I remember reading a Bicycling! reveiw in the early/mid 80's of a Raleigh Professional Mk IV, mink blue and silver, Brampton fastback stays, full sloping cromed fork crown, GB map of Britain bars. I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Couldn't afford it of course. A few weeks before Christmas last year, after 30 years of wanting one, I finally obtained a 1975 Pro Mk IV thanks to list member John Pergolizzi. Mink blue and silver, Brampton fastback stays, full sloping cromed fork crown, map of Britain bars. Guess what? It is still one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
Houston, TX
> Oh no, it's beat up on Raleighs from the '70s again here on CR!!
>
> Actually I enjoy reading all these comments from those of you fortunate
> enough to own and ride the very machines I lusted over as a 15 year old.
But
> I was never able to afford to buy one. Even today, I am intimidated by
their
> beauty... you can take all of your continental bikes and none, not one,
> comes close. Nope.
>
> Then again I have never ridden one. My Raleighs are all c. 1948-51 (plus
my
> "new" one from 1961) and you won't find more sweeter running, race-worthy
> mounts in the two-wheeled universe. The classic 73 deg head and 71 seat
> geometry of these takes a lot of beating. My '51 Clubman seems to have no
> problem keeping up with machines 1/20th her age, half her weight and
costing
> what a new house would when she left Nottingham.
>
> Then again back in the those glory days Raleigh wasn't having to emulate
> Italian frame geometry and other foreign practices. They just designed and
> built great looking, nice handling bikes. And I need to get one of those
> early Internationals just to see if they still did c. 1972. I kinda bet
> they still did.
>
> Peter Kohler, whose favourite bird remains the Heron.
> Washington DC USA