Hanging out at the Bolder Boulder 10 K cheering on family members who were running along with 52,000 others.....spotted a blue Raysport Turismo converted to a fixie.
The young hipster was proud of his bike and knew only a bit about the heritage. He was eager to learn more and almost fainted when I told him I owned a Raysport purchased from Ray Florman in 1974.
2 things came to mind during my conversation with the owner.
1) I could see that the kid was proud and would probably share the info I gave him anytime he had a chance. My word of mouth knowledge to this fixie kid was no different that what the old timers shared with me when I was entering the sport--the oral tradition of cycling. They probably sneered when I added neon green bar tape to my Raysport or tried one of the Raysport-branded Lambertini saddles Ray also imported rather than a Brooks or Ideale- the conflict of old vs. new.
2) I had completely forgotten that Ray had spec'd a touring model. It was almost Paramount in appearance (vs. the Cinelli look of the racing "Super Corsa" model) with Nervex style lugs, half-chrome fork blades and a psuedo wrap-around seat cluster. The cut out "R" bottom bracket was there, as it was on the Super Corsa. The Campy drop outs were not modified like the Super Corsa and still sported the eyelets for mounting racks or fenders.
Though set up differently than vintage guys like us might prefer, messenger style bullhorn bars, modern cranks and Velocity rims, it was still a joy to see the Raysport going into it's 35th year with style.
Brook Watts
Longmont Colorado USA