Workmanship was worse than most of the big brands in the 70s. But the designs were proven. My first truly nice bike was a 1975 Raleigh Gran Sport, purchased in 1976. I shouldn't have sold it. I replaced it with a 1979 PX-10, which I loved, but it's a different kind of bike. Now I'm back into the 70s Raleighs, and I have quite a few:
1962 Rudge Sports (made in Nottingham with a Rudge fork)
1971 Super Course
1971 Professional Track
1973 Twenty
1974 International
The Sports is a Sports, and you either like them or you don't.
I don't like the Twenty, and I'll eventually finish renovating and moving it on.
The Super Course was quite a surprise. It rides better than you would expect. I've taken it on spirited day rides, commuted on it, hauled with it, and toured on it. It's ugly, but it's a champ.
The International is everything I had hoped it to be and more. It's a work in progress.
The Professional Track feels very at home on the velodrome surface. I built it after using a modern Leader frame, and the Raleigh feels like the designers really knew what they were doing.
Maybe Aaron's International was a lemon. Or maybe his style and taste are different enough that it's the wrong bike for him and the right one for me. I adore mine.
Peter Weigle is a highly sought-after frame builder. Most people can't afford his frames which also have a several-year waiting period. But he also modifies old Raleigh frames, probably for a lot less than one of his from-the-ground-up frames. Why does he modify Raleighs? I can only guess it's because they're worth investing in. Maybe he fixes up the flaws or he only uses the lucky good specimens.
This is why, despite the flaws, Raleigh bikes made in Nottingham and Worksop (and the Netherlands and Canada) were some darned good bikes.
I worked in bike shops from 1978 through 1984. As a mechanic, I strongly preferred selling and assembling and repairing Japanese-made bikes for the reliability and workmanship. But I preferred to ride Raleighs and French-made bikes, because I just liked the way they rode better. It's a matter of taste to a large degree, and lots of people feel the same way.