I beg to differ. The Grand Sport(s) was double butted 531 throughout, hardly what I would call "lower end". Granted, this may have been the least expensive full 531 DB Raleigh of the time, but besides the frame it had quality components, even including the Normandy Sport hubs, which were relatively inexpensive, but still one piece alloy bodies with QR's. The Grand Sport, like the Compertition and Super Tourer, were real bargains in 531 DB bikes with good components.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, Texas, USA
John Wood <braxton72@gmail.com> wrote: Great find Adam, she looks in great shape. Since this is a lower end, bike boom era bike of no historical significance, no problem in my book in striping her down and building it up the way you want. And then of course make sure your sister rides the heck out of it. It ought to be a great rider! If you have any pangs of guilt at all though, just toss the original parts in a box, label it, and store it away for possible later use. Have fun!
John Wood Washington Island, Wisconsin, USA
On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 9:33 PM, Adam Hammond wrote:
> I spent this weekend in Barrie, Ontario celebrating my sister's 30th
> birthday. My gift was an "IOU" for a bike, and we spent some of the next few
> days deciding on what sort of a bike she wanted. She's the mother of three
> young children and a victim of the recent jump in gas prices, and wants to
> go on rides with her children and run some of her errands by bike. We
> decided on a Rivendellish/BOBish bike: a lugged steel frame, but modern
> components. We thought it would be nice to mount them on a 1978 frame, since
> that's when she was born. I would just have bought a Rivendell if it weren't
> for fiscal constraints -- $1500 for a frame is pretty steep, and I have
> nearly a whole bike's worth of modern (by which I mean 105 derailleurs, a
> Sugino triple, and bar end shifters, etc.) components on my shelf.
>
> My search for a frame didn't take long. Yesterday on Toronto Craigslist,
> someone posted a late-70s Raleigh Grand Sports in her size for $250. It met
> nearly all our requirements: good tubing, lots of clearance for fat tires
> and fenders, and she loved the way it looked. The bike was delivered this
> morning, and you can have a look at it here:
>
> http://tinyurl.com/
>
> The moral quandary is the following: I don't intend on keeping very many
> of the bike's original components in use. I like the frame very much, and
> the Weinmann centrepulls, but don't intend to use the derailleurs, cranks,
> bars or stem, etc. The Brooks saddle will likely find a home on one of my
> other bikes, but I'll likely sell the remaining components on eBay or offer
> them to list members (though I have no idea of their value, so stating a
> firm price as per list rules might scare me off...)
>
> The plastic Simplex rear derailleur gives me some confidence that I'm not
> committing an atrocity in stripping this frame. But I thought that before
> dealing with regret, I would ask for advice. This frame will get lots of use
> and have a good life in its future incarnation, and I won't powdercoat it or
> remove any braze-ons -- but am doing wrong in "stripping" it of its original
> condition to give it this new life? I was born several years after this
> frame, so I have little of the historical/sentimental context...
>
> Opinions welcomed!
>
> Adam Hammond
> Toronto, ON, Canada