1973 Raleigh Competition with Nervex Lugs
08-31-22, 10:42 AM
#1
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
1973 Raleigh Competition with Nervex Lugs
I recently purchased a lovely '73 raleigh competition with nervex pro lugs at auction. Other non-spec items include: GB Maes "map of britain" bars, 3TTT stem, campy pedals, campy hubs, campy seat post, brooks professional saddle, Sakae/Ringyo Royal LA-5 crank set, and suntour bar-con shifters. Not sure if all are original but it does appear to me that the bar-con shifters and metal coil shift cable housings are orig...Bar wrap appears original as do the downtube cable stops, etc. Serial number is interesting: H316 (according to Sheldon Brown should be H followed by 4 digits). Have heard rumors of other '73s with nervex lugs, but I understand that it is quite a rare combination as most used Capella lugs. Will post a picture soon but cannot add attachments as I am still a newbie to the site.
08-31-22, 12:48 PM
#2
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I recently purchased a lovely '73 raleigh competition with nervex pro lugs at auction. Other non-spec items include: GB Maes "map of britain" bars, 3TTT stem, campy pedals, campy hubs, campy seat post, brooks professional saddle, Sakae/Ringyo Royal LA-5 crank set, and suntour bar-con shifters. Not sure if all are original but it does appear to me that the bar-con shifters and metal coil shift cable housings are orig...Bar wrap appears original as do the downtube cable stops, etc. Serial number is interesting: H316 (according to Sheldon Brown should be H followed by 4 digits). Have heard rumors of other '73s with nervex lugs, but I understand that it is quite a rare combination as most used Capella lugs. Will post a picture soon but cannot add attachments as I am still a newbie to the site.
Welcome aboard, glad you found us, you're in the right place.You need 5 posts X 2 days for 10 to post pics, in the meantime you can upload some to an album on your homepage that may get moved here.
We love Raleigh's, yours sounds very interesting so we look forward to seeing it.
08-31-22, 01:32 PM
#3
Senior Member
Well, how about it? We are waiting! 
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
08-31-22, 01:39 PM
#4
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I recently purchased a lovely '73 raleigh competition with nervex pro lugs at auction. Other non-spec items include: GB Maes "map of britain" bars, 3TTT stem, campy pedals, campy hubs, campy seat post, brooks professional saddle, Sakae/Ringyo Royal LA-5 crank set, and suntour bar-con shifters. Not sure if all are original but it does appear to me that the bar-con shifters and metal coil shift cable housings are orig...Bar wrap appears original as do the downtube cable stops, etc. Serial number is interesting: H316 (according to Sheldon Brown should be H followed by 4 digits). Have heard rumors of other '73s with nervex lugs, but I understand that it is quite a rare combination as most used Capella lugs. Will post a picture soon but cannot add attachments as I am still a newbie to the site.
Well, how about it? We are waiting!
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
No real bad parts choices here IMO, sounds like some good upgrades in fact.
And no way to go wrong with Nervex, so....
08-31-22, 02:53 PM
#5
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name of bar bend model is Ventoux
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name of bar bend model is Ventoux
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08-31-22, 04:02 PM
#6
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
Well, how about it? We are waiting!
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
08-31-22, 07:01 PM
#7
Senior Member
The Jubilee and a 14-24 freewheel sound stock to me. I really like the Jubilee but have never had one. Does it work well or is it too flexible/sloppy/imprecise?
09-01-22, 11:08 AM
#8
Senior Member
I rode a short cage one for nearly 20 years. They work fine if you don't ask them to deal with more than a 26t cog. The very early ones with the short spring ( like mine) do not shift positively into the smallest cog - it gets there but it can take a second. I assume it was a well-known problem since the design was revised later.
https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.a...m=108&AbsPos=3
https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.a...m=108&AbsPos=3
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09-01-22, 03:25 PM
#9
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
Well, how about it? We are waiting!
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
09-01-22, 03:28 PM
#10
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
09-02-22, 03:24 PM
#11
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
Welcome aboard, glad you found us, you're in the right place.You need 5 posts X 2 days for 10 to post pics, in the meantime you can upload some to an album on your homepage that may get moved here.
We love Raleigh's, yours sounds very interesting so we look forward to seeing it.
Likes For cjefferds:
09-02-22, 03:29 PM
#12
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
Well, how about it? We are waiting!
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
The bars sound original, the shifters do not. I thought they came with GB stems, too.
If the Campy items are GS, as opposed to Nuovo Record, they may be original, too.
The seat and seatpost are so good, I couldn't care less whether they were original or not. They are great. I think they came with B-17's and standard seat clamps.
The crank is almost certainly after-market. What deraileurs and gearing is it equipped with? I wonder if the owner went from the original racing configuration to a more touring-oriented configuration.
09-02-22, 06:52 PM
#13
Senior Member
09-08-22, 06:02 PM
#14
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
Update
Update: The Competition is coming along nicely. All cleaned up. Replaced the tubular wheelset with a vintage clincher set that I lifted off a 70s Le Jeune Tour de France. The bike was in bad shape but the wheels are legit. Normandy hubs and DEA rims. Sacrificed a bit of weight and performance for a bit of bling and $. I noticed that the stem shows signs of wear consistent with stem-mounted shifters. So that explains some of the non-spec components. I'm thinking that many of the "upgrades" on my bike were likely transplanted from a later model Raleigh.
09-08-22, 07:19 PM
#15
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Very nice bike.
So....steel rims on a Competition....
So....steel rims on a Competition....
09-08-22, 08:13 PM
#16
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
09-08-22, 08:37 PM
#17
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09-08-22, 08:39 PM
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Looks great!
Many riders on Brooks saddle end up with the nose tilted higher than you've got yours currently set up -- either so that the front and back edges are level, or so that the back section is level (and the nose pointing up). It's personal thing, of course, so you'll want to experiment for yourself.
Of course, if you already know that the position you've got works for you, it's your bike!
Many riders on Brooks saddle end up with the nose tilted higher than you've got yours currently set up -- either so that the front and back edges are level, or so that the back section is level (and the nose pointing up). It's personal thing, of course, so you'll want to experiment for yourself.
Of course, if you already know that the position you've got works for you, it's your bike!
09-08-22, 08:46 PM
#19
Senior Member
"You can get more real by replacing the crankset with a steel cottered crank, there are plenty available on the used market...
"
That's right! One of my favorite cranksets is the Campagnolo Sport 3320 steel crankset and the first one I ever saw was on a new Raleigh Competition that I assembled for the shop I worked at. It is a thing of beauty and all worries of aluminum fatigue can be set aside......
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/...ankset.323727/
"That's right! One of my favorite cranksets is the Campagnolo Sport 3320 steel crankset and the first one I ever saw was on a new Raleigh Competition that I assembled for the shop I worked at. It is a thing of beauty and all worries of aluminum fatigue can be set aside......
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/...ankset.323727/
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09-08-22, 08:51 PM
#20
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"You can get more real by replacing the crankset with a steel cottered crank, there are plenty available on the used market..."
That's right! One of my favorite cranksets is the Campagnolo Sport 3320 steel crankset and the first one I ever saw was on a new Raleigh Competition that I assembled for the shop I worked at. It is a thing of beauty and all worries of aluminum fatigue can be set aside......
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/...ankset.323727/
"That's right! One of my favorite cranksets is the Campagnolo Sport 3320 steel crankset and the first one I ever saw was on a new Raleigh Competition that I assembled for the shop I worked at. It is a thing of beauty and all worries of aluminum fatigue can be set aside......
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/...ankset.323727/
09-08-22, 09:04 PM
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Congrats on acquiring such an awesome bike. I'm a fan of Brooks saddles and that one has some nice aging to it. It doesn't appear to be all dried up like some I've seen. There are some surface cracks near the rivets but they might be on the surface only. Worth checking closely though. I even like the green patina on the copper rivets.
If you like those rims, it's your bike, you be you. I would seek out a set of vintage aluminum clinchers. The braking will be way better. Steel rims are pretty, but stopping, especially in wet weather isn't the best. Modern pads can help. Kool Stop, for example.
Happy riding!
If you like those rims, it's your bike, you be you. I would seek out a set of vintage aluminum clinchers. The braking will be way better. Steel rims are pretty, but stopping, especially in wet weather isn't the best. Modern pads can help. Kool Stop, for example.
Happy riding!
09-09-22, 06:10 AM
#23
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
Haha. Sorry if I offended with my flippant response! I do plan to upgrade the wheels eventually. The plan is to lace the campy record hubs that came with the bike to a new set of rims. Just not a priority right now. I have no experience with wheel building so did not want that to be the rate-limiting factor in getting the bike back on the road again.
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09-09-22, 06:24 AM
#24
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
Congrats on acquiring such an awesome bike. I'm a fan of Brooks saddles and that one has some nice aging to it. It doesn't appear to be all dried up like some I've seen. There are some surface cracks near the rivets but they might be on the surface only. Worth checking closely though. I even like the green patina on the copper rivets.
If you like those rims, it's your bike, you be you. I would seek out a set of vintage aluminum clinchers. The braking will be way better. Steel rims are pretty, but stopping, especially in wet weather isn't the best. Modern pads can help. Kool Stop, for example.
Happy riding!
If you like those rims, it's your bike, you be you. I would seek out a set of vintage aluminum clinchers. The braking will be way better. Steel rims are pretty, but stopping, especially in wet weather isn't the best. Modern pads can help. Kool Stop, for example.
Happy riding!
09-09-22, 08:13 AM
#25
Learning To Fly
Thread Starter
BTW, your post reminded me that I have a set of Kool-stops in inventory. Just installed them and can confirm they make a huge difference. Night and day!