My only semi-quasi concours bike is a 72 blue Pro that has the fancy lugs and fastback stays. It's the bike I would bring to the Cirque if I was attending (several miracles would need to happen for me to attend, probably including winning the lottery, but I'll be there in spirit.) The lug lining on the CDO restoration is much neater than my bike's. Did Dale have to file up the lug edges during the resto, or does he just have a steadier hand when pin striping? And if he filed them, does this impact the originality of the bike? Bike boom Raleighs are supposed to be rough and rugged! :>)
On a related note, do any other builders use the "shot in stays" as a method of creating a fastback stay arrangement, as opposed to joining the stays to the seat binder bolt? I seem to recall a small British builder doing this, but can't recall for certain. Mercian, perhaps? Does this stay arrangement endanger the seat tube during brazing? Is there a weight penalty, due to the plate on the back of the seat tube?
Tom Adams, Kansas City
At 10:28 AM 3/27/02 -0800, you wrote:
>
>I was just checking out the CdO website and I came across a cool Raleigh
in the frame refinishing gallery. It is an older Raleigh Pro with the
Brampton Victor (sp?) seatstay arrangement. My question for you Raleigh
buffs out there is: did all the Pros with this seatstay treatment have
such ornate lugs? I don't remember ever seeing a Raleigh like this, but it
could be that I've never seen one with the B-V setup at all. I thought I
had, but I think I'd remember those lugs. Gotta get me one of those.
>
>Tom Dalton
>
>Bethlehem PA
Tom et al
Sorry, been on the road for days. This is not my beautiful desk job. The bike on Retro Raleighs is mine, and I've heard, but never been able to confirm any of several explanations for the lugs. But I have stumbled across a few other Pros with those lugs, and so far all have been blue 72s (G#### serial). If I ever get hold of something that I actually believe is a 72 catalog I might be able to compare catalog to bike. Meanwhile, yes, you gotta get you one of those.
Currently an alleged 72 on ebay but the pictures don't enlarge, so I can't
tell if it has the fancy lugs.
http://ebay.com/
I gotta go Larry "highway hypnosis" Osborn Anywhere within a 6 hour radius of Morgantown WV