This guy is totally full of it. I'm sure this bike was bought from one of the Tamura(sp?) brothers who started the Velo Stores chain in the late 60s or early 70s, and were the folks behind Sekai bikes. I worked for them from '89-'91 or so and we had a ton of these "Raleighs" laying about then. They were the biggest Raleigh dealer in the country in the late 80s and have a really tight relationship to Raleigh USA. I don't remember this bike in specific, though it might have been one of the ones in the Pine Street store. There were a few different builders for all the bikes they had though I don't remember them all now. I think the only ones that weren't made in the US were a few of the training bikes that were built at the Raleigh factory in England. As far as the paint on these goes they were all painted pretty poorly, though I liked the blue color. I think, like the "show bikes" I mentioned the other day, they were painted quickly and only meant to be seen for a couple of weeks and then tossed in a corner somewhere as this one was. Maybe other Seattle listemembers can add to this since I've been away for 7 years. enjoy, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives SB, CA
On Tuesday, February 11, 2003, at 04:24 PM, Dan Kasha wrote:
> I was wondering what all the experts (which I unfortunately am not)
> think of the description of this bike?
>
> http://ebay.com/
> eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=22681&item=2710169630
> &rd=1
>
> It says it is a Cinelli track bike used in the 84 olympics and labeled
> Raleigh?
> I don't have reason to doubt the 84 or the Raleigh part. I wonder if
> the
> Cinelli part is just that the lugs are Cinelli?
>
> But, mostly, I wonder about the claim that race bikes were painted in a
> special way to reduce weight - and don't last.
>
> I don't want this to come across as a doubter, just mostly interested
> in
> the paint statement, and wondering about the rest.
>
> Thanks
> Dan Kasha
> Providence RI (I think they finally are running out of road salt
> down here, and we get to have snow on the roads as compared
> to mud).