which parts have survived moving twice haha. Just will need to source a headset and a barrel adjuster for the rear brake cable stop, and figure out what seat post it takes, neither of two I tried fit.

AdventureManCO 

Look what the cat dragged home...









Funny story about this one. I saw it last year for sale at a local community bike shop that I have volunteered at a little bit. I kept hearing good things about the ride on these Super Courses and didn't yet have a good British boom bike example in my stable. So, negotiated a price and was about to buy it but looking it over, I saw a big gap in the chainstay-to-BB brazing that I guess horrified me enough to put it down and walk away.

A few weeks ago, for some reason I started thinking about this bicycle again. Because of all the closings, I hadn't really yet been to the shop as of this year, but finally decided to go, and lo and behold, it was still there lol. So I thought 'what the heck' - I'll buy it anyway. The gap in the chainstay is not as bad as I remember it, and was pleasantly surprised to find that while tearing it apart for a complete rebuild, it looks like the chainstays are flared inside the BB shell, so there is a mechanical connection as well - peace of mind, if you will.

Whoever had this bike before it was neglected out in the sun for several years must have really liked it, because it was very tastefully upgraded - Suntour drivetrain all around, aluminum SR type seatpost, and newer-ish 27x1 wheelset (Miche Competition hubs and Araya rims) that show barely any riding at all. The good stuff, like the stem, brakes, etc, have stayed original to the bike.

The rebuild has since commenced and I'm in the home stretch. Completely disassembled - the headset came out well, the wheel hubs/bearings came out like new, the crank spindle and bearings are a little rough but serviceable, I have a Brooks from a donor bike that was refurb'd and put on this one. Sanded out the casting lines in the GB stem and gave it a bit of a polish and came out well. Polished one set of brakes, need to do the other. Have natural veg-tanned leather for bar tap, cut and stitched some leather brake hoods, got a new chain to put on it, and now I just need cables and tires and it should be ready to go!

Thanks for turning me on to this project! I'm digging the British racing green color, the Capella lugs, and how everything is shaping up!

Real1shepherd

Have you dated the bike yet on Brown's site with the serial? Sure looks like mine which I think was a '72.

Kevin

87 Demo

So i've collected most of the parts and started building and two things happened:

1) I nearly lost an eye and the my cable cutters snapped and sent a chunk of metal 1/4 an inch away from my eye. Yikes!

2) I realized the fork is ever so slightly out of line. I would'nt even call it bent, I dry fit a headset to fit the fork and it looks fine, I only realized something was wrong when I had the fork lying on a table and realized one leg is just slightly out of line with the other. I may straighten it, but if it rides fine, I may not.

Unfortunately, I can't find my non-driveside TA crank arm or the smaller ring for it, so the TA isn't going on it for now. The seat tube is also out of round, which ended up not being too bad because I got to use a 25.8 SR Extra Super Light seatpost I really like. Had to shim it because it it was slightly too small, but a 26.0 was too large.

halb 

Why are there wrench flats on the lower fixed cup of '77 Super Course?
I bought an inexpensive SC frame and fork on CL. It appears owner took off what he could with household tools.
Chain and crankset were in place, but bearings absent from headset.
I had 5/32 bearings in the junk box, installed them, and could find no "sweet spot."
If the fork turned smoothly, there was knock. No evident damage to headset.
Can I simply replace the headset with a new standard one?

noglider 

@halb you may not be able to use a standard English-threaded headset, because chances are, your fork is Raleigh-threaded. English is 24 tpi, and Raleigh is 26 tpi.

@87 Demo, check alignment with three measurements: forward from line formed by steerer tube, left/right from center line, and distance from fork crown to tip (where you insert the wheel).

jackbombay

72 had Nervex lugs, this bike has the lugs of a 73' or newer, I forget the manufacturer of the later lugs.

87 Demo

I believE they're Capella, they went to the Prugnat lugs with the Mk II

Real1shepherd

Did they ever use Cinelli?

It was said somewhere that they used the ornate Capella lugs in some '73 model SC's because they ran out of the simpler ones. More Raleigh factory confusion.

Kevin

87 Demo

Some progress. Basically just waiting on a saddle and bars to come in the mail so I can finish.

Piff 

I'm sure there are many others using a 26.2 kalloy seatpost (12.5" post length) for their super course, so I'll post my weight-weenie findings here...

I cut 3.75" from my post, leaving 8.75". 3.5" will extend above the seatube, and 5.25" will insert. That's 1.25" more than the minimum inserted length etched on the seatpost- 4". The total saved grams....is.....

54g!!!! Which is equivalent to 1.9oz.

Oh well, at least it made me feel better about making my super course a bit lighter.

jreeves 

Curious what your final weight is???

jackbombay

My final weight is a bit over 27 pounds for this build, the only weight reduction from stock was the aluminum seatpost.

I actually added weight back on with my DIY tripilizer and granny ring.

Piff 

304g

You could save another 66g by buying this post: 26.2 post for a mere $130.

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