> From: "Stephen Barner" <steve@sburl.com>
> This reminds me of a short discussion I had with the Raleigh Rep back in the
> late '70s. I had spent some time looking at the new design for the seat
> stay caps on the Team Pro, where Raleigh had gone from the fastback design
> to one where the caps were a little bigger than the cut end of the stay and
> a small fillet of brass was laid on the underside of the cap, blending it
> into the stay. I was in the process of commenting to the rep on how I
> thought that detail might laterally stiffen the rear triangle when he cut me
> off, dismissively saying that it didn't make a damn bit of difference in the
> ride, it was just aesthetics. I was a bit peeved by this; after all, I had
> ridden through Canada with a friend who rode a Mk II Pro just a year or two
> before, and he had complained about the road shock from the fastback stays.
> It just had to make the difference that logic dictated it must.
>
> Then, last spring I finally scored a '74 Pro. Rode it a lot this past
> summer and it was a sweet, if not poorly filed ride. And you know what?
> I'll throw my lot in with the Raleigh rep. The seatstay detail doesn't make
> a damn bit of difference in the ride.
I dunno..... The only way I'll ride my 74 Raleigh Pro is with tubulars. With clinchers (sized appropriately to the intended use of the bike) the ride was horrible on oil and chip roads. So we can thank PennDot for this guy riding tubulars. ; ) I think my Comp GS rides nicer.
Pete Geurds
Douglassville, PA