I like those Gazelle bicycles .
I have a matching pair of well-made , lower-price , Gazelles .
One is a circa 1972-1973 Raleigh Grand Prix , made in Holland ( Raleigh TI owned Gazelle at that time ) .
The other is a similar vintage , similar price range , Gazelle Tour De L'Avenir .
Doing a "compare and contrast" between them is very interesting . I don't have my Grand Prix right here for a comparison . But , looking at the Gazelle , and a Raleigh catalog . . .
They have the same fork crowns ( Wagner forged box crown ) . They have similar , but not identical , lugs . Bottom bracket shell may be the same . Brazed-on bottom bracket cable guides are the same . They both have that wonderful , graceful , arching , rear-brake-cable-housing-stop-bridge , above the normal seat stay bridge , that Raleigh used on everything from the Grand Prix , on up to the International . That tiny triangle of steel , brazed onto the down tube , to keep the shift levers from slipping ( WHAT is the correct term for that again ? ) , is absolutely identical . It has the same little dimple in the middle to make brazing easier . The amount of chrome on the front fork is the same . The little striped decals , on the fork blades , where the paint stops and the chrome begins , are absolutely identical . And , although some components had been changed before it came to me , the Gazelle arrived at my house with genuine , early 1970's , Raleigh 501 pedals , just as used on my Grand Prix . They drew the line at the crankset however . No Raleigh herons on the Gazelle crankset . The Gazelle has a nice average steel cottered crankset ( Nervar maybe ? ) .
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas
I've been offered a Gazelle Super Mondial but can't find much information about it on the web.
I believe it's a Dutch bike, all 531, and appears to be about 20 years old.
According to the owner, it's equipped with:
Brooks Pro Weinmann 605 brakes Sachs-Maillard hubs Campagnolo 10 speed drive train Campagnolo seat pin and quill stem
Can anyone shed any light on this model? Good, bad or indifferent?
Thanks, Bruce in Dundee, Scotland, where the first snow storm of the year is but a day or two away. :-(