Maxey

This is for sale in the local classifieds. No asking price, seller ad only says 'If you're interested we can negotiate a price.' I did speak to the seller last night and told him I thought it might be worth I'm guessing about $200 locally if he finds the right buyer, but told him there might be some caveats due to what looks to be quite a bit of variance from original spec. As far as I can tell the bike looks to be a 1977, but correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the '77s came with all Campy drivetrain and presta valve wheels. It looks like Shimano Crane front and rear derailleurs (w/drilled cages) and a French crankset of some sort, also Mafac Racer brakes, lever extensions and a non-OE seat. I have seen a few Competitions from the early to mid 70s that had some of those drivetrain and brake parts (even then not sure if that was to spec on the bikes I saw), but again I think this is a '77. I also notice the smaller front chainring is geared pretty low, probably a concession for riding hills. Overall the bike looks to be in very nice condition with not a lot of scratches and nice chrome. I think it would be a fun project to clean up and make functional as intended. Welcoming all opinions, comments and etc. Thanks in advance for any input the resident Raleigh experts can offer.

Pictures from the ad:

rustystrings61 

Here’s the catalog you want - stock was Campagnolo Gran Sport (hence the GS suffix) 3-pin alloy crankset, derailleurs and low flange hubs with my all-time favorite sidepull Weinmann Carerra brakes. Zippier geometry than the ‘72-76 Mk II version, but I think still generous tire clearance. $200 doesn’t seem out of line - by this point they were full 531 frames.

juvela

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appears someone got hold of it as a bare frame and built it up with whatever they had or preferred

one oddity is the Raleigh/TDC Alatet headset

this would have been OEM on earlier editions of the Competition but on the GS should have been Campag GS

difficult to imagine someone going to the trouble of retro-fitting it...

if they had gotten the frame without a HS they likely would have selected something else to fit

or perhaps there may have been some "transitional" Competition GS cycles which still received the old Alatet...


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plonz 

I see Competition GS frequently listed between $350 and $700 so comparatively this would look like a good deal. I doubt those listings sell at those prices but $200 still seems reasonable.

Maxey

Thanks for all the replies everyone and for confirming my suspicions about the specs. Shame that it's not Campy GS equipped, but none of your responses seemed too alarmed about the spec as it sits. I do like that the gearing seems to be a little more reasonable than what OE would've been, but I'd better ride it before hand to make sure it's all reasonably functional. I did ask the seller about the spec. and if he knew anything about it, but he said the bike is as he received it some years ago and that it hasn't been ridden in quite some time. The bike is 100 miles away, but I was going to the city it's in over the weekend anyways, so will put it under the microscope when I see it in person.

I'm not too concerned about someone beating me to the punch as there is virtually zero market for these bikes locally, but if someone does, well, that's just the way the ball bounces as they say. Thanks again and I'll post an update once I visit the owner.

juvela

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it certainly looks like an excellent value as it appears in photo

no obvious problems

since it is in original finish there is always the option that someone could return it to original configuration if wished


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Maxey

This had already crossed my mind, Juvela, as I think it would be fun to chase the correct parts, but if all else seems well when I inspect the bike I can chase OE parts at my leisure. Then could keep the existing parts for other projects. The main thing for now is the condition of the frameset followed by the functionality of the parts installed now.

Sedgemop 

Yeah, the combination of parts is a little odd, but they're all good parts and don't seem to be too worse for wear.

juvela

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wrt questing oem road ensemble -

best buy might be to purchase a crashed machine fitted with the GS group...

...or even one with a good frame where the frame could be sold separately to recover some of the outlay


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Maxey

I would probably have to go the ebay route to find a crashed one -- making it uneconomic -- as there is not likely a crashed one within 500 miles of me out here in middle-of-nowhere North Dakota. But I appreciate your way of thinking.

juvela

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back at the time of the GS group launch there were some midliner Italian production machines which came wearing it; they were two down from the top sort of models

such a cycle could provide an economic kitting for the Raleigh...

just another idea


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Maxey

It makes sense that some of those Italian machines would be a good source -- I hadn't thought of it. An ebay search for Campagnolo Gran Sport turns up about 400 various items, but most with ebay pricing, of course, but even on ebay you can find the occasional bargain. As in most things patience is key.

Sedgemop 

When in doubt, go with Suntour Cyclone.

Kabuki12

I have a 1977 . I bought it in 2016 from the original owner . The bike had only been ridden a couple of times so it was all original and in very good shape. I paid $350 for it and have gotten many miles of fun out of it. The only thing I changed was the rear derailleur because I didn’t like the GS so I upgraded to Nuovo Record.

Maxey

So I went and looked at the bike this morning. When I talked to the seller yesterday about driving over to see the bike today, he said something along the lines of "I'm not sure if I'm going to sell it right away, I might wait until I get some other offers." I told him that's fine, I'll still come look at the bike so I can get a better idea of the condition, and if it doesn't sell maybe he'll accept my offer of $200. He's mentioned several times the bike would be worth more on ebay, but then again he said he has no plans to sell it there. So yeah, one of those guys. Today he also mentioned that he'd probably get more money parting it out and I agreed with him. But he fell back into the ebay value vs. local value thing again. He said he's seen the Stronglight crank on ebay for $200, but I didn't bother asking him if it actually sold at that amount yada yada yada. In any event, it never got contentious, but I pretty quickly adopted a take it or leave attitude, and even said as much to him.

In person the bike does look about as nice as it does in the pictures, though there is a large patch of paint missing on the driveside chainstay, now rusted, beneath the crank rings. I also noticed the front rim is a Weinman and the rear is a Rigida, which along with the strange but decent hodgepodge of other components contributed to my take-it-or leave it stance. So unless I hear from the seller I won't be getting the bike, but I'm okay with that as I am pretty much currently at full capacity anyways. Thanks again to all who contributed info. to the thread.

squarenoise 

Did you just not like the look or did it seem to function different for you? Nuovo Record, Super Record and Gran Sport have all felt about the same to me, but for sure the GS is the least appealing visually.

I have a 1980 GS and love it so maybe I'm a bit bias, but I'd think even $300-$350 would be a good deal for this one. I'd easily pay $200 just for the frameset.

The three arm Campagolo cranks look cool, but the rings are a bit flexy and almost impossible to find replacements. I don't think the Stronglight crank looks out of place at all and the rest of the components are solid.

Plus! It has that gem of a TA water cage. Probably the most elegant clamp-on water cage ever made.

Maxey

All good points, squarenoise, but as I said I'm pretty much at full capacity bikewise these days, not to mention regardless of the components the bike is going to need to be completely gone through, and it would have to take a number and get in line with the other needy bikes in my garage. I did tell the guy that if he decides to part it out I'd give him $150 for the frame which is generous enough locally. Not to mention I just wasn't in the mood for playing games -- it seems he's going to hang onto the bike unless someone offers him ebay money for it even though as I said he's not going to go to the trouble to sell it there. I think he'll find that my offer is about as good as it gets locally, but if he does better, good for him. If reality eventually hits him over the head and he calls me back I'll make another post telling all.

squarenoise 

Understandable. If he does part it out, try to get that water cage as part of the deal ; )

Kabuki12

I rode the bike for a few years with the GS derailleur and then one day while shifting down for a red light , the cage came apart. The chain went into the spokes and I ended up replacing the drive side spokes. I repaired the derailleur but I have a few NR units in my stash so I put one on . I could tell the difference in shifting. When I was repairing the GS unit I noticed the cage was stamped metal with very little thread for the pivot. I just no longer trusted it. I have it set aside just because it was original to the bike.

squarenoise 

Ack! That's horrible and hopefully you didn't go down. I needed more range so I recently swapped the cage on mine, with the long version made by SOMA. Fingers crossed I'm good to go with that update.

Kabuki12

^^^ no , I didn’t go down , luckily. I was able to rig the bike in such a way as to allow me to velocipede my way to my shop in Ventura ( picture Flintstones) . It was only a couple of miles but better than walking. At my tool grinding shop I have about a dozen bikes so I was able to get on one of my other bikes and head the 15 miles or so back to my home. They really are great bikes and I had been riding mine again lately just before breaking my hip 2 weeks ago . I rotate bikes frequently so none sit very long without putting miles on them. Is your the black one too? Is 1980 still the Worksop( English) Raleigh? I hope that cage works out for you , lower gears are becoming more desirable as I age!

Maxey

Very good point. On your suggestion I'll insist the cage goes with the frame if he parts it.

bikemig 

Solid deal at $200 and I'd consider the Shimano Crane RD to be an upgrade over the original campy GS RD.

Maxey

That's if the flaky seller goes for it -- at this point as I've said I can take it or leave it and am not going to waste my time trying to bargain with the guy as everything he says indicates he's willing to hedge his bets regardless of how much of the buyer's time he wastes.

Here's (all of) the text from his ad:

"Rare English Raleigh Competition bicycle. If you're interested we can negotiate a price for it."

No mention of possibly parting it out, no mention that he's holding out for a best offer, both of which I learned from him. I think the ad indicates he intended to be vague. I gave him an offer but the 'negotiating' was all a one way street, no counter offer, no input from seller whatsoever. I simply told him if he can't sell it for what he wants my offer is on the table and to call me. I understand it's a fairly desirable bike, but I'm not going to work to buy it. I don't have any hard feelings about it but if I had to jump through a bunch of hoops and he still flaked out in the end then I would be a little miffed, but I'm not going to put myself in that position.

squarenoise 

Phew for not going down! And I can totally picture the scooting along afterwards, haha! At least the backup bike was nearby.

Yep, mine is also Black and Chrome. I THINK 1980 was the last year they were made at the Carlton Factory. Mine's definitely The Queen of the fleet. Out of 12 bikes, only 3 live inside the house (the rest in the garage) and the Raleigh hangs on the bike wall.

I bought mine from the original owner who purchased it from Cosmic Cycles in Flagstaff. He rode just a few times and decided he wanted a mountain bike instead, but loved the look of the Raleigh so much that he kept it hanging in his garage. It was close to NOS when I picked it up in 2015, so that's why it gets extra love.

Changes I've made along the way...
- Stem to Nitto Technomic (for rise)
- Bars to Nitto Noodle (for width)
- Brakes/Levers to Campagnolo GS (upgrade from the Weinmann 605)
- Shifters to Suntour Barcons (easier reach)
- Crankset to Campagnolo Super Record (Less flex than the 3 arm crank and ability to run 50t Chainring)
- Freewheel to IRD 13-32 6 speed (More Range)
- Derailleur Cage to SOMA (More Range)
- Pedals to Specialized Touring platforms (to accommodate my Sasquatch feet)