The fact that older Waterfords and a Raleigh team may share 753 tubing is nearly meaningless. The Waterford uses oversize tubing which makes for a very different ride. Torsional rigidity is essentially determined ONLY by tube diameter - with tube wall thickness being of no practical concern. So while you can tune frame rigidity with respect to side deflection by altering guage, you can't use an oversize tube and reduce torsional rigidity by making it lighter. Not that this is a bad thing, it just makes things different. Some folks may prefer oversize tubes, others like skinny tubes - and I do believe that oversize tubes transmit road shock differently (in a way that I often like).
To duplicate the ride of the Raleigh 753 team (if that is what you wish to do), then perhaps aquire some kind of lightweight skinny tube frame. The current offerings from true temper actually allow for some very lightwight options.
Another possibility is to track down an actual 753 tubeset and "clone" the Raleigh team. I know that Mark Nobilette is sitting on a few sets (but I'm hoping to have him do some fresh Rene Herse bikes with the materials at some point).
Also remember that many Team 753 bikes use the Continental (french) diameters and this perhaps impacts the feel of the frame as well - with the seatube and downtube being a smidge smaller and the top tube being a smidge larger).
Now it is very possible to make a very lightweight lively frame with oversize tubes (such as Waterford uses), but it will ride somewhat different than the skinny tube bikes. Years ago I motivated Waterford to introduce the RS 22T which I think was among the very best of the road sport type models (their other models did not have enough front center to really use fenders despite their claims). For my taste, the RS22T worked wonderfully (in around the 56-58cm range) but of course, it is all very subjective.
Hope these ramblings help.
Mike Kone
Rene Herse Bicycles Inc.
Boulder CO
> hi gang,
\r?\n>
\r?\n> I've got a early 80's Raleigh Team, built with Reynolds 753 tubing.
\r?\n> It's a lovely bike, with superb craftsmanship. Possibly the best
\r?\n> production frame made??
\r?\n>
\r?\n> For better or worse, it's my fastest bike, so I tend to ride it
\r?\n> frequently. There are days, when it's hot and I'm sweating a lot, that
\r?\n> I'd rather be riding a bike that I didn't worry as much about. For that
\r?\n> reason, I've been thinking that a Waterford built from 753 might be a
\r?\n> good bike for those rougher conditions.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> A Waterford 1250 in my size was available on ebay recently, and I was
\r?\n> seriously tempted. My only question was whether it would ride similarly
\r?\n> to the Team, especially in terms of weight and stiffness. The Team
\r?\n> strikes me as being a rather light frame, especially since I ride large
\r?\n> frames.
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Does anyone know how the two compare? Or does anyone have a 61cm c-c
\r?\n> seat tube, 58cm c-c top tube 753 frame available??
\r?\n>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> regards,
\r?\n> Steve Kurt
\r?\n> Peoria, IL