What could be more British than this?

[MercuryKev]

I see that our American cousins are getting a bit excited about this bike:

http://kensbikeski.com/itemdetails.cfm?id=3238

Apparently it's made of 520 reynolds STEEL, has a brooks saddle, fenders and costs just over $1000.  I don't think that I'd buy it but I do like the colour scheme.

[mike]

its even the same colour as a kaffenback.. 

[TheLurker]

Hmmmm.  The cynics amongst us might wonder whether or not that 'British' bike was in fact built in Britain.  One would like to think it was, but ...

[Charlotte]

Mmmmm, discs onna tourer - I likes that...

What's the silvery bit on the top tube?  It looks like a coupling, doesn't it?

[LEE]

Only one silvery bit though so it may just be a badge or something.  Would be awesome value if it had S&S couplngs. (Seems pretty good value as it is at <£600)

Forks don't look very British, they look more like the notoriously inflexible forks on a 1990's Kona MTB (reknown for dislodging fillings)

[fuzzy]

Mmmmm, discs onna tourer - I likes that...

What's the silvery bit on the top tube?  It looks like a coupling, doesn't it?

The image has a zoom function. It looks to be a gimmicky 'R Sovereign' name badge type thingy.

[chris]

Mmmmm, discs onna tourer - I likes that...

What's the silvery bit on the top tube?  It looks like a coupling, doesn't it?

Its to protect the top tube if the handlebars hit it in a crash (I think). I've seen this before on some track bikes.

[Ian H]

Mmmmm, discs onna tourer - I likes that...

What's the silvery bit on the top tube?  It looks like a coupling, doesn't it?

Its to protect the top tube if the handlebars hit it in a crash (I think). I've seen this before on some track bikes.

In this case because of the bar-end levers I presume.
Why no mudguard eyes on the forks?

[Frenchie]

Looks nice.

[Deano]

Mmm very nice - that is the sort of thing I'll be after if my steel-girder frame ever gives up the ghost.

Disc brakes on a tourer look the part so much.

[Valiant]

I like it

[mrcharly-YHT]

Mmmmm, discs onna tourer - I likes that...

What's the silvery bit on the top tube?  It looks like a coupling, doesn't it?

Its to protect the top tube if the handlebars hit it in a crash (I think). I've seen this before on some track bikes.

In this case because of the bar-end levers I presume.
Why no mudguard eyes on the forks?

Because they are cheap crap? Dunno. Looks odd to me.

I'd expect better gears than Deore on a $1000 bike. LX at least.

[fuzzy]

Mmmmm, discs onna tourer - I likes that...

What's the silvery bit on the top tube?  It looks like a coupling, doesn't it?

Its to protect the top tube if the handlebars hit it in a crash (I think). I've seen this before on some track bikes.

In this case because of the bar-end levers I presume.
Why no mudguard eyes on the forks?

Because they are cheap crap? Dunno. Looks odd to me.

I'd expect better gears than Deore on a $1000 bike. LX at least.

I'm not too up on MTB kit so don't know how much Deore is but, $1000 only equates to £500.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I hadn't realised how weak the dollar is. my bad, I assumed that was a £750 bike.

Basic deore is, erm, basic. £18 from Chain reaction.

[tiermat]

Deore is about right on a £500/$1000 bike, think of it as Sora/Tiagra territory (and thus you wouldn't start seeing LX until a couple of hundred pounds/$400 up the price line).
LX approximates 105
XT ditto Ultegra
XTR ditto Dura-Ace

HTH

[Yorkshireman]

That tripple would be a bit 'tall' for touring (for me anyway ), the forks and head-tube don't look relaxed enough either, there's no mounts for a front rack, that rear mudguard looks a bit on the short side as well and finally ... Those funny little bits on the rear of the guards ... Mudflaps? ... Pssshew!  .

[Robbo4]

520 is the Taiwanese version of English 525. So in fact the saddle is the only British part.

[chris]

there's no mounts for a front rack

It has, zoom in and have a look, but I do agree about the mudguards. Strange that it has these, but no muguard eyes on the fork.

Also, there is no emergency release on the front mudguard, yet the back mudguard appears to have one, even though it does not need one, and it is fitted using the same bolt as the back rack, possibly making is likely to fail as the rack flexes under load..

[Tom B]

Good-looking bike, nice colours: simple but striking
Are the bars closer to moustache than drop, or is it just the angle of the pic?

Will it be on sale here, I wonder?

[Ian H]

Bars, mudguards, chainset and gears, saddle, rack - all the stuff I'd want to be able to specify. Frame looks okay - neat, nothing special.

[Craig]

Will it be on sale here, I wonder?

I doubt it. I think Raleigh USA are a separate company from Raleigh UK, with completely different ranges of bikes. eg Raleigh USA have had several nice looking fixies available for a few years, but no sign of them here.

[Yorkshireman]

there's no mounts for a front rack

It has, zoom in and have a look, but I do agree about the mudguards. Strange that it has these, but no muguard eyes on the fork.

Also, there is no emergency release on the front mudguard, yet the back mudguard appears to have one, even though it does not need one, and it is fitted using the same bolt as the back rack, possibly making is likely to fail as the rack flexes under load..

Ah! I didn't zoom enough , but to mount front racks like these

one would have to either share the 'P' clip mount, or fit another one I suppose. I wouldn't worry about guards and rack sharing mounting points, as my present set-up does that on the front (and has done for 9 -10 years) without problems - in fact my previous bike (BSA) shared two 'guard stays and a rack stay on the same rear mount.

[microphonie]

Will it be on sale here, I wonder?

I doubt it. I think Raleigh USA are a separate company from Raleigh UK, with completely different ranges of bikes. eg Raleigh USA have had several nice looking fixies available for a few years, but no sign of them here.

Such as the One Way