What Kind of Raleigh 531 ST do I have? Please help!

[djmapletoft]

Hello!

(Almost) first time poster here! Reposting in this section after some kind other members recommended I do so from the retro MTB thread.

Could anyone help me identify what kind of Raleigh I have here?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/139316030 ... 899537354/

I got it second hand and have been restoring it. Initially I thought I'd got a Raleigh Panasonic 531c but having checked everything out the colour is similar but not identical. The Reynolds tubing sticker also says it's a 531ST. It also has a slightly odd looking sticker as a badge (not the original right?)

I looked for the serial number on the bottom bracket but whoever had it before me painted the whole underside of the bike blue. I've managed to carefully scrape off some paint though and got some letters through.

If you zoom in on the picture it looks like WG0 ... and then S. Which I'm assuming from this - http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_s ... l#19731982 - is Worksop, May 1980?

The rest of the numbers after the S I haven't been able to get to, wherever they are.

The tubing definitely feels like 531 in terms of weight but I can't tell the difference between 531c and 531st... Just wondering if I've got a decent bike here worth restoring further or whether I should sell up and get a regular panasonic!

Cheers!

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re:

Hi

I am going to say this first, everything I say from this point is pure speculation based on my own limited knowledge.....

I honestly don't think that frame is 531ST, or a Panasonic frame. I believe it is far more likely to be 531C or maybe 531 Frame Tubes. I would wholeheartedly agree on your assessment of the frame No. being a May 80 frame, based mainly on the cable guides under the bottom bracket....

I am in no doubt you have a very nice frame there. Could I ask what dropouts it has front and rear ?

 

[djmapletoft]

Thanks so much for your reply!

I've put photos of the dropouts up - https://www.flickr.com/photos/139316030@N08/

Again, the previous owner has painted over the back ones with thick blue paint so I can't read if anything's stamped there... But from what I can tell they look like stamped dropouts without hangers? I'll take the wheel off tomorrow and do some more digging.

I also thought it was weird that it had a 531 ST sticker on it and I know that sometimes people just stick them on... But it looks like an old / original sticker at least?

Thanks for the help!

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re:

Once again just conjecture at the moment, they look like forged Campagnolo long pattern dropouts with mudguard eyes, not uncommon on even high end racing frames at the time...

 

[Big Hammer]

Re:

Could it simply be a Raleigh frameset with Touring geometry and therefore supplied in 531ST tubing - or is the wheelbase a bit too short?
It could have originally been built up from a bare frame rather than bought as a complete bike. On the other hand it could have started life as something else then been repainted a completely different colour.

 

[hamster]

A bit of a clue will be the seatpost. The heavier touring seat tube generally takes a 27.0 rather than 27.2.

 

[legrandefromage]

A bit of a clue will be the seatpost. The heavier touring seat tube generally takes a 27.0 rather than 27.2.

Not strictly true. I have 531 frames in 27.0 flavour and touring frames with 27.2

'Super Tourist' is not really a set type of tubing just 531 in different wall thicknesses depending on what was required of a frame. Reynolds thought a thicker top tube would help stabilise loaded frames (but the ride is lousy due to the loss of flex)

Super Tourist, Competition, Club Sport etc names were dropped for the non specific 'Designer Select' so builders could build whatever they wanted to suit their requirements. This muddied the waters a bit for badge snobbery as just about anything came under that badge including the use of Columbus tubes!

According to the internet:

531c
Top tube - 0.8/0.5db
Down tube - 0.9/0.6db
Seat tube - 0.8/0.5sb
Fork blade - 1.0/0.5
steerer - 2.3/1.6sb
Seatstay - 0.5 x 16
Chainstay - 0.8
tubeset weight ~ 2050g

531ST
Top tube - 1.0/0.7db
Down tube - 1.0/0.7db
Seat tube - 1.0/0.7sb
Fork blade - 1.2/0.8
steerer - 2.3/1.6sb
Seatstay - 0.9 x 16
Chainstay - 0.9
tubeset weight ~2300g

 

[djmapletoft]

Is there any way to tell whether the paint is original or not? And to check the frame material - is it just a case of measuring?

If it's not 531ST I'm assuming it's 531C and the previous owner maybe messed about trying to make it look a Panasonic? Or maybe even 501? I can tell by comparison at least that it's not pig iron or anything like that.

The fact that it has two cable guides on the top instead of three also has me stumped...

Wanting to restore the paintwork (also in the process of upgrading to Dura Ace 7200 GroupSet) but ideally would want it to be whatever the original was! I've been trawling through the catalogues on Sheldon Brown but for 1980 they only seem to have the Gazelle Catalogue up there. I've even been wondering whether it could even be a Raleigh Record or a Sprint underneath it all... Argh!

 

[djmapletoft]

Re:

UPDATE:

Thanks to one very kind poster who PMd me, I think we've identified the frame as either a Raleigh Competition / Competition 12!

Much like this one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1980-S-Ralei ... 7675.l2557

So now I'm on the look out for the right paint job to get closer to its original design as the panasonicy stuff must be a spray on

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re:

The bike in the listing has been removed.

Glad you finally solved the mystery though