Carl, are you sure about the tubing? All the Raleigh Competitions I ever heard of used 531 and I'm pretty sure Reynolds 501 was not made until considerably later than 1972. Maybe someone replaced a missing 531 sticker with an incorrect one. I think a 1972 Competition would have had Huret Jubilee Derailleurs, TA three arm cranks, and Normandy Competition hubs. Early Competitions had Zeus Competition cranks and maybe some other Zeus bits, but I think that was before 1972. Your brakes and levers are probably original. Later, maybe circa 1980, Raleigh sold the Competition GS with also Campy Nuovo Grand Sport components, including a Campy three arm GS crank. Don't know if English made Competitions ever used Japanese components. If so it was probably well into the 80's. Also don't know if Raleigh USA used the Competition model name after Raleigh sold the US rights to the Raleigh brand, or what component such a Raleigh USA Competition might have had. Such a Raleigh USA model could even have had Reynolds 501 tubing, but it would have been much later than 1972, and would not have had Carlton decals, or Weinmann 999 brakes.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Carl Gonzalez wrote:
> I have just acquired a 1972 (I'm almost positive about the year) Raleigh
> Competition bike with frame by Carlton Works. The frame is Reynolds 501 as
> are the forks. Paint and finish are in remarkably good condition. My
> question are concerning the components on this thing and they are as
> follows:
>
> 1. The crank had been replaced with a late model Shimano. What would be a
> "fittin' and proper" crank for this bike, or what might have been original
> in a a mid-priced brit such as this?
> 2. The FD, RD and levers are Suntour V. Looking at Frank Berto's stuff
> he's written, I would think that these were probably original. What's your
> opinion?
> 3. There is an SR Laprade seatpost being used, the one that looks like a
> Campy NR. Were these available in the early seventies?
> 4. The wheel set was upgraded from a tubular set of unknown origin.
> Currently they are Mavic Modele 3 rims laced to Miche hubs (the ones that
> look like Campy Record). What might have been on this bike originally and
> are the current one OK from a 'correctness' point of view?
> 5. The bike has Cycle Pro QRs. Was Cycle Pro around then?
>
> Even though the bike has Weinmann long reach 999 brakes, the levers have
> Carlton hoods. Pretty cool I think. Thanks for your help.
>
> Carl Gonzalez
> bikecg@att.net