This Raleigh Europa comes to us from the greatest bike city I’ve had the pleasure of visiting, Melbourne, Australia. I once stated that I can’t stand flat bars on road bikes, but after seeing this one and many other nice examples, I am growing more accepting of this configuration.
This Raleigh has been in regular use for most of it’s 30+ years, so has seen a number of repairs and modifications (including the loss of the drop bars).
I got it from a friend who was about to scrap it. The intention was to strip the oddball Raleigh parts for another project. Instead, I serviced it and fitted contemporary flat bars with period grips and brake levers from a Raleigh 20. It nearly looks authentic. New Tyres, cables and brake pads, it’s now the preferred commuter on days that I don’t need a rack. (and it doesn’t have a broken spoke)
Thanks Peter