Original Message: ----------------- From: Larry Osborn losborn2@wvu.edu Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 09:13:10 -0500 To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Raleigh Oval Headbadge
"All over the world, the famous Raleigh Herson's Head symbol is known as the mark of supreme quality in bicycles.... now, on the new Raleigh Gran sport and Raleigh Sprite models, it appears in a new, vivid form - more colourful, more in keeping with the new age of speed that these cycles are brilliantly designed and built for!"
Blah, blah, blah...!! But yes if that's what it says than this wretched oval badge (right up there with New Coke) does indeed date from 1962 since that's when the "new" Gran Sport and Sprite (NOT to be confused with the later Sprite by the way) came out. This is also the first year when Raleigh stopped using Reynolds 531 tubing and all of these new "lightweights" were anything but despite some choice components. And also the year with Raleigh was absorbed into the monolithic TI empire. All chop and change. More's the pity finding Raleigh catalogues c. 1962-70 showing the full range is so difficult. I have a '66 Raleigh US market flyer showing "The Carlton" in Reynolds 531 and that's the oldest reference I've seen to this "save the day" combination.
Peter Kohler Washington DC USA
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