Bikelover2
Raleigh Gran Tour
I was checking the local Craigslist in Vancouver, B.C. as well as Seattle looking for a sport/light tourer and came across this 1983 ( or '84 ) 59 cm Gran Tour in Seattle. Some searching on the internet showed it was sold as a frame only - hand built from Reynolds 531C in the ilkeston shop where the racing bikes were also made which was called SBDU or Specialist Bicycle Development Unit of Raleigh. Good company I guess! It was purchased in England by the original owner, who also had an older Carlton he decided to restore and sell the Gran Tour. I have found out very little about this particular model, coming across 7 other examples on the internet, my guess is they were built from 1983 - 1986 when the ilkeston shop was then closed and moved to Nottingham as I have not found it shown in any catalogs past 1985 but I am still looking into it.The bike supposedly had center pull brakes originally but was equipped with Shimano 600 side pulls and levers when purchased, I replaced them with Tektro R539 side pulls and Tektro levers. It had a rather ugly gray Avenir seat so I put a Brooks B17 Special on along with a Nitto Technomic stem and 44cm Noddle handlebars with leather tape. It came with a Cinelli 1A stem and Cinelli Giro D'Italia 42 cm bars which did not work for me unfortunately. I found the Shimano 600 pedals too narrow so replaced them with MKS Sylvan Touring and also put on some Soma New Xpress 35mm 700C tires. Otherwise everything else is as I found it. The rims are Super Champion 36H clinchers with Shimano 600 hubs. Six speed 13- 34 freewheel and Sugino 48/34 crank set. Rear derailleur is a Shimano DX long cage with a Deer Head front as well as 600 down tube levers. Shimano 600 head set. The saddle bag and rear panniers are from Carradice, along with a Tubus Logo rack which I added for light loads - easy to take off the panniers which is a nice feature. there are no rear rack mounts so I had to use p clamps. I intend to install some hammered fenders in the near future as well. I really like the black and gold paint scheme with the chrome and the bike itself is very stable, handles great and it tracks beautifully hands off, in fact it is the most stable bike in that regard I have ridden. Very fortunate to have found it in my size as the Light weight Reynolds 531C tubing gives a comfortable ride, that and the longer 44 cm chain stays along with the 35mm tires is a great combination. The paint and decals are a little worse for wear but I intend to keep the original finish - chrome is pretty good overall.
Raleigh Gran Tour
I was checking the local Craigslist in Vancouver, B.C. as well as Seattle looking for a sport/light tourer and came across this 1983 ( or '84 ) 59 cm Gran Tour in Seattle. Some searching on the internet showed it was sold as a frame only - hand built from Reynolds 531C in the ilkeston shop where the racing bikes were also made which was called SBDU or Specialist Bicycle Development Unit of Raleigh. Good company I guess! It was purchased in England by the original owner, who also had an older Carlton he decided to restore and sell the Gran Tour. I have found out very little about this particular model, coming across 7 other examples on the internet, my guess is they were built from 1983 - 1986 when the ilkeston shop was then closed and moved to Nottingham as I have not found it shown in any catalogs past 1985 but I am still looking into it.The bike supposedly had center pull brakes originally but was equipped with Shimano 600 side pulls and levers when purchased, I replaced them with Tektro R539 side pulls and Tektro levers. It had a rather ugly gray Avenir seat so I put a Brooks B17 Special on along with a Nitto Technomic stem and 44cm Noddle handlebars with leather tape. It came with a Cinelli 1A stem and Cinelli Giro D'Italia 42 cm bars which did not work for me unfortunately. I found the Shimano 600 pedals too narrow so replaced them with MKS Sylvan Touring and also put on some Soma New Xpress 35mm 700C tires. Otherwise everything else is as I found it. The rims are Super Champion 36H clinchers with Shimano 600 hubs. Six speed 13- 34 freewheel and Sugino 48/34 crank set. Rear derailleur is a Shimano DX long cage with a Deer Head front as well as 600 down tube levers. Shimano 600 head set. The saddle bag and rear panniers are from Carradice, along with a Tubus Logo rack which I added for light loads - easy to take off the panniers which is a nice feature. there are no rear rack mounts so I had to use p clamps. I intend to install some hammered fenders in the near future as well. I really like the black and gold paint scheme with the chrome and the bike itself is very stable, handles great and it tracks beautifully hands off, in fact it is the most stable bike in that regard I have ridden. Very fortunate to have found it in my size as the Light weight Reynolds 531C tubing gives a comfortable ride, that and the longer 44 cm chain stays along with the 35mm tires is a great combination. The paint and decals are a little worse for wear but I intend to keep the original finish - chrome is pretty good overall.