Identifying a Raleigh road bike model

[am505]

Hi,
Was hoping someone could help me identify a Raleigh model I've been offered. Only saw it briefly yesterday and unfortunately forgot to take any photos or note down a serial number, so I realise this is pretty vague! I can get them later if this really is a lost cause, but I was hoping there might be a Raleigh boffin out there who might be able to help me. It's not a model i've seen before and it doesn't seem to fit into any of the obvious categories - super course, competiton, grand prix etc. Stylistically it's quite similar to the red/yellow/black professional- has basically the same raleigh logo on the down tube, has the same ti logo on the forks (so I guess it's later than 1960), has half-chromed forks and stays, is 531 tubed and says club sport on the top tube. The main colour is white with yellow headtube and writing and red trim. I think it has cottered cranks as well. Hopefully that terrible description makes some sense to someone. Cheers

 

[roadrash]

is it like this
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=w...nbrown.com%2Fretroraleighs%2Frra.html;938;602

 

[am505]

Cheers for the reply. Very similar- although it has Raleigh written inside the yellow on the down tube. It's basically exactly like this professional model.

Although it's white where this is red, says club sport instead of team raleigh and the logo on the seat tube is red where this one is yellow and yellow in place of the black.

 

[roadrash]

if it is that one it was only available in 1973

 

[Cycleops]

That's a difficult one. If it's Raleigh Ti then it will be about late seventies on. If it has 531 tubes and forks it is fairly unlikely to have originally come with cotter end steel chainset. Sorry can't be more helpful, maybe someone will be along who recognises the model. Incidentally you buy a modern version of the Raleigh Team replica pictured from Halfords for two grand!

 

[am505]

No it's definitely not this actual model - I'd love if it was, it's nowhere near that higher quality. That's just the model it most resembles. It's weird though I would just think it's a replica of this in a different colour scheme - but it's higher quality than the europa with the chromed tubes and the fact that it's 531 - it does seem to be a model in it's right but i've been through most of the catalogues I can find and can't seem to find it. I'm estimating it's a 60s model with the cottered cranks.

 

[am505]

No worries, it is a bit of a long shot without pictures- the guys away for a few days so I'll be able to get some photos and a few more details then. Yeh thats what I thought, it does seem to be a bit of a mix and match of quality level, with the 531 tubes and cottered cranks, and to be honest it looked like a later model than 60s but I was just dating then on the basis of cottered cranks. So does the presence of the ti label mean it's late seventies? Because I knew they amalgamated in 1960, but I didn't know if they only started putting the ti logo on the bikes when the team were in existence or before?

 

[midlife]

Did it say Gran Sport and not Club Sport?

Shaun

 

[am505]

No, it does definitely say Club Sport. That's what the confusing thing is, because as far as I was aware I was familiar with most of the 60s/70s/80s raleigh models but I was a little bit stumped by this Club Sport. I thought just a simple google would tell me a bit more about it but I've literally not been able to find a single thing on it.

 

[midlife]

I didn't recognise it either, I worked in a Raleigh 5 star Dealer in the 70's and came across most if not all UK Raleigh bikes. I wonder if it's a USA model or simply a one-off and not a factory line?

Shaun

 

[am505]

yeh it's a bit of a funny one, i've been through pages and pages of images and not seen a single one of it. Was just hoping I could find out a bit more to determine whether the £180 he's asking for it is a fair price. The guy who's selling unfortunately knows next to nothing about it, as it was his uncles bike or something, and has just been gathering dust in their attic for about 30 years. It's just a slightly difficult model to work out in terms of quality. The 531 tubing and the chromed forks and stays make me think it is of reasonable quality, but then things like the cottered cranks and plastic shifters make me think perhaps not. Does anyone buy any chance know if the rule about direction of the 531 on sticker always apply? ie diagonal for all tubes, horizontal only some of the tubes. Because I'm pretty sure it was horizontal on this one.

 

[midlife]

H LLoyd has a good PDF file on their website with the 531 decal timeline....... 30 odd years ago puts it in my era and I'm struggling. Chrome BITDusualy meant something from the Carlton stable.

Shaun

 

[am505]

had a look at that page - id have to see the label again but I remember it being very simple and relatively old looking, and based on that page it appears to confirm what I thought, somewhere between mid 60s/early 70s. I guess I'll have to see it again and look for a serial number before I can say with any certainty.

 

[midlife]

"Club Sport" was an old name even when I started as a youngster, Viking used to re-use their old 50's and 60s' names in the 70's like "Severn Valley" but anything Club Sport was a memory for me. Carlton kept their Clubman.......... might be older than you think

Shaun

 

[Drago]

Things are even more confused since the advent of the interweb as a 531 decal no longer automatically denotes a real 531 frame.