Hi list. I must agree with Peter Kohler regarding the build quality of the RRA. They are quite superb. They are so good in fact I have often wondered if they were actually built in house or were they contracted to a outside builder? They were built in fairly small numbers ; and are so much different from the normal Raleigh products, that an outside builder would make sense. Does anyone have any further information? My own example unfortunately doesn't have the chrome plating that is typically seen on RRA's. I suspect it was probably built in 1953, during the Korean war chrome shortage. Does anyone else have one that has a totally painted frame? And the paint on mine is also not up to normal RRA standards. It is painted in a rather curious way, there is a high gloss black under coat that is of a typical Raleigh high quality. The top coat is polychromatic medium green and has not fared well over the years. It has become very brittle and will almost rub off in your hands. Perhaps they were using a new paint chemistry that still had some problems. I have a polychromatic red Claude Buttler from about the same year that is in a similar state of brittleness. Does anyone know if the early polychromatic paints were generally susceptible to this type of deterioration?
Greg Lone Langley B.C. Canada
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