RALEIGH GRAN PRIX

A friend gave me this Raleigh Gran Prix in exchange for doing repairs on his bikes. It is in fair appearance condition and generally in good condition mechanically. The front wheel is an Arraya and the rear wheel is a Weinmann. I have no idea which one is correct. I rode it several times around the neighborhood and it seemed OK, but when I disassembled the rear hub to replace a drive side spoke, I discovered that the axle was broken. Coincidentaly, I had just replaced a broken axle on my friend's Panasonic a few days earlier. One component, the small cog of the freewheel shows much wear. The cog teeth are definitely hooked indicating that the previous rider(s) used that cog extensively.

The GP is a huge bike having a 26.5 inch frame, one inch larger than my big Motobecane. However, the top bar of the GP is 2 inches higher than the 25.5 inch Motobecane due to the height of the bottom bracket. This bike is very difficult for me to mount and dismount safely so it goes to my son John who is 6'6" tall. I was very surprised to find that it weighs just under 25 pounds, 4 pounds less than the smaller Motobecane.

This GP is not at all similar to my smaller Raleigh GP. Another example of discontinuity in model designation.

The head badge on this bike is beautiful but where the origin text is usually found there is a series of parallel bars revealing nothing about where the bike was manufactured. You may have noticed that the bars are rotated approximately 180 deg. This is the way it came to me and is typical of riders who want higher bars but lack the knowledge of how to change bars or are too lazy to do things correctly. This practice is unsafe and dangerous since invariably the brake levers are mounted upside down and are lethal if one does an endo. In addition, applying the brakes is difficult. No competent rider would orient the bars and brake levers in this manner.

The following list contains all the major parts of the bike with the part description.

  • Make and model------------------RALEIGH GRAN PRIX
  • Serial number-------------------N0H1368
  • Origin--------------------------Not stated
  • Frame size----------------------26 inchs measured at downtube
  • Length, axle to axle------------40 inches
  • Frame construction--------------Lugged and brazed
  • Tubing type---------------------Raleigh High Tensile
  • Total Weight--------------------25 pounds
  • Tire size-----------------------27 x 1 1/4
  • Stem ---------------------------XXXX
  • Wheel rims--------------------- 27 x 1 1/4 Arraya and Weinmann
  • All other components------------Marked "Raleigh"

    • I hope you enjoyed looking at this bike and I welcome your comments.

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    Last revised: 4/03/00
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