Show us your Raleigh Gran Sport/Grand Sport/Grand Sports
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Show us your Raleigh Gran Sport/Grand Sport/Grand Sports
Three different names for the 1970s blue on white or white on blue Raleigh bike. This was just below the Raleigh Competition in the hierarchy. It seems to be somewhat rare.
Here is a picture of my Grand Sports. It is about a 1973. I removed the dork ring (chain protector).
Here is a picture of my Grand Sports. It is about a 1973. I removed the dork ring (chain protector).
#2
Essentials Bike Works
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Huntington Beach, Ca.
Posts: 444
Bikes: Early 80 Celste Bianchi,Medici Pro Strada,Super Mondia,Cannondale Track Conversion
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
#6
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Does anyone have a color match for the blue and white?
#7
Super Course fan
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Lost on the windswept plains of the Great Black Swamp
Posts: 2,720
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times
in
8 Posts
My '62, I also have a '7? waiting for restoration.
__________________
I have a white PX-10, a Green Dawes Galaxy and an Orange Falcon, now I'm done.
I have a white PX-10, a Green Dawes Galaxy and an Orange Falcon, now I'm done.
#8
What??? Only 2 wheels?
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Boston-ish, MA
Posts: 13,434
Bikes: 72 Peugeot UO-8, 82 Peugeot TH8, 87 Bianchi Brava, 76? Masi Grand Criterium, 74 Motobecane Champion Team, 86 & 77 Gazelle champion mondial, 81? Grandis, 82? Tommasini, 83 Peugeot PF10
Mentioned: 189 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1222 Post(s)
Liked 645 Times
in
232 Posts
As requested, a '73 Gran (no D) Sport:
__________________
Real cyclists use toe clips.
With great bikes comes great responsibility.
jimmuller
Real cyclists use toe clips.
With great bikes comes great responsibility.
jimmuller
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: northern michigan
Posts: 13,317
Bikes: '77 Colnago Super, '76 Fuji The Finest, '88 Cannondale Criterium, '86 Trek 760, '87 Miyata 712
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 659 Post(s)
Liked 595 Times
in
313 Posts
I saw a Gran Sport on CL for 75.00 last week
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: NYC+NNJ
Posts: 1,302
Bikes: i don't have a bike. a few frames, forks and some parts. that's all
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 54 Post(s)
Liked 52 Times
in
33 Posts
'74 blue
here's another 'lagoon blue' frame circa '74. Gran Sports.
being re-built now.
being re-built now.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Detroit
Posts: 10,303
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 43 Times
in
33 Posts
My '73 (Grand Sports) - Still with butted '531 frame, forks and stays.
__________________
- Auchen
- Auchen
Last edited by auchencrow; 03-11-12 at 07:43 PM.
#13
Senior Member
Thread Starter
If you didn't buy it you should have. They are nice bikes. Reynolds 531 steel, Stronglight crank, Brooks B17 saddle, Normandy hubs. I paid $95 for mine. It didn't have the Brooks saddle so I replaced the crappy one that was on it with a Sella Italia saddle I had. It had a newer Shimano Sora front derailleur that I replaced with a Campy Record derailleur that I paid $10 for so I have $105 into mine.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Detroit
Posts: 10,303
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 43 Times
in
33 Posts
...And the earlier ones are full 531 just like the Int'l (in spite of what the catalog says) and the only real difference is the color, components and lugs. The Int'l had nice chromed lugs and Campy DRs, while the Grand Sports has the Lagoon blue Carlton colors and GB Rando bars which are just WONDERFUL.
I have seen prices for them all over the map. (You don't want to know what I paid for mine).
__________________
- Auchen
- Auchen
#15
What??? Only 2 wheels?
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Boston-ish, MA
Posts: 13,434
Bikes: 72 Peugeot UO-8, 82 Peugeot TH8, 87 Bianchi Brava, 76? Masi Grand Criterium, 74 Motobecane Champion Team, 86 & 77 Gazelle champion mondial, 81? Grandis, 82? Tommasini, 83 Peugeot PF10
Mentioned: 189 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1222 Post(s)
Liked 645 Times
in
232 Posts
Auchen, that's a lovely specimen. How much of that is original? Not the RD, but the crank? Pedals? As I recall from seeing a catalog somewhere, they were equipped rather differently from most bikes back then, especially a 531 frame. Randonneur handlebar, "sport" gearing (which meant 38-100 inches), rattrap-style pedals w/clips+straps (as I recall), Simplex derailleurs. A nice bike not set up for racing but not your average everybody-needs-a-bike bike.
__________________
Real cyclists use toe clips.
With great bikes comes great responsibility.
jimmuller
Real cyclists use toe clips.
With great bikes comes great responsibility.
jimmuller
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Baltimore MD
Posts: 3,333
Bikes: '72 Motobecane Grand Record, '72 Gitane tandem, '72 Raleigh Super Course, '73 Raleigh Gran Sport, '73 Colnago Super, '76 Fiorelli Coppi, '78 Raleigh SBDU Team Pro, '78 Trek 930, '81 Holdsworth Special 650B, '86 Masi GC, ’94 Bridgestone RB-T
Mentioned: 67 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 787 Post(s)
Liked 521 Times
in
282 Posts
1974 Gran Sport
Here's my '74. A marvelous ride.
__________________
The man who dies with the most toys…is dead. - Rootboy
The man who dies with the most toys…is dead. - Rootboy
#17
Phyllo-buster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 8,847
Bikes: roadsters, club bikes, fixed and classic
Mentioned: 133 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2298 Post(s)
Liked 2,055 Times
in
1,255 Posts
Needs wheels and too big anyway.
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Detroit
Posts: 10,303
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 43 Times
in
33 Posts
Auchen, that's a lovely specimen. How much of that is original? Not the RD, but the crank? Pedals? As I recall from seeing a catalog somewhere, they were equipped rather differently from most bikes back then, especially a 531 frame. Randonneur handlebar, "sport" gearing (which meant 38-100 inches), rattrap-style pedals w/clips+straps (as I recall), Simplex derailleurs. A nice bike not set up for racing but not your average everybody-needs-a-bike bike.
The crank is the original BSA-threaded Nervar. I surmise Raleigh used what was available vs the SL 93.
It's funny that this thread popped up - I had mine out earlier today, and was again impressed with the ride and how very quick it is. IMHO, these are truly wonderful bikes and sleepers on the market in many cases. Their very rarity had ensured that only the cognoscenti seek them out.
__________________
- Auchen
- Auchen
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Detroit
Posts: 10,303
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 43 Times
in
33 Posts
Jeirvene - These bikes really look great with white Bluemels.
It's a shame they're so expensive (not to mention that I'm too cheap to pay for them).
It's a shame they're so expensive (not to mention that I'm too cheap to pay for them).
__________________
- Auchen
- Auchen
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Baltimore MD
Posts: 3,333
Bikes: '72 Motobecane Grand Record, '72 Gitane tandem, '72 Raleigh Super Course, '73 Raleigh Gran Sport, '73 Colnago Super, '76 Fiorelli Coppi, '78 Raleigh SBDU Team Pro, '78 Trek 930, '81 Holdsworth Special 650B, '86 Masi GC, ’94 Bridgestone RB-T
Mentioned: 67 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 787 Post(s)
Liked 521 Times
in
282 Posts
The thing I find strangest about these bikes is the crappy plastic Simplex explode-o-matic shifters and RD on an otherwise fabulous all 531 bike. I binned them right off for the Suntours. The Nervex Star crank is a classy touch but sports 128 bcd rings - hard to source if you want to swap sizes. The dropouts are stamped, though it does still have 531 butted tubes, forks and stays.
__________________
The man who dies with the most toys…is dead. - Rootboy
The man who dies with the most toys…is dead. - Rootboy
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Baltimore MD
Posts: 3,333
Bikes: '72 Motobecane Grand Record, '72 Gitane tandem, '72 Raleigh Super Course, '73 Raleigh Gran Sport, '73 Colnago Super, '76 Fiorelli Coppi, '78 Raleigh SBDU Team Pro, '78 Trek 930, '81 Holdsworth Special 650B, '86 Masi GC, ’94 Bridgestone RB-T
Mentioned: 67 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 787 Post(s)
Liked 521 Times
in
282 Posts
#22
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,194
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Mentioned: 132 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1565 Post(s)
Liked 1,296 Times
in
866 Posts
I see that I'm not the only Grand Sports owner to ditch the chainguard for a shorter bb spindle.
Man, that 1962 is one sweet bike. Thanks for showing it!
My GS here. I paid $80 about 7 years back, and had to move the fork blades a few mm to the right to ride straight.
It's a couple of cm small for me, but it descends mountain roads in such a relaxing manner.
Man, that 1962 is one sweet bike. Thanks for showing it!
My GS here. I paid $80 about 7 years back, and had to move the fork blades a few mm to the right to ride straight.
It's a couple of cm small for me, but it descends mountain roads in such a relaxing manner.
Last edited by dddd; 03-12-12 at 03:17 AM. Reason: .
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Washington County, Vermont, USA
Posts: 3,778
Bikes: 1966 Dawes Double Blue, 1976 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1975 Raleigh Sprite 27, 1980 Univega Viva Sport, 1971 Gitane Tour de France, 1984 Lotus Classique, 1976 Motobecane Grand Record
Mentioned: 77 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 765 Post(s)
Liked 660 Times
in
351 Posts
Here's a crappy picture of my 76 Gran Sport in as-found condition, about a year ago. I've been working on it slowly--it's almost ready for the road now. Basically just needs to be cabled and have the bars wrapped. I'm building it up as my touring bike.
__________________
www.redclovercomponents.com
"Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long."
--Ogden Nash
www.redclovercomponents.com
"Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long."
--Ogden Nash
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Baltimore MD
Posts: 3,333
Bikes: '72 Motobecane Grand Record, '72 Gitane tandem, '72 Raleigh Super Course, '73 Raleigh Gran Sport, '73 Colnago Super, '76 Fiorelli Coppi, '78 Raleigh SBDU Team Pro, '78 Trek 930, '81 Holdsworth Special 650B, '86 Masi GC, ’94 Bridgestone RB-T
Mentioned: 67 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 787 Post(s)
Liked 521 Times
in
282 Posts
Nice. Looks like they still had 531 forks as of '76. Strange - I had thought they ended that a few years earlier.
__________________
The man who dies with the most toys…is dead. - Rootboy
The man who dies with the most toys…is dead. - Rootboy
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Washington County, Vermont, USA
Posts: 3,778
Bikes: 1966 Dawes Double Blue, 1976 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1975 Raleigh Sprite 27, 1980 Univega Viva Sport, 1971 Gitane Tour de France, 1984 Lotus Classique, 1976 Motobecane Grand Record
Mentioned: 77 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 765 Post(s)
Liked 660 Times
in
351 Posts
Well, I can confidently say that mine at least has the decal.
__________________
www.redclovercomponents.com
"Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long."
--Ogden Nash
www.redclovercomponents.com
"Progress might have been all right once, but it has gone on too long."
--Ogden Nash