RALEIGH INTERNATIONAL - INTRODUCTION

Rare is it that a vintage road bicycle gem comes along, unless of course you are looking on Ebay, or Craigslist or even Kijiji these days.  What I mean by "comes along" falls sort of into the stumbled upon category rather than using bicycle hunting procedures.  A few previous "lucky gem finds" do come to mind including a 1971 Carlton Professional (free), a 1973 Atala Professional($20.00), a 1958 Carlton Flyer (free) and most recently this gorgeous 1973 Raleigh International.

The Raleigh International was Raleigh's top dog touring bicycle offered back in the late sixties and early seventies.  The Raleigh Professional, the racing version, was the grail of Raleighs then and now, but the "International" holds a special place in the hearts, minds and dreams of vintage road bicycle collectors and riders, for that matter.  Long have I sought an International and long has one evaded me.  How I wish this 1973 example would have been my size.

The Internationals was full Reynolds 531 steel with Campagnolo drops.  Fork blades and stay ends were always treated to a covering of beautiful English chrome plating.  So too were the head tube lugs, which were usually Nervex Professional offerings.  The 1973 International, however, was fitted with Carpella lugs which, in my opinion, are just a bit nicer than the more common Nervex ones.

Today, the Raleigh International is one of the more collectible vintage road bicycles to come out of England.  As was often the case with the higher end Raleighs, the International was built by craftsmen in the Carlton factory in the town of Worksop.  Rumour had it that only the best of the best craftsmen at Carlton were permitted to build top dog frame and fork sets.  The "International" would certainly qualify as one of those.

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