CuttersRidge

On the Raleigh Super Course:

Of course, the RSC is a great ride; I am skeptical of some other plain or straight gauge Reynolds 531 bikes (main triangle) that do not seem nearly as nice of a ride.

But I thought, perhaps this was worthy of discussion and any bikes that were built in this manner could be mentioned.

CCM Concorde, main tubes plain gauge 531, stays and fork hi-ten steel.

CCM Silver Ghost, same.

Any others?

3speedslow

Plenty of early 60-70's Dawes Galaxy bikes were 531 straight gauge and were quite wonderful riders.

Road Fan

I had a '67 or '68 Falcon that was 531 straight gauge, and also in the market was the Dawes Galaxy, with a similar frame to the Super Course.

The Falcon was not a smooth, great ride, and I've heard others complain similarly over the Super Course.

bikemig 

A lot of well made bikes back in the day had 531 main frames, single or double butted. It was a cost saving measure and the bike rode fine. I used to own a Peugeot PKN 10, double butted 531 main frame. It was a great bike.

lasauge 

A few years ago a 1964 Carlton Catalina made of 531 straight gauge, with a 531 fork, passed through my garage. I was not impressed at all: the frame was noticeably flexible under strong efforts, while the thick tubing telegraphed every bump and imperfection in the road surface straight to the bars/saddle.

repechage

My experience with the Carlton Catalina was that it was a terrific bike for the price point. A decent frame too, similar in geometry to the early Super Course and a good deal lighter as a whole bike. I weighed a 23" framed bike as 24 lbs all up, only aluminum was the bars, stem, brakes. Truth be known the Steel Dunlop lightweight rims are quite light.

ironwood

I have a British made Witcomb frame in my attic with stickers saying it's made of straight guage Reynolds 531.

Road Fan

I'm pretty sure the OP is asking about tubing that is not butted. The single/double butted 531 frames were a lot more expensive and much better rides.

bikemig 

This is all pretty subjective but I'm skeptical that the difference is large. I owned a super course with a plain gauge plain triangle and I thought the ride was fine. YMMV.

jonwvara 

I've always assumed that the basic "Reynolds Frame Tubing" decal simply meant that the bike had at least one Reynolds tube. The ones that I've seen don't say anything about the main triangle.

T-Mar

In the CCM line, the OP forgot the 1973-1976 version of the Mistral which was situated between the Concorde and Silver Ghost. The 1977 Mistral was downgraded to hi-tensile tubing. The 1975-1976 Torino, which was the Concorde's successor also used Reynolds 531PG. In 1972, CCM had two models, The Formula 1 and Citation which used Reynolds 531PG.

All CCM's Reynolds 531 PG frames used hi-tensile stays and forks. For any year, they all used a common, general purpose frame built around a long wheelbase, relatively slack angles, generous trail and lots of tyre clearance. Even the tubular equipped Silver Ghost used the same frame, with the pads shoved down to the bottom of the adjustment range in the Weinmann CP calipers. The geometry, in conjunction with medium pressure 27"x 1-1/4" tyres gave these bicycles a plush ride but they were sluggish in terms of handling.

rhm

"Butted" means the seat tube was single butted-- butted only at the bottom; the top tube and down tube were butted at both ends, hence "double butted."

My Claud Butler Olympic Sprint is apparently straight gauge 531, but throughout. These frames were offered in both butted and plain gauge versions. Being a repaint, I don't know what the original decal said. Other examples of this model that I've seen in photos had a variety of Reynolds decals, including the usual "guaranteed built with Reynolds 531 butted tubes forks & stays" one as well as "Reynolds 531 frame tubes" and "guaranteed built with Reynolds 531 plain gauge tubes forks & stays."

No, that the decal (pretty uncommon, though; I think I've only seen it on bikes in the Raleigh Lenton series) that says "Reynolds 531 tubing" means the whole frame is 531, while "Reynolds 531 frame tubes" means just the main triangle is 531. But as the Claud Butler Olympic Sprints show, the latter decal was also used on full 531 frames.

bikemig 

I meant plain gauge.

aluminummonster

I've got a '66 or so Raleigh Carlton with plain gauge 531 (basically a twin to the Catalina and the Super Course). It's got a lively ride, but not quite the same as double-butted 531, though geometry and wheel/tire selection probably plays into that as well. It's a decently light bike too--around 24 or 25 lbs.

philbob57

My '72-ish blue/white/chrome Atala Competizione had a 531PG main triangle sticker. Doesn't make sense, but it was certainly there, and it looked like it was attached at the factory.

jetboy 

it is my understanding that "guaranteed built with Reynolds 531 butted tubes forks & stays" was misleading so they changed it (or were forced to) as the forks and stays were not butted - so later ones say "Guaranteed built with Reynolds 531 fork blades, stays and butted frame tubes"

sorry if that does not add to the database, but just to not confuse anyone that the forks or stays were butted- they are plain gauge 531 even on the higher end frames.

Vintage Raleigh

Found these in my search for period correct decals for the International courtesy of classic rendezvous and H Lloyd Cycles. Would love a 21 1/2" Supercourse II to fill the gap between the international and Grand Prix.

Reynolds tubing gallery

https://www.hlloydcycles.com/531%20hi...20aug%2015.pdf

motogeek 

The '74-'75 Motobecane Grand Jubile was a great bike with 531 straight gauge 3 main tubes. Some of the Grand Records of that same vintage may have had the same tubing.

sailorbenjamin

The Lenton GP is very similar to the Supercourse in dimensions and ride quality. I had a 531 Falcon for a while, too. Nicely made and a good rider but it didn't have the SC magic.

Senior Ryder 00 

Hi,

The Holdsworth Triomphe was an entry level club racer that was built with 531 PG and a fine rider since it was designed to be a multi use bike.

chedarhead

I have a Falcon Super Route with a straight gauge 531 triangle. It is a bit firm riding. I don't know if it is the frame or fork that makes it a harsh ride. The fork has campy dropouts but I do not know what tubes comprise the fork.

Ex Pres 

I have a 1973 Holdsworth Record built with 531 straight gauge. I need to rebuild the rear wheel before I can give it a whirl.

T-Mar

Falcon spun their Reynolds 531PG frame several ways. I've also seen them labelled as San Remo and Olympic.

CuttersRidge

The purple concord I almost got in case, a favorite team decked in purple ever do anything or even if they don't; the ride is so-so. It is worth a mention that some high tensile bikes have a more enjoyable ride such as a Raleigh Gran Prix or Motobecane Mirage. Maybe that has to do with geometry.

CuttersRidge

I would speculate that this Free Spirit Ted Williams is only made with plain gauge 531. An interesting bicycle nonetheless:
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/...477341112.html

It's a nice looking bike.