78 Raleigh Professional

[p nut]

I’ve been casually looking at a vintage ~70’s project and saw this Raleigh Professional. 1978, Mark V. Anything I should know about this model? It says 57cm, but looks like TT is 56.

Raleigh Professional Mk V Reynolds 531 frameset 57cm 1978 road vintage frame https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F14 2791403181

I was also interested in the International with its pretty lugs.

[thunderworks]

I owned a bike shop from the mid 1970's through the 1990's. I sold a bunch of Raleigh top end bikes in the 70's. The Pro was a terrific riding bike. Construction detail was average at best, but the ride was great. The International with the Nervex lugs was a longer wheelbase, more relaxed ride. The Pro had relatively short chainstays, fairly steep head and seat angles (for the era), was normally spec'd with Campy NR equipment, tubular tires, Brooks Pro saddle, etc. Sort of an iconic high-performance model of the era. My "big-picture" summary of most Raleigh bikes in the 1970's was that they were nice riding bikes, but you should never look too closely at the construction quality. Average at best . . .

[paredown]

thunderworks pretty much covered it--all I would add is that the top tubes tended to be short for the larger frame sizes--they did not scale them much past about 57cm

Peter Kohler has been buying these up--and has a really good write up here:
http://www.ipernity.com/doc/286349/20676921

He's said more than once on Classic Rendezvous that there seems to be a lot of Pros out there--and a lot that were barely ridden (or at least that's what he's found). If you want to build period, I'd probably look for one that has all the bits--start buying vintage Campagnolo can get expensive pretty quickly....

[Ralph]

When I started riding seriously, in the mid 70's, around here anyway choices were either a P13 Schwinn Paramount (which I rode) or a Raleigh Pro. Both full Campy NR. The Raleigh International lined up against the Paramount P10 or P15 (I had a P15 once....Campy Triple Crank, Centerpull brakes and Suntour RD) models. The Raleigh's were real nice bikes in their day. Workmanship....like the Paramounts….nothing to brag about. But nothing was much better then. I remember how crude some Colnago's (I believe) were at local bike shop.

[PSJoyce]

In the mid 70's -- THAT was the bike hanging in the shop window that I wanted.

[Hellgate]

Very nice frameset at a great price.

I've very much enjoyed building my PX10 up to 1980 OEM spec. I can see that frameset being the same good base, but with better attention to detail.

Regardless, 531, is a very nice ride.

BUY IT!



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[mcteague]

When I got my first 10 speed, back in high school in the early 70s, I drooled over the high end bikes like the Pro when all I could afford was the Grand Prix. Looking at the frames now they look positively crude compared to modern steel frames.

Tim

[merckx]

I was absolutely bonkers for an International in the early 70's. Reynolds, Nervex and Campag. had me delirious. I thought that I was being pragmatic because it was within reach. Mum said no.

[merckx]

I thought these were pretty sharp. Just one rung up from the Grand Prix which was where I settled.

[jemoryl]

In the mid 70's -- THAT was the bike hanging in the shop window that I wanted.

Same here. When I went off to college one of the guys I used to ride with had one of these and he loved the ride. Besides the Pro and the International, the shop in town also had a less expensive model which had 531 main tubes, black and gold paint scheme, Huret Jubilee derailleurs and some sort of French crank (Nervex?). Anyone recall what model that was?

[p nut]

Thanks for all the info. Looks like something worth looking into. I'd like to try and find the geometry chart for it (if something like that exists).

[merckx]

Same here. When I went off to college one of the guys I used to ride with had one of these and he loved the ride. Besides the Pro and the International, the shop in town also had a less expensive model which had 531 main tubes, black and gold paint scheme, Huret Jubilee derailleurs and some sort of French crank (Nervex?). Anyone recall what model that was?

Competition. I did my first century when I was twelve. I barrowed my older brother's Gitane 10 speed because I was still riding a Raleigh Sports three speed at the time. A guy on the ride had a Competition. I followed that wheel for as long as I could so that I could enjoy the sacred air of that machine.

[zennmotion]

Somebody else probably has better information, but didn't (at least some of) those 70s Raleighs have a proprietary BB width? I remember a few years back trying to put an old Raleigh (Gran Prix? Competition? or something...) on the road with a kid at the local co-op. We could not find a bottom bracket to fit the shell- IIRC, the issue was a shell that was wider than 68mm and we couldn't find a spindle that would fit, until another Raleigh was pulled from a junk heap... I think the BB shell was 70mm or something weird.

[Timdog]

Somebody else probably has better information, but didn't (at least some of) those 70s Raleighs have a proprietary BB width? I remember a few years back trying to put an old Raleigh (Gran Prix? Competition? or something...) on the road with a kid at the local co-op. We could not find a bottom bracket to fit the shell- IIRC, the issue was a shell that was wider than 68mm and we couldn't find a spindle that would fit, until another Raleigh was pulled from a junk heap... I think the BB shell was 70mm or something weird.

Interestingly, Sheldon Brown has written about this in his article titled" old bikes". It's true that Raleigh's had a lot of parts that would only fit their bicycles since they made their own parts.

[tv_vt]

Yeah, you're talking my era here. Also had a Super Course and my partner had an International (that was too big for her). The Professional was one of the 'it' bikes, for sure. Would love to try out a 60cm one now.

[NHAero]

I had a Raleigh Pro briefly in college, early 1970s. I thought it was a twitchy handling bike, and sold it to a friend that was comfortable on it. He moved to Boulder years later so when I went to visit I often got to ride the Pro up and down the canyons (he'd moved on to something more modern by then) and I still thought it was twitchy!

[longlist]

i own one of these. all original. mint condition.

[sg8357]

[snip] Looking at the frames now they look positively crude compared to modern steel frames.

Tim

Raleigh was the Schwinn of Britain, mass market frame not ridden
by the keen clubmen. The paceliner of the 1950s and earlier would
have ridden a frame made in a local local shop. The shop would have
a builder on premises or would have a small builder make them up.

[merckx]

Raleigh was the Schwinn of Britain, mass market frame not ridden
by the keen clubmen. The paceliner of the 1950s and earlier would
have ridden a frame made in a local local shop. The shop would have
a builder on premises or would have a small builder make them up.

I don't think there is any pretense that the frames weren't rubbish. Nostalgia is an intoxicating perfume. At that time they hit the marks of exotica and aesthetics.

[jumphigher]

i own one of these. all original. mint condition.

Would love to see a few pics if you care post some. :)

[longlist]

i will take some. have to figure how to post them.

[Tandem Rider]

I worked for a Raleigh dealer in the '70s. owned a few Internationals (room for Campionato del Mondos), got a good look at the whole line as the various models passed through my workstand. The low end models had parts made by Raleigh, basically that meant Whitworth threads on BB's headsets, and axles. They were basically English Schwinns, solid bikes.