Folks,
I emailed larry Osborn to thank him for his "rant" about serial numbers at Raleigh, and made the mistake of telling him I no longer own either of my Raleigh Pro Mk IVs:
"Both my Raleigh Pros (MK IVs, 52 CM) are gone now: one was stolen in 1975, one was re-tubed after a crash (got hit by a car) and subsequently sold. The one I sold had a G series serial #, but it has a redesigned front end (not very successful, BTW) of Vitus 971 tubing so it's a Frankenbike anyway, wherever it is...."
Larry immediately suggested that I should buy another Raleigh. (That would cause extreme domestic financial and emotional discord right now, so is not an option. :-)
But guess what showed up on ebay in my size, just to tease me?
VINTAGE TEAM RALEIGH RECORD REYNOLDS 531 FRAME (In my size, no less: 50 CM seat c-c x 55 CM Top c-c)
Check out ebay #400032976224. It looks very nice, and would probably fit me and ride better than my two Mark IVs, but it's out of my reach until I'm working again...
Regards,
Jon Spangler who may become a re-convert to Raleigh after some future economic stimulation in Alameda, CA USA