Hi,
As an intro, what we’re talking about here are Worksop built Team Professional frames in the team colors, not SBDU.
I’m interested in a local Ad with what I believe is a Raleigh Team Professional frame coming with a Campy Record headset and adjustment screws (just FYI price is 170$). It is a Worksop ‘79 model, full Reynolds, with Campy dropouts and cut out lugs and BB.
Checking on the web the Team Pro timeline and the US catalogues I can’t find exactly the same decals, although the Team Pro does not appear in the ‘77-78-79 ones. However, I could find something very similar in the French catalogues, which, being in France, makes sense (btw : French catalogues are rare but useful to identify some European market models like the ‘78 “French” Team Record I have or the Competition with the stylized Carlton decals).
I try to understand the differences between these two top range frames, Team Pro and Team Record beyond their equipment. Attached are some French catalog pics from 1976, end of ‘70s and maybe ‘78 (acknowledgment to the forum Tontonvelo for these). Both frames are all Reynolds 531 5/10, but the Team Pro is described as “reinforced” and “ultra-light”, what does it mean? The Team Pro comes with lightened dropouts and BB and from the pics I can confirm that they are different from the Team Record. What else can differ in tubing? Or maybe geometry? The Team Pro frame in the Ad is described as 50cm c-c for the seat tube and 54cm for the TT, not exactly a compact design.
So I was looking at the US catalogs for some clues on the Team Pros. They are only shown until ‘75 along the Professional MK IV (then they disappear until popping up again in 1982 in the UK catalogs as Team Replica). While in ‘74 the two look identical and are described in the same way, in ‘75 with they don’t: the Pro MK IV mentions frame geometry as “lively and responsive” and that a “special configuration of the rear triangle gives added rigidity”, chainstays are described as “rapid taper”. From the images, seatstays indeed are different. What is the difference in real life and why they’re not the same?
In ‘77 (then ‘78 and ‘79) no trace of the Team Pro and the introduction of the new Professional MK V, with new tubing, lug sets, seat cluster and brazed on fittings, the catalogs mentioning “Haden forged lightweight crown, Haden lightweight lugs with window cut outs and short wheelbase for maximum maneuverability”.
Beyond these “details” (are they?) however, compared with the second in line Competition GS, they both share “Reynolds 531 butted tubes, forks & stays with Campagnolo dropouts, Reynolds 531 taper gauge blades with Campagnolo fork ends”. Again, where is the difference in real life for the two frames if they have the same tubes?
Now, it’s interesting to note that in the ‘78 (?) French catalog the Team Pro is called the “new” Pro MK V. And the frame from the Ad resembles a lot to the pro MK V described in the US catalogs: lugs, cut outs, seat cluster, brazed fittings. The only doubt remains about geometry, but I can’t check it.
Thanks a lot to the Raleigh experts for helping in trying to make clarity and positioning this frame within the Raleigh universe.
The frame from the Ad
‘78 (?) French Catalog
End ‘70s French Catalog
‘76 French Catalog