Comment

Comment by mike w. on December 2, 2010 at 7:44am

Dura-Ace first appeared in numbers around here around '73, '74... there were -true to Shimano's spirit- dozens of permutations, especially of the brakes and derailleurs... i worked in a shop in '72 through '75 and remember first seeing a Dura-Ace brakeset in late '72 or early '73. i likes them as a cheaper alternative to the ridiculouosly overpriced Campag records (gee, they were over $105 a set then... DA's were about $60. The original DA brakes were pretty distinctive and only produced for a year or two before they more closely copied Campys.

Comment by SlyRed on December 2, 2010 at 7:43am

Sooo . . . in fact it's hardly original at all. Just admit that I was right to call bull$hit and I'll go away {evil grin} Sly

Comment by mike w. on December 2, 2010 at 7:37am

Okay, it's not "completely original", but it is pretty period correct. The original seat pin was a plain post, no Campag was used on the Competition. The original bar & stem would have been GBs. There was no pump, but most likely would've been AFA or Zefal, not Silca. The freewheel would likely have been Cyclo or Atom, maybe even TDC. The Normandy Compe hubs are correct. The original rims were most likely Mavic Monthlery or Ava sew ups, with Clement or Hutchinson tyres.

(It scares me how much of this retro-gear stuff i remember when i cannot rightly recall last night's dinner!)

Comment by SlyRed on December 2, 2010 at 7:31am

Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this, but the reference material I found indicates that Dura Ace components were not even introduced until the early eighties. Therefore the Weinmann parts weren't replaced with Shimano staightaway.

Comment by mike w. on December 2, 2010 at 7:29am

Well, gross misrepresentations are sometimes a matter of ignorance of the subject at hand, bad memory, or some combination. At first glance, the bike seems pretty authentic, and an original owner couldn't really be faulted for replacing the Simplex and Weinmann parts. Frankly, they weren't the best ( i was going to say "sucked" but that's a bit harsh.)

Comment by mike w. on December 2, 2010 at 7:20am

Not sure, but seem to remamber that they were Simplex Criterion derailleurs, but may have been Prestige...

Built By Carlton Worksop. Carlton also had the same bike in team issue Lagoon Blue... Most of the Competitions in '71 & '72 were white and Lagoon Blue. The '72 Raleigh catalogue i had showed the Comp in the white/blue scheme with a Zeus crankset, but i think it was sometimes a TA Cyclotouriste or Stronglight 49 before '72. A couple of years later they came in Black and used the TA 3-pin Crankset, and Simplex Criterion derailleurs. Raleigh seemed to prefer using Weinmann Vainqueur CPs with a long reach 730 brake on the rear, same on their Internationals and Gran Prix models.

Comment by SlyRed on December 2, 2010 at 7:20am

Bottom line is that the eBay seller is still grossly misrepresenting the bike as completely original. It's the sort of ad I wouldn't be surprised to see if it were on Craigslist.

Comment by SlyRed on December 2, 2010 at 7:14am

It seems to have the right decals in the right places, but you know, inanimate objects will sit still for anything to be stuck/bolted on to them. ;^D If the components group weren't so weird I'd almost believe it.

Comment by mike w. on December 2, 2010 at 7:12am

Yes! That IS the original colour. They were very rare at least on this side of the pond. i remember that Turin Evanston had one in their window that summer and i lusted after it! Original derailleurs were Simplex, brakes were Weinmann Vainqueurs.

Comment by Alan Lloyd on December 2, 2010 at 7:08am

Me-thinks I'm agreeing with you on the components, Darrell, and I'm still none too sure about the colour being original?

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