Never having been a huge enthusiast to British machinery it has occurred to me that having an interesting Raleigh road bike in the museum would be nice. A week does not go by that I don't see a Grand Prix for premium money or some interesting looking Super Course or even, most recently, a very nice looking Gran Course for sale. Then, this one came along and looked very interesting (on a lot of levels). The Professional was described as Raleigh's nod to Italian bike design and the construction, group selection (Campagnolo Nuovo Record) and aesthetics reflect this. Unlike it's Italian counter-parts, it is constructed using Reynolds 531 double butted tubing. As with most things bicycle, Sheldon Brown compiled some excellent starter resources to learn about these bikes and they can be found here. I like a good challenge, and contrary to the typical fare of bikes in this condition that float around waiting to be turned into recycled steel, this one looks like it may be worth the effort to bring back to life - and it's exactly my size! For now, here it is in it's "as rescued" condition. It appears to be complete less a few cables, hoods, for the brake levers (should it have hoods?), one cable fastener for the brakes and the front derailleur. So, I guess that means I should add here that I'm looking for an early '70s Campagnolo Nuovo Record front derailleur and possibly some brake hardware for Campagnolo of the same vintage. The serial number on the bike (stamped on the bottom of the bottom bracket) is F5598 and I am under the impression it is a 1970 model.
