Not vintage or French Tourers/Campeurs, Trade/Porteurs, Audax/Randonneurs, Commuters/Town

Cees Raas, Interesting bicycle here I think. Owners text below.

CERA frame no. 4, made by Cees Raas of 'S Heerenhoek, Holland, around 1980.

Originally a racing bike frame with 700c wheels. I don't know the circumstances of the original design; but I found the geometry a little odd, with a downward sloping top tube (ca. 1 cm lower at the front than at the rear). The frame angles were around 75 degrees. The bike rode fine. But it wasn't really the bike I wanted.

Mark Guglielmana modified it. This involved using a different fork --an Electra Ticino touring fork that had a lot of offset and a lot of clearance and bosses for cantilever brakes and 700c wheels.

Mark re-raked that fork and moved the brake bosses so the bike now fits 26 inch wheels with really fat tires.

The front rack that Mark made is pretty special. Specifically, the light mount has a remote control feature. There is a shifter on the left end of the handlebar that moves a lever attached to the rack, to turn the headlight up or down as needed.

Another unusual feature is the Suntour S-1 derailleur. Like the Nivex derailleur of the 1930's, and the Altenburger derailleur of the 1950's, this one mounts below the chain stay. It indexes to seven positions-- and it is the derailleur that indexes, not the shifter.

The rear fender is cut at the brake bridge so it's easy to remove. The taillight, which is designed to go on the fender, isn't on the fender; I mounted it on the seat stays where it should be highly visible and isn't affected by removing the rear part of the fender.

The brakes, at this point, are a bit of an issue. These are Dia-Compe 983 cantilevers from the 1980's. They work very well, but they are difficult in other ways... and will be updated.

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A early 1980s Raleigh Portage N.O.S. American built Raleigh. Owners text below. A rather nice bicycle and very unusual in the UK.

My first 650B bike: A NOS Raleigh Portage from the early '80s. A true touring bike, the frame had slack angles, long chainstays, and stiff tubing. Full braze-ons for racks and lowriders were also provided. The bike came with drop bars, downtube shifters, and quill pedals.

I fitted the Brooks B-17, Nitto High Crown stem, Mustache handlebar, SunTour barcons, rear derailleur, SKS mudguards, MKS pedals, pump. and saddlebag.

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