Raleigh RSP Travelogue 708

[sneakymagic]

Hi,
Late bump but another 708 Travelogue owner here!
Here's my take...
The impression I got was that these were a last throw of the dice attempt at fitting out the Randonneur frame for sale to the trekking bike market that was very popular in Germany at the very end of the 90s.
The frames were built up with a full Octalink XT set up, Campagnolo Veloce headset, Tubus front and rear racks, and butterfly trekking bars. A B&M dynamo and light set was included, with internal wiring.
The RSP branded seat post and stem were kalloy budget items, the latter a front loading quill-mtb riser hybrid - that said, 20/21 years on both are still in play on this and another frame.
Other nice touches though included the mounting plate behind the bottom bracket, drilled for a stand and the SKS mudguard fixing (so not a half peg as per some iterations of the Randonneur and Royal frames), and the 3-spoke-holder braze-ons.
The price at the time seemed high for what was by then an unfashionable, lugged, parallel cross bar steel frame trying to look like a modern, dropped bar alu trecker - c£1200ish if I remember correctly.
As a result my bike sat in a dealers in Bonn for too long, eventually being stripped and sold for parts, which is how I got the frames et for less than £100 as my first ebay purchase 18 years ago. I saw a chance to put together a Randonneur for about £400-£500 and jumped.
I built it back with mostly the parts that were originally specced but put a non riser stem and touring drop bars on, with bar end shifters and v-brake levers.
The Travelogue was back to Randonneur styling and looking much the better for it!

[markjohnobrien]

Well done in getting one of the frames: I agree they were set up as trekking bikes as mine has butterfly bars which are very rare in Britain but commonplace on the continent.

Pictures of your bike would be very nice (and lots of them!).

[sneakymagic]

Here it is sporting a nitto Albatross bar.

[markjohnobrien]

Nice!

Looks like the Brooks has had a lot of mileage.

[alexnharvey]

Cheap one on eBay at present, 22in https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/202979141607

[markjohnobrien]

While I appreciate the sentiment, it’s a Royal rather than a Travelogue. One is V good and a lot of examples around; the other is superb and rare.

Very, very, nice frame, as it’s still Reynolds 708, but the inferior model compared to both the Randonneur and Travelogue.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
My neck hurts

[markjohnobrien]

Cheers - my neck doesn’t hurt now...

[markjohnobrien]

Hi,
Late bump but another 708 Travelogue owner here!
Here's my take...
The impression I got was that these were a last throw of the dice attempt at fitting out the Randonneur frame for sale to the trekking bike market that was very popular in Germany at the very end of the 90s.
The frames were built up with a full Octalink XT set up, Campagnolo Veloce headset, Tubus front and rear racks, and butterfly trekking bars. A B&M dynamo and light set was included, with internal wiring.
The RSP branded seat post and stem were kalloy budget items, the latter a front loading quill-mtb riser hybrid - that said, 20/21 years on both are still in play on this and another frame.
Other nice touches though included the mounting plate behind the bottom bracket, drilled for a stand and the SKS mudguard fixing (so not a half peg as per some iterations of the Randonneur and Royal frames), and the 3-spoke-holder braze-ons.
The price at the time seemed high for what was by then an unfashionable, lugged, parallel cross bar steel frame trying to look like a modern, dropped bar alu trecker - c£1200ish if I remember correctly.
As a result my bike sat in a dealers in Bonn for too long, eventually being stripped and sold for parts, which is how I got the frames et for less than £100 as my first ebay purchase 18 years ago. I saw a chance to put together a Randonneur for about £400-£500 and jumped.
I built it back with mostly the parts that were originally specced but put a non riser stem and touring drop bars on, with bar end shifters and v-brake levers.
The Travelogue was back to Randonneur styling and looking much the better for it!

And thanks for a fascinating story.

[alexnharvey]

While I appreciate the sentiment, it’s a Royal rather than a Travelogue. One is V good and a lot of examples around; the other is superb and rare.

Very, very, nice frame, as it’s still Reynolds 708, but the inferior model compared to both the Randonneur and Travelogue.

Sorry, with it also being 708 and I was thinking that it might be very similar.

[Jamesh]

What then is the difference between the three varieties of Raleigh tourer?

Are there differences in frame build in particular?

Is the one in eBay a poor buy?

Not that we will be doing much touring at the moment!!

Cheers James

[markjohnobrien]

Apologies to Alex and Jamesh for a lack of clarity.

On page 1 of the thread, I gave an overview of the three generations of Randonneur - see below :

“This frame (Travelogue) is essentially last generation Randonneur but with a different name and a trekking set up as they normally had flat bars or butterfly bars.

1st generation Randonneurs:
531 st tubing in gunmetal grey.

2nd generation: 94-98 (need to check notes off the top of my head).
Blue, Reynolds 708 tubing, deore LX groupset, with increased room for 35mm tyres and mudguards. I own one but have added Son dynamo and LED lights.

3rd generation: 99-2000
Red, Reynolds 708 tubing, full XT with Magura hydraulic rim brakes and rare as hens teeth dropped hydraulic levers HS66, and dynamo (tyre driven). Internal wire routing for dynamo. I own one.

My Travelogue has full XT, with XT v-brakes, butterfly bars, dynamo on front wheel (wiring comes through mudguard to rear light - very neat). I drove from London to Worksop to collect and it had limited mileage for a year or so and been in storage. Apart from some paint chips on the rear stay, it was like new.

You are certainly correct that, having full XT, it is better than the earlier Randonneurs but this brings it in line with the last generation which were superb. It is a very, very, rare bike built in very small volumes and, from what I have read and seen, it was only produced in black. I hope you enjoy”

I was thinking in terms of the overall bikes, frames, and their equipment level.


Raleigh Royal was a lower specced version of the Randonneur and once it became Reynolds 708 in the second generation had the same frame - apart from the dynamo fork bracket seen on the last generation and the internal dynamo lighting.

The Travelogue was a German trekking bike version of the last generation Randonneur which lacked the Magura HS66 brakes but had the full XT and internal dynamo wiring, dynamo fork bracket, additional mounting plate for kick stand, and had a different mudguard peg/attachment.

Differences in 708 frame build? Minimal and only with the last generation.

Ebay a poor buy? Definitely not. While the kit on the Royal isn’t a patch on the last generation Randonneur or Travelogue, the frame is still great and virtually, 99%, the same.

Hope I’ve cleared up some misunderstanding as I was focusing on the whole bike/package while it seems others were focusing on the frame.

[markjohnobrien]

And the Travelogue came with Tubus racks front and rear which was a definite upgrade on the blackburn racks used on the Royal and second generation blue Randonneur.

I have a Raleigh Randonneur catalogue from circa 96 which shows the difference between the Royal model and blue Randonneur as well as highlighting the upgrades from the 1st generation - will have to scan and upload.

[markjohnobrien]

That Royal 708 sold for £130 on e-bay - I wonder if anyone on here bought it?

[Jamesh]

Nice bike - I sat on my hands!!!

I don't think I could get anymore bikes in my garage!!!

Cheers James