RALEIGH
TECHNIUM
TEAM
Raleigh
Street, Nottingham, was the site of a small workshop which in 1886
started
producing diamond-frame safety bicycles at the rate of three a week.
Frank
Bowden, a successful lawyer and convert to cycling, bought the firm in
1887 and in December 1888 founded The Raleigh Cycle Company.
The
bike pictured
is the Technium Team. The most common Technium bicycles were
bonded
aluminum but Raleigh also made them out of bonded steel (e.g., Reynolds
531 and 753), such as the one pictured here, with cast lugs and bottom
bracket. This example was probably made in the late '80's or early
'90's.
Due to the bike's extremely "stiff" ride, as a result, I believe, of
"tight"
geometry and oversized main triangle tubing, I have substituted
the
original 753 fork with one made out of carbon. As was Raleigh's
tradition,
the frame is not "over finished" as they believed that by doing so you
compromise the frame's integrity. This bike is not light, weighing in
at
21.6 lbs, pedals. Also, For a Bycling Guide review article dating from
1990 and obtained from Mark Bulgier's site, please click here.
TECHNICAL
Reynolds
753
was introduced in 1976 and is simply the heat-treated version of the
legendary 531
manganese - molybdenum tubeset which was introduced in 1935. The
ultimate
tensile strength of 735 is 179,200 psi compared to 121,000 psi for Columbus
SLX, a chrome-molybdenum steel. To avoid overheating, causing
embrittlement,
the tubeset must be silver soldered or bonded. Reynolds 753 frame
builders
required certification from Reynolds before becoming eligible to buy
753
tubesets. The 753 tubeset was discontinued in 2000.
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SPECIFICATIONS
Components:
Headset:
Shimano Dura Ace.
Brakes:
Shimano Dura Ace
calipers and levers.
Derailleurs:
Shimano Dura Ace front
and rear. Downtube
shifters.
Cogset:
Shimano Dura Ace 8 spd.
Crankset:
Shimano Dura Ace.
BottomBracket:
Shimano Dura Ace.
Pedals:
Shimano Dura Ace 7401.
Wheelset:
Mavic Open 4CD with Dura
Ace hubs.
Continental Grand Prix 3000 tires. Dura Ace skewers.
Stem:
Sakae FX.
Handlebars:
Cinelli Giro d'Italia.
Seatpost:
Sakae FX.
Saddle:
San Marco Turbo.
Frame and Fork:
Frame:
Raleigh bonded straight
gauge Reynolds
753 OS main triangle
and True Temper 4130 chrome-moly rear triangle. Seat tube (52.5 cm
c-to-c). Top tube
(54.0
cm c-to-c).
Fork:
Icon Air Rail carbon
fork with threaded
aluminum steerer.
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