Pony (tail) express

Laurent Fignon's Raleigh System U team

I was already aware of Laurent Fignon's class and his back to back Tour wins of 1983 and 1984 but never really had much interest in him at that time as I was under the spell of the Italian greats like Saronni and Moser.

By the end of 1987 my Italian heroes were coming to the end of their careers and I was looking for a new cycling hero, Fignon's resurgence after four years in the wilderness was the spark I needed.

My introduction to cycling actually came through an interest in bicycles. To be honest I had previously spent more time tinkering with them for friends in my parents' garage than riding them. Encouragement to actually use one was at first met with my steadfast resistance but soon after those first shaky pedal strokes I was engulfed by all things cycling including the colour and excitement of continental racing. An early fascination with pro team bikes influenced my equipment preferences in those formative days and resulted in this, one of many team replica bikes I have owned over the years.

Fignon's Raleigh 1998

Fully kitted out with Campagnolo Record

No SIS, all gears are friction

Steel bottle cages

Campagnolo Record

I had previously tried to source a Gitane System U team frame during 1988 while on holiday in France but was thwarted by a lengthy delivery time and what appeared to be an exorbitant price tag. Imagine my relief that I had shelved the project when I found out that Raleigh of all manufacturers were to supply the Super U (as they had become) team bikes for 1989.

Fignon's final stamp of authority on the Poggio in the 1989 Milan Sanremo as he rode Frans Massen off his wheel to take a superb solo victory was a decisive moment for me and helped me decide my new bike project...

Obtaining one however was not going to be easy.

For some reason you could not buy an exact specification team frame that year. The Super U team frames were made of Reynolds' flagship 753 tubing but you could only buy a team replica made from 653 which whilst quite reasonable was constructed using different lugs, dropouts, lugs, bb shell, brake bridge and fork crown. Add that to the fact the seat stay layout and rear brake cable routing were different and really the only shared features were the frame transfers, head badge and paint…I bought one anyway, but it was not what I had in mind.

A chance over the counter meeting, some months later, with a rep at the bike shop was working in revealed that he had just been to visit a well known local frame builder that morning ,a builder who was an ex Raleigh special products employee. A pile of raw frames sat in his workshop awaiting painting. When asked he revealed that he had been contracted to supply some 753 frames for Raleigh due to a supply problem they had suffered. It was alleged that the Super U director sportif Cyrille Guimard had rejected the Raleigh originals and needed new frames ASAP. Raleigh could not respond, partly due to the fact that they had decided to lay off many of their most accomplished master frame builders.

This got me thinking, the way to a “true team bike” was actually through the same channel so a phone call was made. The 653 replica frame was sold and a spare transfer set ordered. I scoured countless photos of Fignon and team in action, scrutinizing every detail. Once I knew exactly what I wanted, the brake cable entry and exit holes location, the seat stay configuration, Cinelli “aero” cast brake bridge, and the little things that made all the difference, the order was placed. My frame was delivered a month or so later in the raw and then sent away for a nice coat of pearl white paint. I painstakingly fitted the transfers myself with careful reference to my now comprehensive library of photos to ensure the exact position of each one. The “Campagnolo equipped” and “Reynolds” stickers were also sourced to ensure total accuracy.

Attention to detail slipped towards OCD as I tracked down the chrome steel TA bottle cages, the Ciclomaster fork mounted computer, Wolber transfers which had to be fitted to the rims and perhaps most anal of all, those blue rubber gear lever covers. These were actually used by Fignon to disguise the fact that he was using the distinctively shaped Simplex retro friction gear levers instead of the sponsor supplied Campagnolo Record item. Although the Record lever that year featured a clutch mechanism it did not have the same travel or feel of the French offering.

During the 1989 season Fignon's bikes varied in specification. His Giro winning bike even sported chrome forks so I had to make a decision about the guise I would finally leave the bike in and on Bastille Day 1989 when Fignon broke away during a Tour stage with Charly Mottet I knew that was it… Peeling off the silver Benotto handlebar tape and painstakingly recreating the red white and blue of the French flag with a sharp pair of scissors , a fresh tube of super glue and nothing better to do for a couple of hours the “ final version” was complete. Well, once the rear blocks of my Record Delta brakes had been replaced with ones from Campagnolo's Euclid off road groupset just like Fignon's!

Looking at this bike now and comparing it with today's team machines it looks skeletal and is surprisingly heavy, but back then it was as good as it got. Whenever I see it now it evokes memories of a time gone by, fumbling for a clean gear shift, those little calluses caused by brake levers that were an excercise in style over function and brakes that required the patience of a saint to set up and maintain. A bike non the less that shared the lead role together with Greg Lemond's starring in the most exciting Tour de France of all time..

Six speed rear block Slender lines and which now looks out of place when compared with modern fat tube bikes Bastille Day tape Cinelli forged lugs and note the Simplex levers (hidden with blue covers) that Laurent liked Bike specifications Reynolds 753 frameset (source as described) Campagnolo Record Delta Groupset (with rear brake block and Simplex retro friction gear lever deviations) Selle Italia Turbo saddle ITM Strada handlebars ITM Mod. 400 handlebar stem Benotto handlebar tape Time Titan Magnesium pedals Maillard 7 speed freewheel Sedis silver chain Wolber TX profil rims 32 Hole ACI stainless double butted spokes Michelin Comp HD Tyres 700x23mm (one of the first high performance high pressure tyres to be used by professional teams!) TA chrome steel bottle cages (I have white alloy ones tucked away as well) Ciclomaster fork mounted computer