Commuting - Mid-90s Raleigh M50

I was out taking the baby for a walk today and came across a huge garage sale that had alot of childrens stuff (toys, clothes, etc.) so I stopped in. In the corner I saw a nice looking Mt. Bike and asked if it was for sale and it was! She said it belonged to her son when he was in college and she'd let it go for $35.00. It was a Raleigh M50 and in pretty darned good condition. It had the expected dings and scratches on it, the knobbies were worn down quite a bit, and it had minimal rust on the fastening hardware so I took it.
I have spent the last hour looking it over and it seems to be in pretty good shape with a few exceptions and oddities (to me at least).

* The front hub has some play in it. If I pick the front wheel off the ground the axel has slight movement in the hub. Okay, no biggie, a new hub and rebuild of the wheel will cost about 50 bucks or so, I cn handle that. Or is this something I can possibly fix on my own?

* The stem is strange to me because I've never seen one like it. The cable passes straight down thru two holes drilled in the stem and leads to the front brake. I assume this is common for this sort of bike but since I never was into biking 10 years ago I've never seen this before. I had planned on getting a riser stem and new handle bars, do they still make stems like this and if so where? I guess I could keep the stem and just get used to it.

I'm pleased with the purchase thus far and have seen many good things said about this sort of bike on here. I think after a few upgrades it'll make a great commuter. I have plans on some Nashbar Trekking bars, new brake pads, new 1.75" commuting wheels, and a few other things.

Any M50 owners out there want to chime in on anything I might be interested in knowing about this bike? I plan on riding it in to work on Thursday (20 miles round trip) just to see how it feels, hopefully the front hub will hold up. I like the Shimano components on it, they might be low end and ugly but as long as they work I'll be happy. Now I can finally turn my Giant Rainier into a full on Mountain Bike like I had planned.

hey I have one that has been recently converted into a SS.
here is a pic
http://static.flickr.com/53/162971065_206ed6f2b2.jpg

I am assuming that the bike has alivio hubs if they are the same as what mine had... if they are they are cup and cone type hubs and you can adjust the cones in a bit tighter and taht should take the play out of the fron hub

do you have any pictures of the bike?

they still make quill stems like what would be on that bike and I'm sure you could find one you like for fairly cheap online. other than that the frame is nice I've had mine since 95 I think and have beaten and abused it for all its worth and its still going strong. I just recently stripped and repainted it to be a beater/bar/cargo bike although its still a work in progress.

mmmm copper, nice colour
no pics as of yet, too lazy to call my wife and ask where the camera is
I'll go out and check the hubs later, can't leave while the baby is running around, chasing the cats, eating.... dammit
not sure of the mfg of the hubs/wheels though, the writing is quite faded on the front
the rear however is alivio, but since the front has 32 spokes and the rear has 36 I'd hate to guestimate that they both are the same mfg

I would still guess that the front hub will be a cup and cone type setup that you can adjust bearings so that it rolls smooth with no wobble. enjoy the bike I've enjoyed mine...its one that I will never part with considering that it was my first real bike(ie non x-mart) and my parents bought it for me

I just checked out the front hub and was able to tighten it up but there is still something definately wrong with it, almost like it is missing something.
When I clamp the wheel down the fork hits the retaining bolt pretty hard and when I spin the wheel the entire outer portion of the hub stays put; ie the rubber bushing and retaining nut. It almost seems like a bushing is missing from it.
I'll just toss the RhynoLite from my Rainier on it for now just to see how it works out until I can get it in working order.