1986 Raleigh Panasonic 531c

[marc2131]

Received this unexpectedly on Wednesday. Belonged to my brother in law who bought it in the mid 80s in Singapore when he was a member of an Australian 'Dragon Boat' team.
Only parts missing are the pedals, seat post and seat. All other parts are original when he bought it new.
Rode it for the first time on Saturday. Rides beautifully eventhough the BB is a bit stiff. I am no expert but the geometry feels lovely.

[Dow Jones Index]

Looks good mate. Interesting to see a model without shot in seat stays, reminds me of the one Phil Anderson rode. As do the extra decals on the TT and chain stays. Get some better photo's and put it the Raleigh aprreciation thread!

[rogerrabbit]

Can you post the serial number? It will tell its age and if it is a team replica etc.

Roger

[HappyHumber]

Nice.. Looks like a fairly large sized frame. I hope it's your size

[marc2131]

Nice.. Looks like a fairly large sized frame. I hope it's your size

Yep it fits well. Am about 6' 3", maybe less as age encroaches. Plan to take some better photos. Had a look at the serial number when I first got it and deduced it was made in Nov 1986 at the Carlton factory.

Have a question for the Raleigh experts out there: What sort of pedals, seat post and saddle would this have used? What about the bottle cages?

[BRLVR.v2]

Back wheel and cassette not original? Looks like only 5 sprockets.

[rkelsen]

Yep it fits well. Am about 6' 3", maybe less as age encroaches. Plan to take some better photos. Had a look at the serial number when I first got it and deduced it was made in Nov 1986 at the Carlton factory.

The Carlton factory at Worksop was closed in 1980.

Have a question for the Raleigh experts out there: What sort of pedals, seat post and saddle would this have used? What about the bottle cages?

The answers you seek can be found here:

This is a catalogue from 1984: http://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Raleigh84/

The only 1986 version I could find was the US one: http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_cat_usa86.html

You need to look at the 'specs' pages.

[Dow Jones Index]

The Carlton factory at Worksop was closed in 1980.

Truth. The Panasonic models were made in the Nottingham factory. If the serial number does actually designate it as coming from the Carlton factory then it's likely to be an earlier team model repainted in Panasonic colours (not a bad thing). That would also explain the seat stay junction.

As for components, it really depends where you want to take it. At the moment you have a mix of 105 a and 600, so you might want to complete it with more of that. that said there's nothing wrong with mixing groups. Have a look at the Raleigh appreciation thread, you'll see Vaeske went for a catalogue faithful restoration with full Campy Nuovo. I modernised mine slightly with a 6400 sti group to handle day to day commuting.

[Mustang]

No one ever gives me a bike

[vaeske]

The Carlton factory at Worksop was closed in 1980.

Truth. The Panasonic models were made in the Nottingham factory. If the serial number does actually designate it as coming from the Carlton factory then it's likely to be an earlier team model repainted in Panasonic colours (not a bad thing). That would also explain the seat stay junction.

As for components, it really depends where you want to take it. At the moment you have a mix of 105 a and 600, so you might want to complete it with more of that. that said there's nothing wrong with mixing groups. Have a look at the Raleigh appreciation thread, you'll see Vaeske went for a catalogue faithful restoration with full Campy Nuovo. I modernised mine slightly with a 6400 sti group to handle day to day commuting.

Hey, great to see another bloke joining the family. I'm so glad i bought my bike because its my pride and joy, now that i've got it back in riding condition, wheels will be rebuilt and hubs repacked and she'll handle the day to day stuff should i need it.

As DJI stated, nothing wrong with mixing parts, when i got mine, it had campy shifts and 600 headsets and cranks, the previous seller would've gotten some use out of it but i was anal and wanted the full restoration AND stupid coz its cost me an arm and a leg. I ride it maybe once or twice a week, retro rides, tweed rides etc so still happy with it. while DJI gave it the modern commuting easiness with 6400 sti brifters. Both worthwhile depending on what you wanna do.

More than happy to help you with anything you want to know as DJI and I are both proud owners and lovers of this bike.

[marc2131]

Thanks guys.
Transfering this to the Raleigh Appreciation thread. Will post better photos.

[marc2131]

Truth. The Panasonic models were made in the Nottingham factory. If the serial number does actually designate it as coming from the Carlton factory then it's likely to be an earlier team model repainted in Panasonic colours (not a bad thing). That would also explain the seat stay junction.

As for components, it really depends where you want to take it. At the moment you have a mix of 105 a and 600, so you might want to complete it with more of that. that said there's nothing wrong with mixing groups. Have a look at the Raleigh appreciation thread, you'll see Vaeske went for a catalogue faithful restoration with full Campy Nuovo. I modernised mine slightly with a 6400 sti group to handle day to day commuting.

The serial number under the BB is WP6000934. That would mean the W=Carlton 'Workshop',P= November, 6=1986.
This doesnt make sense especially when Team Replica's with this colour combination weren't being made by 1986.

See the numbering info here: http://spinwell.co.uk/tag/team-pro/

[WyvernRH]

The serial number under the BB is WP6000934. That would mean the W=Carlton 'Workshop',P= November, 6=1986.
This doesnt make sense especially when Team Replica's with this colour combination weren't being made by 1986.

See the numbering info here: http://spinwell.co.uk/tag/team-pro/

IIRC the year stamp only defines a year in a decade, but you have to guess which decade! So it could be 1976 which might make more sense?
Cheers
Richard

[Dow Jones Index]

The plot thickens! I'm going with my original assumption that it's an earlier Ti repainted in Panasonic colours to reflect the success of Phil Anderson (I've seen this before). But don't be disheartened, it's still a beautiful machine and very collectible. Many people regard the earlier models more highly than the Panasonics. Just have a look at the latest entry in the Raleigh Appreciation thread, phwoar!

[munga]

if it was a 1976, it'd probably have band-on for the shifters, and cable guides over the bottom bracket.
also a lugged fork crown, and exposed nutted brakes rather than later recessed ones.
still no idea why it doesn't have the shot in stays like vaeske's

[Dow Jones Index]

Good point. The actual team models had regular shoulders on the seat stays, as well as extra decals on the chain stays and top tube like this one. I'd imagine they're very rare though and it still doesn't explain the serial no.

[rkelsen]

if it was a 1976, it'd probably have band-on for the shifters, and cable guides over the bottom bracket.
also a lugged fork crown, and exposed nutted brakes rather than later recessed ones.

Also, a higher brake bridge, a cable stop for centre pull brakes between the seat stays, and no brazed in bottle mounts.

This one is a mystery. It's later than 1980, that's for sure.

[Dow Jones Index]

So I just had a look underneath my Panasonic, and the serial begins with WN4. My newly acquired Zenith begins with WC4 and it's made with 501 which wasn't introduced until 1983. I then did a bit of reading and found the 'w' prefix was used on all higher end frames built by Raleigh of Nottingham up until at least 1987. So that clears that confusion, and yes it probably WAS built in 1986

As for the seat stays, custom built frames were available in team colours as well a choice of 531 or 753. On the assumption it's a custom is it possible that in '86 Raleigh weren't using fastback stays anymore? That's my best guess anyway.

Here's a few links

http://radpropaganda.org/raleigh-team-pro-timeline/

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?p=125009

http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_cat_uk87.html

[HappyHumber]

Nice.. Looks like a fairly large sized frame. I hope it's your size

Yep it fits well. Am about 6' 3"...

Just cos... I'm a jealous 6'2"