New Addition to the stable...

[netman]

Couldn't resist this little beauty... couple of as picked up pics and then some after the first wash. It's going to get new cables, new tubes and tyres, yellow cloth bar tape and loads of cleaning and polishing!

 

[netman]

...it's one of these by the looks... 1974

 

[wisdom]

Nice

 

[southcoast]

Nice bike, I used to own it’s little brother the Europa in the early seventies.

 

[EltonFrog]

Nice.

 

[midlife]

Early yellow head tube and the chrome top to the fully sloping fork crown, very nice

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Are these all kosher 531 bikes or did Raleigh do a cheaper gas pipe version that looked the same?

 

[midlife]

The cheaper version was the Europa, again originally with the yellow head tube.

 

[EltonFrog]

The cheaper version was the Europa, again originally with the yellow head tube.

View attachment 454445

View attachment 454446

That one looks a bit like the BSA TdF. Is it similar?

 

[midlife]

The Europa used a variety of Raleigh / Carlton frames including the standard Tru-Well Carlton frame with Crespera lugs seen in that pic. They were desperate to sell frames with the official livery as it was a great selling point so frames came from all over the shop, which was unusual for Raleigh.......

 

[biggs682]

How many others use to lust after these when they were school aged ?

Must have been the colour scheme

 

[Cycleops]

Are these all kosher 531 bikes or did Raleigh do a cheaper gas pipe version that looked the same?

This certainly doesn't look like the Kosher version with steel cottered chainset, clips for cable guides, shifters nailed to the stem and Simplex derailleur.

This is the real deal;

 

[midlife]

Record had 531 main tubes and Bocama Pro lugs

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

How many others use to lust after these when they were school aged ?

Must have been the colour scheme

My mate had one in those colours around the same time I had a Raleigh Arena! Come to think of it most of the kids rode Raleighs of one sort or another back then. I doubt it was 531 though, being a fellow council estate boy. His one had skinny slick 27" tyres and he used to get a lot more punctures than my more robust 26" tyres suffered.

 

[southcoast]

@netman was your avatar picture taken in Bournemouth?