Thinking back on this, to when I was around 15 or 16, the price of these bikes was naturally a very sensitive consideration. Had I not known the real difference between Reynolds 531 and "HiTen 1024", or between cottered and cotterless, steel rims vs. alloy, etc., I would have likely bought the Grand prix. After buying my Red 23" MkII, I thought the frame was a bit loud (to bright) looking, too good for the school bike rack, but I really liked that bike and even (loaded) toured Nova Scotia with AYH for three weeks on it as a 16-yr old. Now I've got a dumpster-find, gold, mosquito-lugged Supercourse frame in the same size hanging in my garage. The geometry, roughly 58X56, 73X73 is the big draw for me, exactly what I would order if I ever needed a custom-built frame. A similar, but steeper Black Competition G.S. bike in the same size also fits me perfectly.
David Snyder
(3-1/2) 1970's Raleighs now in
Auburn, CA, USA
> On ebay and craigslist I have been looking for a mid-70's Super Course
> MK2 in a prime size (23.5") for about two years. I'd estimate that
> only about 6-12 MK2's TOTAL have appeared in that size in that timeframe.
>
> This is the red/white or green/white bike, 531 plain gauge, prugnat
> lugs, with a Nervar/Huret drivetrain and weinmann centerpulls.
>
> Can somebody who worked at a Raleigh bikeshop back then tell me if
> perhaps the SuperCourse MK2 sold poorly? Or were customers counseled
> to buy the Grand Prix because the SuperCourse was hardly better? I
> think the paint on these is beautiful.
>
> Whereas there are 5 raleigh grand prix's on Ebay at any given moment,
> and 3 Raleigh Super Course MK1's on ebay at any given moment, it seems
> that about one bike of this type (1974-1976) shows up once a month on
> ebay. (I know there are two right, its a SuperCourse MK2 storm so i
> finally got the nerve to ask this question ...)
>
> Did customers dislike this bike for some reason??
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA, USA