matticus
Guru
Is it plain 531 ? (i.e. not 531c or other)
(no-one ever takes pictures showing the end of the frame stickers!!!)
(no-one ever takes pictures showing the end of the frame stickers!!!)
1982 Claud Butler 531 Majestic - Project #10
- Thread starter Gunk
- Start date
-
- Tags
- claud butler
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
matticus
Guru
They're made in a "writing left-to-right" culture. So your pic shows the start (and middle), but not the end!
Matticus....look again, it includes the word competition in red below 531. In other words 531C (others were 531ST for “supertourist” and other Reynolds marketing variants). So it does indeed look like a 531c frame tube set. The transfer actually looks a bit later than 1982 though. My 1983 Reynolds 531c version is different (not on a CB though but a custom made frame from local framebuilder). Happy to be corrected though. Somewhere online is a whole site with different dates and tubesset details from Reynolds.
Shame we dont have the choice these days with Far Eastern plastic being so much in vogue. Ok it doesnt rust but how many will still be around in forty years time, especially as CF is prone to cracking damage that cannot be repaired and brazed like a steel frame.
Shame we dont have the choice these days with Far Eastern plastic being so much in vogue. Ok it doesnt rust but how many will still be around in forty years time, especially as CF is prone to cracking damage that cannot be repaired and brazed like a steel frame.
matticus
Guru
These two stickers are almost indistinguishable:
IFF photos are taken from the chainset side - which is the hugely dominant default.
Shame they didn't stick with those much clearer "Competition" style logos, as in Bigg's post!
IFF photos are taken from the chainset side - which is the hugely dominant default.
Shame they didn't stick with those much clearer "Competition" style logos, as in Bigg's post!
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
I can't believe that someone would bin a classic 531 road frame like that - its criminal! 😠
The colour has come up really nice and it just works with the polished alloy bits. I wouldn't call it a huge size though, it just looks about the same as my 23 1/2" Raleigh and Dawes. 25" is huge, but frames around 23" are not out of the ordinary in the steel era. When bikes were bikes and male dismounts had to be done carefully!
My understanding is that type of TI Reynolds sticker is pre-89 and the other style is 1989-onwards. I have two consecutive year Raleigh 531 (butted main tubes) frames, the earlier is '88 and the later '89 and the style of the stickers is different on the '89.
When did the full 531ST tubeset first appear? If the wheels that came with my Ian May touring frame are it's originals, the hubs suggest mine dates from 1987.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
The black looks fine to me. More practical. White looked nice when a factory-fresh bike was sitting in the front window of the shop, but it only lasted until the first time the rider had a chain come off or a puncture to repair, then got back on again with grubby hands.
My Dawes Jaguar originally had white cables and they were horribly discoloured. I got some red Jagwire cables to match the frame colour and red bar tape. I'm happy with the cables but I have to be super-careful about having clean gloves so as not to mark the tape. Next time I'll probably go for black so I don't have to worry about dirt marks.
Super Tourist from memory was certainly a 1980s addition to the range as it wasnt an option in 1983 but appeared soon after.
There had been 531 “Super Lightweight” which I think morphed into “Professional” but may have disappeared from the range in the late 70s / early 80s with the advent of thin walled 753 which had to be silver brazed and also appeared in 753R (road/race) and 753T (track) and later in other variants too.
Happy to be corrected if anyone can shed more light.
There had been 531 “Super Lightweight” which I think morphed into “Professional” but may have disappeared from the range in the late 70s / early 80s with the advent of thin walled 753 which had to be silver brazed and also appeared in 753R (road/race) and 753T (track) and later in other variants too.
Happy to be corrected if anyone can shed more light.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
I tend to think 531ST was an early-mid 80's development myself, but there also seems to have been a 531 Special Touring product in Reynolds line up, which had a similar target audience, but I think the actual tubeset was slightly different. For some reason I'm thinking that in some sets it was mainly the down tube that was beefed up specifically for touring use, and some of the other tubes were the same as regular 531.
IanSmithCSE
Guru
- Location
- Worcester, Worcestershire
http://www.reynoldstechnology.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/decal_history.pdf
Is on the Reynolds site so it should be slightly credible. :-)
This has 531ST from 1981-1989 then a sticker design change for 1989-1994 and a third design from 1995 until 2001
It also seems to say 78-81 for Special Lightweight.
Is on the Reynolds site so it should be slightly credible. :-)
This has 531ST from 1981-1989 then a sticker design change for 1989-1994 and a third design from 1995 until 2001
It also seems to say 78-81 for Special Lightweight.
