I share your love for that bicycle. I worked in a Raleigh shop from 1970 to 1974. We called that color "Champagne" ( Champagne/Mink), but I don't know what the official color is. There seems to be many more "blue/mink" ones around. I saw a Champagne Pro on e-bay awhile back. It was spectacular. I would have loved to own it. I think it sold for around $2000. Someday I'll get a Pro from somewhere. I also loved the 1972 International as much. (I think it was green, "chartreuse"--before the copper one.)
Enjoy
Tom Witt
Troy, Idaho
> I'm having the BEST day! Getting ready to drive/ferry up to Nova
> Scotia to see The Oysterband and Fairport Convention at the Stan
> Rogers Folk Festival, I dropped into the shop to see if the new Harry
> Turtledove had arrived from Amazon.com, and it had so I'm going to be
> well fixed for vacation reading even if I finish the U.S. Grant
> Autobioigraphy I'm reading on my PDA.
>
> ...but wait, there's more!
>
> My Raleigh Pro is back from Brian's tender ministrations!
>
> I've been in love with Gold/silver Raleigh Pros since the first time
> I ever saw one, back in the early '70s. This was the first bike I
> ever saw with Campagnolo brakes (which I thought were good at the
> time) also the first with a sloping fork crown, and the simple
> elegant lug design was like a breath of fresh air after the
> proliferation of Nervexes and their imitators.
>
> This was also the first bike I ever saw with a 6-speed freewheel, and
> that lovely fastback seat cluster...oooooooh!
>
> I've had the opportunity to ride a couple, a 23 1/2 which was a bit
> too small, and a 25 1/2 which was too big.
>
> A while back I was offered a Pro frameset for cheap, 'cause it had a
> crack in the bottom bracket. It was a 24 1/2, with a short top tube,
> just my size, and I snapped it up. It was really beat, and was the
> mink blue, not my preferred gold color, I figured I could maybe slap
> a bit of braze into the crack and it would work. I asked about the
> best way to do this and Brian Baylis kindly replied with bad news and
> good news. The bad news was that the only real fix was to replace
> the bottom bracket...but the good news was that he would be willing
> to do this on a barter basis!
>
> I won't get a chance to build this up 'til I get back from Nova
> Scotia, but it's just lovely. I opted for an investment-cast bb
> rather than the more "authentic" pressed steel one, and had bottle
> mounts installed on the down tube...I don't intend to represent this
> as a "restoration" more as an "interpretation." Brian did a gorgeous
> job with the paint and decals, looks just like an original one only
> better! I'll be building it up as a fixed gear, natch...it's a
> perfect candidate--no major shift braze ons (only the chainstay,
> where removing the stop would have messed up the chrome) and the
> wonderful C
> ampagnolo 1010a dropouts, the ideal setup for a fixed gear.
>
> I'll be putting pictures on the Web later, but I just had to share my
delight!
>
> Sheldon "Good Day" Brown
> Newtonville, Massachusetts
> +--------------------------------------------+
> | In order to understand recursion, |
> | first, you have to understand recursion. |
> +--------------------------------------------+
> Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
> Phone 617-244-9772, 617-244-1040, FAX 617-244-1041
> http://harriscyclery.com
> Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
> http://captainbike.com
> Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
> http://sheldonbrown.com