This article examines the various marks and sub-variations of the Raleigh Professional Marks II-V which was Raleigh's top of the line racing machine for the US market from 1971 onwards and post 1974 exceeded only by the Raleigh SBDU Ilkeston-built Team Professionals. For those fortunate enough to own one, then or now, it remains one of the most distinctive and pleasing of racing machines in appearance and ride. Its trademark "blue mink" and silver paint, gold lug lining, lashings of lustrous chrome, characteristic "fastback" rear stays and all that much coveted Campagnolo componentry made it one of the most aesthetically pleasing and desired lightweights of the era and often a "pipe dream" machine for a generation of young cyclists on account of its very high cost. One of the most iconic of racing bicycles during the 1970s Bike Boom in America, the Raleigh Professional also represented the heyday of the marque in the country.
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