I bought my Mk II in 1969 new for $289. Came with no name Campi brakes and 250 Criterium silk tires. I put a few miles on it. Did my photos come onto the list? Not sure I sent it correctly.
Jim Merz Big Sur CA
On Sun, Apr 18, 2010 at 2:57 PM, P.C. Kohler <kohl57@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I\u2019ve always wondered why Raleigh changed the whole concept of the
> Professional from the Mark I (basically the Carlton Professional frameset)
> to the Mark II (based on the Carlton Giro d\u2019Italia). They were very
> different machines, the Mark I with its 72 parallel angles and long rear
> stays was a traditional stage racing bike of its day, very much akin to the
> PX-10 (the ride is remarkably similar) with a long top tube making it a
> primo hillclimber with good handling and manners in all conditions whereas
> the Mark II was pure criterium/tt with a high bottombracket, tight rear end
> and very much hard-tailed and a bit unforgiving in its handling.
>
> It doesn\u2019t strike me as the kind of machine that would have appealed to a
> nascient American market where many were bought by guys slapping down five
> hundred dollar bills cause they \u201cwanted the best\u201d and riding it until the
> first flat and hanging it on their garage wall. Indeed, the sheer number of
> near pristine Pro frames permanently on eBay bears this out. People seem to
> have bought them but did they ride them? Oddly, I actually cycled past
> another Mark I, far rarer in numbers sold, the other day and I have YET to
> encounter a single later Mark Pro on the road or path save for Dan Artley\u2019s
> on one of his rides. Not one.
>
> The International, a far better deal, was a headscatcher, too, in that it
> was really an updated RRA in geometry and ride, a classic British \u201cclub\u201d
> machine for long day rides that were by nature uncompetitive but usually
> fast paced. Probably more suited to the American market but the tubular
> wheelset which Raleigh persisted with was not.
>
>
> Peter Kohler
> Washington DC USA