djoptix
Senior Retro Guru
Here's a quick post on my latest arrival. It's my sincere hope that this arrival will be the last for a while, and I'll be down to a hardcore of my Holdsworth road bike, DMR modern MTB and this - for everything in between "proper road" and "proper off-road", hopefully with some long tours figuring.
It's a 1991 Raleigh Randonneur, a bike I've been after for a while. My dad has one of the 708 ones and I have long been a bit jealous! For Randonneur novice - it was Raleigh's attempt to compete with the Dawes Super Galaxy, which had the high-end touring market sewn up. Raleigh are generally considered to have gone one better with the Randonneur, although Super Galaxy riders will of course have a different opinion!
I grabbed it on the 'bay for a princely £150. It's been a bit neglected, and also well-used... but the main thing is that underneath is a fantastic 531ST frame, in my size (huge), with the required "fast touring" angles, with cantis and all the mudguard/rack/bottle mounts you can shake a stick at.
Of course there are going to have to be some changes. The hideous chainset must go. Bars will be changed for drops, so I need some brifters. Awful saddle will go and my Flite Ti that I've been squirreling will go on in its place. Blackburn front lowrider rack to match the back... the list goes on, but the base is there!
It's a 1991 Raleigh Randonneur, a bike I've been after for a while. My dad has one of the 708 ones and I have long been a bit jealous! For Randonneur novice - it was Raleigh's attempt to compete with the Dawes Super Galaxy, which had the high-end touring market sewn up. Raleigh are generally considered to have gone one better with the Randonneur, although Super Galaxy riders will of course have a different opinion!
I grabbed it on the 'bay for a princely £150. It's been a bit neglected, and also well-used... but the main thing is that underneath is a fantastic 531ST frame, in my size (huge), with the required "fast touring" angles, with cantis and all the mudguard/rack/bottle mounts you can shake a stick at.
Of course there are going to have to be some changes. The hideous chainset must go. Bars will be changed for drops, so I need some brifters. Awful saddle will go and my Flite Ti that I've been squirreling will go on in its place. Blackburn front lowrider rack to match the back... the list goes on, but the base is there!
