Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

Raleigh Team Professional

Raleigh Team Professional

As the 2013 Tour de France braces itself for Stage 8, the first battle with an HC peak—scaling the Col de Pailhères—it’s sobering to remember these feats of climbing weren’t always performed upon ultra-light carbon bikes with electronic shifting. The 1980 Tour was won by Joop Zoetemelk on a Raleigh Team Professional like this one, restored by Klaus Hogrebe of Germany’s Eisenherz Bikes.

Raleigh introduced the Team Professional to their catalog during the early 70s as a top-shelf racer. The ubiquitous red, black and yellow of the bikes were to become synonymous with the hugely successful T.I. Raleigh team, winning numerous World Championships, stage races, classics, team time trials and track races, but the pinnacle of the team’s resumé was Joop’s 1980 Tour victory.

A glance through a timeline of Raleigh catalogs dates this one to about 1982 or ’83. The Reynolds 531 frame was usually advertised with a Campagnolo Nuovo Record group, but Klaus restored this version with Shimano’s 600 Arabesque ensemble which, some might say, is even prettier. A fine example of Klaus’ collection, most of which are listed for sale on the Eisenherz Bikes website.

Raleigh Team Professional
Raleigh Team Professional
Raleigh Team Professional
Raleigh Team Professional
Raleigh Team Professional
Raleigh Team Professional