Can anyone identify this bike?

It's obviously towards the bottom end of the Raleigh catalogue, but what is it? It's not mine so I can't take more/better photos.

Does it have a date stamped on rear hub? Looks circa 1980 IMHO

I don't have access to the bike, so I can't check.

There's the remains of something on the top tube. Is it 'laser' or 'quasar'?

I was going to say with those shifters and the curve in the fork low down like that it suggests a late 70's bike, but the plastic reflectors and the Raleigh script on the downtube say it's more of a lower end 80's bike. Can you find out the diameter of the seat post? If it's 25.4mm then it'll confirm it's a run-of-the-mill model.

Don't discount it as rubbish though. All Raleighs rode very well and it'll make a great winter 'beater' if it's cheap.

Old Ned":3a7fyv95 said:

There's the remains of something on the top tube. Is it 'laser' or 'quasar'?

Click to expand...

Ee by gum, you've got good eyesight!

There was a Raleigh Quasar and if you google, it looks a pretty good match.

The best way is to run the serial number on the Raleigh's website and that should give you the year it was made then Google that years catalogue and match it up.

I'm pretty sure it's not a quasar, at least not the model in the 1984 catalogue. My reasons? The Quasar was the bike I drooled over aged 13, and later I have a second-hand Pulsar, its cheaper sibling. The Quasar had braze-on shifters with very distinctive curved plastic shifter levers (albeit which broke), 501 oval tubing with a fade paint job and the characteristic Reynolds logo and space shuttle logo on the seat tube, and a different Raleigh logo. Fork crown also sloped.

It might of course be a later, cheaper model with the same name, but browsing google images only brings up the 84 model:



Part of me still longs to own this bike even though there are much better models in the catalogue.

I think the only way I'm going to solve this is to go see it. I'm not expecting much from the photo though.

I hope you find an answer, my pub bike is built on a raleigh frame identical to that. Previous owner painted it green but did a half assed job so you can see the blue where it's flaked off.

Does give a good ride though.

In case anyone comes across this thread, the bike was a Raleigh Sprint, with a 1985 date on the hubs. Spec was very basic indeed, sachs huret gears, steel rims, not even weinmann calipers fergodsake! I'm afraid the bike is no more, it has been sacrificed to the greater good of my Dawes Kingpin conversion. Maillard hubs came up a treat though.