Top end vintage off-the-peg Raleigh tourers - Classic versus Randonneur...

[biggs682]

If you have a randonneur and a classic @Methersgate then you are a lucky person

 

[Methersgate]

The Randonneur is new to me. Because they are very very similar I can use the Classic to practice with (“training” would suggest a lot more work than I put in!)

 

[Methersgate]

What have we here?



Raleigh Classic, nearside rear dropout, with a period-correct Jim Blackburn carrier not bolted onto the braze-on because a metric bolt was not at all happy and since I disapprove of people who wreck old frames I didn’t force the issue…

Were Raleigh using BA threads when this bike was made? Or am I missing something else?

 

[AmandaLargson33]

As the years have dragged by I've increasingly seen the appeal of older, nicely-made stuff, over arguably technically-superior modern offerings.

As such going slowly on a really nice vintage tourer appeals far more than smashing it on a modern plastic racer, and I've long-ago accepted that were the right bike to come up at the right place not-too-far-away then I'd turn a blind eye to the bike embargo.

A Raleigh Randonneur has always been top of the tree; ideally a 3x7sp 531 model in the classic two-tone gunmetal grey with white head tube (1987-1990?). I've always had a soft spot for the earlier Raleigh Classic however (1984-85?); which I believe was the fore-runner to the Randonneur as Nottingham's touring top-dog.

I think the burgundy / silver Classic just edges the Randonneur on aesthetic grounds; espcially with its lovely chromed forks and chainstays. Practically the Randonneur's 3x6 (or later 3x7) gearing trumps the 3x5 of the Classic. Not sure how the centre-pull Weinmann calipers of the Classic compare to the Shimano cantis on the Randonneur.

The Classic just pre-dates Shimano's rise to dominance in the components market; with the aforementioned Weinmann calipers, that gorgeous six-spoke Sakae crankset and other bits from Huret and Suntour. The Randonneur on the other hand has mostly Shimano running gear, complete with the ill-fated Biopace elliptical crankset that was all the rage for about 10 minutes when the bike was available.

Perhaps the biggest turn-off for the Classic is its archaic 27x1/8" rims versus the much-better-catered for 700C on the Randonneur.

Both have Brookes saddles (which look the part, although I don't particularly get on with them), while the Randonneur has proper brown bar tape and the Classic that horrible '80s black pipe lagging; although given the years elapsed both have probably crumbled and been replaced numerous times on surviving examples.

Which do you prefer and why?

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I’d probably take the Classic, purely because it has more character. That burgundy/silver paint, chrome forks and those Sakae cranks are hard to resist, even if the 27" wheels make it a slightly awkward choice today. The Randonneur is definitely the more sensible machine, though, especially with 700C and the extra gearing. But if the whole point is enjoying an old bike, maybe “sensible” is missing the point! Would you actually ride the Classic regularly, or would it become more of a Sunday-afternoon treasure?

 

[Methersgate]

I’d probably take the Classic, purely because it has more character. That burgundy/silver paint, chrome forks and those Sakae cranks are hard to resist, even if the 27" wheels make it a slightly awkward choice today. The Randonneur is definitely the more sensible machine, though, especially with 700C and the extra gearing. But if the whole point is enjoying an old bike, maybe “sensible” is missing the point! Would you actually ride the Classic regularly, or would it become more of a Sunday-afternoon treasure?

My Classic was rebuilt and modernised by its last owner; different wheels (700C) brakes (TektroR559) and drive train. It still looks gorgeous but it stops better!

 

[Hover Fly]

What have we here?

View attachment 823321

Raleigh Classic, nearside rear dropout, with a period-correct Jim Blackburn carrier not bolted onto the braze-on because a metric bolt was not at all happy and since I disapprove of people who wreck old frames I didn’t force the issue…

Were Raleigh using BA threads when this bike was made? Or am I missing something else?

My RRA* frame of 1984 has metric fender eyes 5mm. Perhaps on yours the chrome is a bit thick, but then again presumably your frame was fitted with a rack when it was first built.
* RRA, Classic and Gran Tour were all the same frame design in different paint schemes.

 

[Methersgate]

My RRA* frame of 1984 has metric fender eyes 5mm. Perhaps on yours the chrome is a bit thick, but then again presumably your frame was fitted with a rack when it was first built.
* RRA, Classic and Gran Tour were all the same frame design in different paint schemes.

Thanks! As you say, the bike would have been sold with a Blackburn carrier… I think I was just being too gentle. I’ll give it another go.