Actually, I didn't mind the copper and champagne Raleighs, and I thought the Mink Blue and Silver Raleigh Professional Mk IV with full sloping chromed fork crown and Brampton fastback stays was absolutely stunning. I finally acquired one just before Christmas after 20 years of lusting after them. The paint scheme I didn't like was the red balck and yellow Raleigh Team Pros like the TI-Raleigh team of Peter Post rode. No subtlety there. I'd probably buy that bike if I found a really great bargain, but the color would not be a plus for me.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> I have always been partial to British bikes because they just looked
damned
> "smart" in that British way. The Club bikes of the '40s and '50s were
simply
> gorgeous in a rainbow of cutting edge colours and transfers. All dash and
> flair with that essential dignity still intact.
>
> But I must say Raleigh in the 1970s just had odd colours for racing
bikes...
> browns, champagnes, coppers etc. All very '70s but somehow too subtle. One
> of the reasons I bought a Peugeot UE-8 in '74 was that compared to the
> Raleighs of the same price, it looked really fantastic and racy in that
> classic white and black. Just like a "real" racing bike should. The best
> looking Raleigh of the era in my eyes and most under-rated was the Gran
> Sport in its crisp white and medium blue. Lovely.
>
> The other horror of '70s bikes, both British and French, were those yucky
> "chrome" finish decal stickers. Many makers, Gitane, Carlton and Falcon
> especially, just plastered these all over including the seat tube. One
visit
> to the shop and the clamp stand had ruined this into a sticky, marred
mess.
> And there's nothing one can do to restore these nowadays.
>
> Peter Kohler
> Washington DC USA