raleigh clubman for sale-23" frame, reynolds 531- pics

[dez]

raleigh clubman for sale-23" frame, reynolds 531- pics

right, bit of a strange one this. i dont really 'do' road bikes, but ive been offered one as a part-ex against a mtb i have, and am trying to see if its a fair deal, and if it is, if i can sell it!!
it appears to be quite a nice bike, and is much nicer and higher spec then the usual road bikes in used to seeing (mostly much older raleighs).

its a raleigh clubman. the frame number starts 'WD5' which according to online sources would date it as a 1985 model. id be suprised if it is though, it looks a lot newer than that to me, or maybe its just in bloody good nick!!

quick spec-
reynolds 531 frame- it says all frame tubes not just main three. has suntour adjustable dropouts. i never new road bikes had features like this!
weinmann 27" eyeletted alloy rims, mallard QR hubs, 6 speed block.
suntour mechs, suntour power shift ratchet shift levers (downtube mount)
suguno GT cranks, bolts and alloy rings. really nasty brand new plastic pedals that need binning to be honest
suede seat, fluted SR laprade seatpost.
weinmann 610 brakes, weinmann levers
'custom' alloy stem, alloy raleigh drop bars(lovingly wrapped in electrical tape!)
overall reasonable condition, looks to have been ridden very little, but its let down by various storage scratches on the frame, and some chainslap. the the only corrosion ive noticed on the bike is some pitting to the headset locknut/front brake cable drop bracket.
the only other bad point is the tyres hold air, but are cracked and really need replacing.
edit-pics!

a clean and polish, a new pair of tyres, some less horrendous pedals, and some bar wrap and it would be a very respectable looking bike- not thats its terrible at the moment, i just like things to be perfect

for it to be worth my while taking it as a p/x, i would need to sell it for about £175. the seller seems to think its worth this all day long, but tbh, id prefer a buyers opinion as to its value- is it worth this? if so, does anyone want it at that price?!
if not, as this is a bit of a 3-way deal, PM me with what you think it is worth, and i can negotiate with the guy whos offered me it to see if we can work a deal. i can do delivery to a uk address at £25, otherwise its located in essex, either colchester or southend, at your convenience.

 

[djoptix]

Pictures would help.

A friend had a Clubman and it wasn't that great - but this one sounds like it is finished off a lot better (alloy rims instead of steel etc). Raleigh all-531 frames have a very good reputation. I still think £175 would be the top end of what you'd get, though if you can add touring kit it might go for a bit higher... especially in London where they have more money than sense!

 

[dez]

Pictures would help.

A friend had a Clubman and it wasn't that great - but this one sounds like it is finished off a lot better (alloy rims instead of steel etc). Raleigh all-531 frames have a very good reputation. I still think £175 would be the top end of what you'd get, though if you can add touring kit it might go for a bit higher... especially in London where they have more money than sense!

yeah, i thought it was much better finished than any other raleigh id seen- but as i say ive only dealt with the lowlier stuff, and id imagine by the tubeset this was quite an expensive bike when new.
ive jsut added some pics to the OP, so see what you think.
i dont really know what people are looking for when buying a road bike though, as ive always been mtb where strength is always the factor- other than light weight i suppose?
what do you mean by touring gear? a rack?

and yeah i know all about the london market vs. the rest of the planet market. luckily for me im close enough to the godawful place for them to be prepared to jump on the train to come and collect my stuff if they buy it on ebay

 

[Fairyglass]

Someone with more knowledge than me will doubtless be along shortly, but from memory the 531 sticker means just the three main tubes are 531, not the seat and chainstays. Do the forks have a 531 sticker too? I used to sell this model way back when, and it does look like original equipment mostly- it's missing mudguards and possibly a rear rack- I can't remember for sure.

Nice bike to ride, but I doubt I'd pay that sort of money for one now. I'm happy to be told otherwise, but would have thought around £120 might be a fair price? It doesn't look like it needs much doing to get it roadworthy...

 

[grumpycommuter]

Definately 85. Ive got an 84 version as my daily ride with identical decals. It's an absolute pleasure to ride, light and responsive, indeed i would go as far as describing it as 'pert'!!! I got mine for £25 but its probably not a fair comparison as the forks / front wheel had been reversed over and the owner knew even less than me about bikes :roll: For £150 inc. postage somebodys going to get a really nice bike.

 

[spark303]

Someone with more knowledge than me will doubtless be along shortly, but from memory the 531 sticker means just the three main tubes are 531, not the seat and chainstays. Do the forks have a 531 sticker too?

If it says "531 Frame Tubes", it's just the 3 main tubes, unless the forks also have 531 decals. 531 throughout would say something like "531 (butted) frame tubes, forks and stays".

The 80's Raleigh Clubman only had the 3 main tubes in 531 (see here). Nice ride all the same though.

 

[dez]

ok, so its only the main tubes are 531- ile amend the post. on mtbs ive had in the past its said '3 tubes 531' or something like that, and 'frame tubes' would mean all of them. my mistake!!

thanks for the links to the catalogue though, very informative.

so it seems general consensus is it worth about £150 delivered? so say £125 collected.

i have been considering weather it would be worth me sticking a set of tyres, some bar tape and some better pedals on it so its all 'fixed', and upping the price a little to cover this- what do you all think?

 

[1duck]

Never ever put anything into a bike...unless you have it lying around, you won't get back what the bits cost you.

I mean a pair of tyres is going to be at least 10-15 quid? handlebar tape...say 4 quid, pedals at least another 10 so thats already about 25 quid.

A sixth of the current value? seems excessive don't you think.

 

[alanf1968]

No chance of getting £175 back for it, I have a collection of Raleigh Record Aces, the model above with full 531 frame, a significantly better bike, although the Clubman Lady is attracting big prices

 

[tproland]

is this still available?