Building my TI-Raleigh Team Pro 753 (…and the other SBDU Ilkeston bikes I've collected along the way…)
SB518 is the third frame I have lined up this year to be painted in the TI-Raleigh colours (it’s nice to start the year with a plan). This is a solid frame and has no issues or rust, it needs no frame work and is perfect for a renovation. By the time 2020 comes around I should have this paint scheme well and truly sorted!
After selling one of my frames a few years ago (SB447), I promised myself that I wouldn’t sell another. These frames are sought after and I get lots of requests to part with them, but I decline them all. My frames form a very important collection – they document the materials, styles and features that Raleigh’s Specialist Bicycle Development Unit (SBDU) used throughout the lifetime of the unit and I’m close to having an example of most of these styles. However, I had a frame that was a duplicate of another and so I took the opportunity when it came to swap it, with the intention of enhancing my collection.
