Originally Posted by
noglider
So are you asking if it's from 1976 or 1986. Definitely closer to 1976.
I don't agree that 531 on a mixte is senseless. It is rare, though, and I suppose that's because people who want that style bike may not want to spend much on it. But I do agree that the components are a bit too cheap for a 531 frame, but only by a little. They are reliable. I was so pleased to see Raleigh replace the cottered steel crank with the cheap alloy cotterless one. And I was just as pleased to see them replace the Simplex gear system with a SunTour one. The brakes were adequate and didn't need changing. The only thing that's not nice on the bike is the steel rims. At the time, alloy rims were pretty expensive and therefore rare on a mid-line bike.
I have seen some fairly high end Mixte frames... Kuwahara made very nice models with butted frame sets as did Motobecane who produced a mixte touring version.
Simplex parts from the early 70's are pretty poor in quality and it was sad to see a company that dominated the derailer market for decades hit such lows... most often I replace all the Simplex bits with Suntour parts as even the low end Suntour bits are of very good quality and never seem to fail.
My sister's Kuwahara Mixte (Ishiwata frame) is an exceptionally well made bicycle that came with some very nice parts and has been upgraded even more so that she can use it for touring.
It was a terrific find.