Dawes Galaxy -v- Raleigh Randonneur

glueman · Post by **glueman** » 13 Sep 2007, 12:21pm

Another 90's Raleigh, my lightweight tourer in 531C. With Veloce/Mirage kit, Brooks Swift, 'guards and Carradice Junior saddlebag. Light and sweet handling.

Paul Smith SRCC · Post by **Paul Smith SRCC** » 13 Sep 2007, 2:56pm

A good set of updates, the frame warrants it

Was it always that colour?

Paul_Smith
Touring Tips

glueman wrote:Another 90's Raleigh, my lightweight tourer in 531C. With Veloce/Mirage kit, Brooks Swift, 'guards and Carradice Junior saddlebag. Light and sweet handling

Post by **Mick F** » 13 Sep 2007, 3:08pm

Nice bike, Glueman! Different colour, different bike, in essence a not million miles from my Mercian.

I have Campag Chorus Triple c/s, derailleurs and brakes. Mirage Ergos, and a Brooks Team Pro, and also silver mudguards (occasionally). Various saddle bags .....

Mine too, is sweet!

And yes, Paul, the frame warrants it. Steel, especially 531c, is real! But of course, you knew that!

Paul Smith SRCC · Post by **Paul Smith SRCC** » 13 Sep 2007, 3:18pm

Not on the Competition version but 531 ST is also real as well Mick (note I edited my post above to a

, as did not intend on it being a question mark) :lol:

Only the down tube on ST is stronger which allows for the potential load carrying, the forks are also visibly different between ST and C; the former are flatter

Paul_Smith
Touring Tips

Mick F wrote:Nice bike, Glueman! Different colour, different bike, in essence a not million miles from my Mercian.

I have Campag Chorus Triple c/s, derailleurs and brakes. Mirage Ergos, and a Brooks Team Pro, and also silver mudguards (occasionally). Various saddle bags .....

Mine too, is sweet!

And yes, Paul, the frame warrants it. Steel, especially 531c, is real! But of course, you knew that!

glueman · Post by **glueman** » 13 Sep 2007, 3:20pm

Yeah, always purple. Not a colour I'd have picked but it kinda grows on you.
Bought it in about '95? It's 531C throughout (or so the badge says), straight as a die and the shops were knocking them out at £175 if I remember right. It was fixed for the first few years then became geared. Can only assume Raleigh had some spare workshop capacity. I think the groupset was just over 200 quid with wheels built so it didn't break the bank and, if truth be told, it's the nicest ride including my custom jobs.

Paul Smith SRCC · Post by **Paul Smith SRCC** » 13 Sep 2007, 3:26pm

I should have looked closer, it is not a Randonneur at all :lol:

Raleigh always did offer their hign end bikes as frames in their own right and in a colour range that was not always offered in the equivalent bike model of the time.

That looks like an earlier bike they called their Triathlon model and was in standard form a light metalic yellow, 700c plus guard clearances as the theory was that Triathletes would ride the same bike in the winter and may want to ftr guards, being a fast geometry many club riders also bought the bike as a winter training bike.

You will note I said earlier model,as I remember the Triathlon bike being early ninenties with 105 biopace; although the frame would have ben available as an aftermarket model like yours for a few years after that. The Aftermarket enamel was always extremely good quality

Paul_Smith
Touring Tips

glueman wrote:Yeah, always purple. Not a colour I'd have picked but it kinda grows on you.
Bought it in about '95? It's 531C throughout (or so the badge says), straight as a die and the shops were knocking them out at £175 if I remember right. It was fixed for the first few years then became geared. Can only assume Raleigh had some spare workshop capacity. I think the groupset was just over 200 quid with wheels built so it didn't break the bank and, if truth be told, it's the nicest ride including my custom jobs.

glueman · Post by **glueman** » 13 Sep 2007, 3:55pm

That's interesting, didn't know it had a name. I see another about sometimes in the same colour but in a much more used condition.

The lugs are plain and short, no cut-outs or anything and the short drop brakes just fit without rubbing the tyres. It looks tight under the guards but that's more my fitting, you can fit 28mm tyres under with room, though the one's in the pic are 25's. The back end may be narrower than later bikes but it fits the 9-speed cassette okay, though the block side spokes are steeper than I'd like it's never broke a spoke in seven years. Not the most confident descender and we have some serious hills round here but I can really let this bike go.

I remember the Zenith you spoke about, a friend had one in a blue? colour. They were decent bikes for the price, 36/48 double and wide range back cogs, alloy bits, etc. Going OT here but it's good to ramble.

Paul Smith SRCC · Post by **Paul Smith SRCC** » 13 Sep 2007, 4:19pm

The aftermarlet frames like yours would often not have had a model name, plus I think it may be slightly better spec' than the Triathlon bike, which is also quite common, Raleigh would have a set design like this and use it for a number of bikes in slightly different tubing spec' then offer the frame alone at the higher spec' only *. I seem to recall the yellow Triathlon model only having 531 main tubes, not forks or rear triangle.

This is a forum post about 80s (ish) bikes; we are supposed to ramble :lol:

I wonder if in twenty years I will looking back with such fondness and finding myself posting about the current bikes; if forums still exist then that is :lol:

The Zenith was made for a while so could easily been light blue metalic at some stage, most were a metalic light greeny beigy browny colour :roll:

Paul_Smith
Touring Tips

* This applied to the Touring range as well, Touriste-Royal-Randonneur were all of similar geometry, Touriste was like the Triathlon 531 main tubes only ( all done from memory so may not be exactly right to the detail) but the high Randonneur was 531 st throughout

glueman wrote:That's interesting, didn't know it had a name. I see another about sometimes in the same colour but in a much more used condition.

The lugs are plain and short, no cut-outs or anything and the short drop brakes just fit without rubbing the tyres. It looks tight under the guards but that's more my fitting, you can fit 28mm tyres under with room, though the one's in the pic are 25's. The back end may be narrower than later bikes but it fits the 9-speed cassette okay, though the block side spokes are steeper than I'd like it's never broke a spoke in seven years. Not the most confident descender and we have some serious hills round here but I can really let this bike go.

I remember the Zenith you spoke about, a friend had one in a blue? colour. They were decent bikes for the price, 36/48 double and wide range back cogs, alloy bits, etc. Going OT here but it's good to ramble.

glueman · Post by **glueman** » 13 Sep 2007, 5:55pm

Raleigh certainly had their geometry sussed. Fairly conservative but there wasn't much they didn't know about the castor and trail business.
A custom bike I have has a shallow head angle and fairly straight forks and it's a beast downhill, not my spec but I think the builder misinterpreted my instuctions for a lazy but light bike. One day I shall get round to trying different forks on it.
Can't recall even thinking about the handling of bikes in my youth they were so predictable. Perhaps experiment and fashion has a lot to do with difficult to ride bikes.

The pumpkin father · Post by **The pumpkin father** » 14 Sep 2007, 10:06pm

I've recently (last 6 months) brought a Randonneur after years of riding other bikes, I always wanted one when I was younger, but the cost was out of my league at the time. I've got to say out of all the exotic frames and materials I've had and ridden it is the sweetest ride I have ever ridden/owned and on 28c tyres.

glueman · Post by **glueman** » 15 Sep 2007, 9:19am

Interesting to note the blue 708 Randonneur on the previous page has a rear mudguard pip like my purple Raleigh, whereas my 531 Ran' has a full chainstay bridge.
According to Tony Oliver's book the chainstay bridge does a lot of vital work but can't say I've noticed any difference in ride.
Was it a time/cost saving measure to put a short guard mount on?

Two pumps eh Pumpkin Father? There's pessimistic. I realised I'd been carrying two round when I delved into the saddlebag yesterday as well and neither were mini-pumps. So much for weight fetishism.

Paul Smith SRCC · Post by **Paul Smith SRCC** » 15 Sep 2007, 11:28am

One of my jobs when I first started in the cycle trade was to send faulty items back to Raleigh, back then I would send a least two frames a month back to them, a common place for failure being just behind the bb along the stays and right where the bridge was located, this may for sure have been due to production problems of course and seldon occrured in the Special products frames, infact I seldom had any warranty issues with frames from their Specail product divison until they started bonding Titanium frames when the 'Dynatech' range were instroduced!

Later frames had oversized stays so we were advised that they no longer required a bridge, if you look at most modern road bikes they also often don’t have one, many, like that Raleigh have that small one purely to give something for the mudguard to attach to.

Paul_Smith
Touring Tips

glueman wrote:Interesting to note the blue 708 Randonneur on the previous page has a rear mudguard pip like my purple Raleigh, whereas my 531 Ran' has a full chainstay bridge.
According to Tony Oliver's book the chainstay bridge does a lot of vital work but can't say I've noticed any difference in ride.
Was it a time/cost saving measure to put a short guard mount on?

Two pumps eh Pumpkin Father? There's pessimistic. I realised I'd been carrying two round when I delved into the saddlebag yesterday as well and neither were mini-pumps. So much for weight fetishism.

Mas Mon · Post by **Mas Mon** » 21 Sep 2007, 5:28am

I bought a Raleigh Touriste back in 1989 for around 33o pounds I think - wanted the Randonneur but couldn't afford the price. Now only the frame, forks, stem and seat tube are original having swapped out all the other parts over the years.
Bike has now covered around 50,000 miles having taken me on extended tours all over the world and has become a rather close and cherished friend, in fact over the years I have often contemplated the idea of building up a new road bike with some exotic Italian frmae but the thought of my trusty Raleigh gathering dust and being neglected always changed my mind.
Only problem with the bike is that it no longer tracks so well, over the years I had the steerer tube replaced and also had a head on crash with a rikshaw, so a new set of forks could be a wise move - anybody know where I could get a et of 531 forks with all the necessary braze-ons. Any body have any more info on the Touriste ?

Paul Smith SRCC · Post by **Paul Smith SRCC** » 21 Sep 2007, 10:11am

"A rather close and cherished friend" that is exactly how I see my two wheeled friends :lol:

A frame builder will be able to check the frame for tracking, forks included. I recall the orginal Touriste being 531 main tubes only and the upgrade to Royal/Randoneur was forks and rear triangle were also 531, is my memory correct?

If so then this may be an opportunity for a fork upgrade, although you will struggle to find a pair of modern production forks that will resemble those, especially with that size threaded steerer. Some like Dave Yates would be able to both track and even build you some new forks if necessary, just as important he will be able to a certain extent see of the frame has got enough life in it to warrant any money spent on it, steel will eventually rust inside out of course.

It may well warrant a new pair of forks and even a re-enamel; for sure it could be argued that to spend such an amount on and old frame may not make complete sense; however close and cherished friends are not always looked at is such a clinical way and rightly so :lol:

. As a slight warning, the times I have seen someone have had a full renovation done only for the slow process of the frame corroding from the inside out to then develop as a fully fledged crack; to have that repaired is seldom advised as it will normally then fail some where else soon after!

Paul_Smith
Touring Tips

Mas Mon wrote:I bought a Raleigh Touriste back in 1989 for around 33o pounds I think - wanted the Randonneur but couldn't afford the price. Now only the frame, forks, stem and seat tube are original having swapped out all the other parts over the years.
Bike has now covered around 50,000 miles having taken me on extended tours all over the world and has become a rather close and cherished friend, in fact over the years I have often contemplated the idea of building up a new road bike with some exotic Italian frmae but the thought of my trusty Raleigh gathering dust and being neglected always changed my mind.
Only problem with the bike is that it no longer tracks so well, over the years I had the steerer tube replaced and also had a head on crash with a rikshaw, so a new set of forks could be a wise move - anybody know where I could get a et of 531 forks with all the necessary braze-ons. Any body have any more info on the Touriste ?

dayrider · Post by **dayrider** » 21 Sep 2007, 8:42pm

I've just joined this forum, so I've only just read this thread. Here's my 1995 Randonneur, which I've had from new. It's one with the 708 tubing, and it's now used as my commuter, hence its rather grubby appearance:

It's a very comfortable frame for commuting, and quite lively too. It's definitely lighter than the 531ST Nigel Dean that I used to use.

Andrew