I bought a couple of these frames NIB a couple of years ago when what I really wanted was a proper Team replica frameset. They had been purchased in Belgium and had 35mm metric bottom brackets, fairly good build quality but poor paint finish. It is possible that they were all made for the Continental European market -- it would be interesting if you could check the bottom bracket on yours and let us know what it is.
I managed to offload them for what I paid for them when I found some Ilkeston-built examples of the real thing. However, they are good frames and very similar to Worksop-built team Pros except for the decals, half-chrome fork only and, at least in my case, the BB shells.
Hugh Thornton Cheshire, England
In a message dated 15/08/05 19:26:47 GMT Daylight Time,
marcgarcia80@ameritech.net writes:
> well the description is lacking, and the photos
> horrible, and that's probably why I got it at the
> price I did. I opened the box and pulled it out and
> was puzzled by what I saw. On the top tube, are the
> TEAM RALEIGH, decals, but downtube has RECORD decal.
> WHAT THE HELL DID I BUY? I checked the archives and
> there isn't much info. The bike is full 531 with campy
> dropouts. Serial number is: WB900 1286 so it was made
> in 79 at the carlton shop in england? Someone in the
> archives mentioned that these might have been sold as
> framesets in europe? that could explain the parts on
> it. a 72 rear NR derailleur, early dura ace hubs, gran
> compe calipers, campy levers. any info would be
> greatly appreciated.