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1985 Raleigh Super Course Questions.

15K views 17 replies 9 participants last post by  cehowardraleighGS 
#1 ·
If I pick up a 1985 Raleigh Super Course in good shape:

1) What's a reasonable price for one? Apparently all original being sold by the original owner.

2) Would I be able to put a Campagnolo Athena 11 Speed groupset on it?

3) Should I put a Campagnolo Athena 11 Speed groupset on it?


Thanks for any input!
 
#3 ·
The used bike market is hurting pretty bad now, prices have dropped significantly over the past year.

While the Nottingham Super Courses are generally known as decent Raleighs made with Reynolds 531. This one is not that, it is made in the USA(?) from a cheaper tube set the 555, the thing weighs 23+lbs.

Can you put a new 11 speed groupset on it, yes.
Is it worthy of Athena 11, no way!

Personally I would pass on that bike and keep looking for a nicer frame. If you had to buy it no more than $180-200, that’s if you want to be nice to the original owner.
 
#7 ·
You offered a very reasonable price, but as some mentioned the "local market" determines the price on these types of bikes. As an original owner, he has vested too many miles in the bike to part with those memories at less than "top value for an original vintage bike".
 
#8 ·
FWIW, I have an '84 Grand Course - one of the ones build in England (531 tubing). For THAT bike I paid $500 earlier this year and have been pretty satisfied, but the real value is in the hand-built frame with the quality tubing. Mine has a mix of older Campy Centaur, Mirage, and a DuraAce rear derailer and shifters.
For a US-built frame, I wouldn't have paid as much.
 
#9 ·
'84 Grand Course, with mish mash groupset, oh wow. Love to see a pic.

Yeah you wouldn't want a Sachs, Eisentraut, Masi, Confetti, DellaSanta, Bruce Gordon, Weigle, Serotta, Davidson, etc, etc.
 
#10 ·
Hard to tell if you're being sarcastic or not, but I'll try to post pics soon.

Would I rather have a Sachs, Masi, etc? Sure! But this was a bike I found locally when I was looking, and it IS a nice frame. Reynolds 531C frame & fork, windowed lugs, Gipiemme ends.... Ride is quite nice. Did I over-pay? Maybe, but compared to your average, mass-produced Trek/Giant/whatever AL frame, it is a great ride, and I don't have any regrets.

How does it compare to my Trek or my Litespeed? That's another story.

I'll post pics when I can, but meanwhile, here is a very similar one (only difference on the frame that I see is the "Triumph" badge).
https://forums.roadbikereview.com/retro-classic/1984-triumph-gran-course-raleigh-77038.html
(and a page from the '84 catalog with a small pic of the frame: https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Raleigh84/ral84_15.jpg)

All in all.. yeah, I'd rather have a classic Italian frame, but a hand-built frame from one of the better British shops? The ride has been worth the $$ I spent.
 
#13 ·
But can be stretched. My '84 Gran Course will take a 9-speed Shimano without too much effort, but something you may want to consider is that if stretching the rear out for a modern rear wheel, you may want to have a shop align the drop-outs to keep them square against the axel. Simply bending the frame outward may lead to some alignment issues, and I've heard a FEW cases of people complaining of broken dropouts or broken axels, but YMMV.


If the dropout spacing is 130mm, will it matter?
 
#12 ·
But can be stretched. My '84 Gran Course will take a 9-speed Shimano without too much effort, but something you may want to consider is that if stretching the rear out for a modern rear wheel, you may want to have a shop align the drop-outs to keep them square against the axel. Simply bending the frame outward may lead to some alignment issues, and I've heard a FEW cases of people complaining of broken dropouts or broken axels, but YMMV.
 
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