Help in dating a Raleigh Grand Prix

WBtobal

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Nov 17, 2002, 12:36:26 AM11/17/02

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Beautiful old bike, CroMo Raleigh 555 SL butted main tubes, chrome
fork, and rear triangle, with an arched tubular brake bridge. Raleigh alloy
drop bars, Raleigh crankset (SR rings 52/42), AF205G non-aero levers,
AG300G alloy side pulls w/quick release, Raleigh 700C alloy wheels,
laced to Raleigh hubs, Suntour downtube levers and derailleurs (6-sp
freewheel). Sheldon, Andrew, Peter et al...help in dating (the bike!,
the bike!) greatly appreciated.

Bill "much older than it is" Tobalske

Chronos

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Nov 17, 2002, 12:49:16 AM11/17/02

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On the first date, I'd bring it some 30 weight oil and a little wax.

carlos

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Nov 17, 2002, 5:00:34 AM11/17/02

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looser, try posting in the net, you may get lucky
i would at least resort to hire some lovin before having to date a bike

Ron Says

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Nov 17, 2002, 8:45:40 AM11/17/02

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You should change the wording of your request, as you can see, every Yuppy
asshole with one half to one third of a brain, thinks he is so very clever
to pollute the newsgroup with obvious smartassed, unhelpful (therefore
extraneous), remarks about your request to "Date a Raliegh". Unfortunately,
when I needed help and advice on a matter it was these same worthless ilk
that came out of the wood work and pissed all over my request. There is a
lot of great advice to be had in this forum, too bad you drew the maggots
instead of the bees. Anyway, I'll climb off my soapbox. Have you tried any
bike shop owner who knows and used to sell Raleigh? They could probably
decipher the date from the serial number for you. Ask Sheldon Brown if he
doesn't know, he can probably point you to a resource that does know. The
construction of the frame should give you some clues too. Have you tried
searchng the web with the serial number, or looked for Raliegh collectors -
I have seen some on the web with pictures of their steeds.

"WBtobal" <wbt...@aol.comH8SPAM> wrote in message
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TJ Poseno

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Nov 17, 2002, 7:56:50 AM11/17/02

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Chronos <michaelri...@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<3DD72E19...@earthlink.net>...

If your going to get intimate I'd bring some polish and maybe a
lubercant. And of course some kind of protection. Have Fun!!

Garrison Hilliard

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Nov 17, 2002, 8:34:44 AM11/17/02

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wbt...@aol.comH8SPAM (WBtobal) wrote:
>Beautiful old bike, CroMo Raleigh 555 SL butted main tubes...

That "Raleigh 555" tubing is all I needed... it's a Huffy Raleigh, made sometime between 1975-1983 (only the H-R's bosted of that tubing).

Pete Geurds

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Nov 17, 2002, 9:44:59 AM11/17/02

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Try checking the components for dates. The brakes and crank are a good place to
look. (backside of calipers and crankarms)
This a late 80's Raleigh I beleive.
Headbadge has xxx's instead of Nottingham?
Can't be more helpful as I tend to ignore non-English Raleighs.
Have enough rattlin' round my head as it is! ; )

Pete Geurds
Douglassville, PA

Pete Geurds

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Nov 17, 2002, 10:00:21 AM11/17/02

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>That "Raleigh 555" tubing is all I needed... it's a Huffy Raleigh, made
>sometime between 1975-1983 (only the H-R's bosted of that tubing).

You're a bit early.
Most Raleigh's came from Nottingham until at least 82.
Huffy had a licensing agreement from 83-85.
Raleigh was still in business in England so some Huffy era top end frames came
from England.
The low end from Taiwan I beleive.

Pete Geurds
Douglassville, PA

Garrison Hilliard

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Nov 17, 2002, 10:47:28 AM11/17/02

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Okee-dokee... I should've specified "Raleigh America" - but you're right, I might be a tad early (but not by much) on the H-R
production production years. However, the "555" marking does
mean the bike in question is most certainly a Huffy-Raleigh...

robert...@webtv.net

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Nov 17, 2002, 11:19:43 AM11/17/02

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Because it was what I could afford at the time, I had one. The main
triangle was red and had a Racing USA decal on the top tube. I believe
it was 1984 or '85.
bob

A Muzi

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Nov 17, 2002, 1:43:29 PM11/17/02

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The faux-Reynolds "555" label puts your bike in the Huffy ownership years,
roughly the middle 1980s. Look on the inside of the SR crank arm for the
production date. It's stamped on your SR seatpost near the limit mark and on
the stem as well. Dia Compe calipers of the era are dated on the back of
the brake arm.

Component production dates will be anywhere from a week to a year earlier
than the bike's sale date.

--
Andrew Muzi
http://www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April 1971

"WBtobal" <wbt...@aol.comH8SPAM> wrote in message
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A Muzi

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Nov 17, 2002, 1:49:46 PM11/17/02

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"Garrison Hilliard" <garr...@efn.org> wrote in message
news:3dd7...@news.victoria.tc.ca...

Yes and no. Your dates are a bit off.

Huffy bought Raleigh's US operations in 1982 or thereabouts. Before that we
dealt with Raleigh Indutries in Boston, with Huffy's involvement, checks
went to Raleigh USA Dayton.

TJ Poseno

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Nov 17, 2002, 2:14:12 PM11/17/02

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"Ron Says" <dri...@msn.net> wrote in message news:<84NB9.1050$4j5.6...@newssvr28.news.prodigy.com>...

> You should change the wording of your request, as you can see, every Yuppy
> asshole with one half to one third of a brain, thinks he is so very clever
> to pollute the newsgroup with obvious smartassed, unhelpful (therefore
> extraneous), remarks about your request to "Date a Raliegh". Unfortunately,
> when I needed help and advice on a matter it was these same worthless ilk
> that came out of the wood work and pissed all over my request.

Well, I was just trying to make this group a little more exciting, Its
the people like you that suck out all of the fun...

Steve T.

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Nov 17, 2002, 9:12:07 PM11/17/02

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Did you try flowers??

"WBtobal" <wbt...@aol.comH8SPAM> wrote in message
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Chronos

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Nov 18, 2002, 12:48:25 AM11/18/02

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Sorry; but it was to good to pass up. First come, first served.