My first decent bike was an '81 "Super Course 12" that I bought as a leftover in 1983; probably one of the last Carlton Raleighs sold new in these parts. It was a 21.5 inch frame, with a 57cm top tube, a steep head angle and a "wee high" bottom bracket. The guys at the shop thought that the bike was at the top end of my personal size range. "Well, it's not a 'race' fit."... But that bike was a very comfortable, fast and agile machine. Somehow that bike worked; the handling was both quick and stable. -Why don't more builders make the seat tube slack and the head tube steep instead of the other way around? Huh? I'd like to know really. Because the opposite is common, and the bikes are all wrong; you have to slam the saddle all the way back on the seat rails and the front end is floppy.
My Super Course 12 had the usual 531 main tubes and "who-knows-what" fork and stays, SunTour GS chrome plated dropouts and a very bold red paint job with white transfers. The top-tube/head-tube lug had a rather typical brazing gap that the detail painters carefully over shot when they did the gold lug linings. The Raleigh Heron headbadge was listing to port a degree or two. What character! Well, a pint with bangers and mash gives one a tilted reference... I would probably still recognize that bike today, even with a new paint job and a totally different component set. "Hey, that's my bike!"
It came stock with SunTour VX derailleurs, SunTour barcons, and the sweetest SR Sakae copy of a Super Record crank that I have ever seen. Talk about "value-programming"... That bike set my standard for life. My roommates had dead-boring-dull Univega Sport Tours. The back to back test ride comparisons were unquestionable. My Raleigh was alive, the Univega was a doornail. The Japanese could produce components and paint well, but that entry-level Raleigh had feel that the entry level Univega lacked. The main frame tubes made that tell-tale ringing sound when you snapped your fingernail to them. The Univega made a 'thunk' sound.
I paid $269 for that Super Course 12, down from the list price of $439. Geesh. I had some wheels built up for it the year before I sold it; MA40s on Campy Record hubs with 15guage DT spokes. Oh, what a boost those wheels gave to that bike! It was like a new machine! The Look PP76 pedals were next... And the Athena derailleur. And it was tuned to the zenith!
I think that the bikes you remember aren't always the best, most expensive or desirable. They're the ones that make you learn and feel something new. Speed, joy, maneuverability, pride, accomplishment, satisfaction.
I sold the bike for $275 when I "matured" to 53cm frames, aero brake levers and index shifting. I'm not to the point of missing that bike yet ( I have other diversions), but I question my motivation for selling it, especially now that I'm riding old 21.5 inch Raleighs, 54cm Herons and Rivendells, and enjoying big frame fit and the challenge and satisfaction of riding friction shifting bikes. Again. - I'm right back where I started, but in a different league.
The Super Course model had a varied and long life. Older examples with stamped dropouts, cottered cranks and other sub-standard components have no appeal to me. But if I came across a bike like the one I sold in '91, my wallet would surrender.
It would be a nice daily rider.
Ed.
> CR
> My 1973 Raleigh Super Course has standard English threading in the bottom
> bracket, as does my friend's. His has proprietary Raleigh threading in the
> headset. I don't know if mine does, I've overhauled it but did not check
> out that aspect; the headsets on our Supercourses is to outer appearances
> identical to the headset on my early Sixties Carlton, which has standard
> threads. Raleigh headset spares are easy to come by.
>
> Supercourses ride nicely and are both practical and rugged. Whether or not
> the one you have found is a good deal may depend on where you are, what
> else is available, and how much effort would be required to seek
> alternatives. In some places, a VGC Supercourse on sale in a shop for $150
> would be a fantastic deal, especially if the rear derailleur has been
> replaced with a Suntour or Shimano. They make good single/fixed bikes,
too.
>
> Chris Barbour
> Boston, Mass.