USAZorro

As I sit and think a bit more, it may well be a Record - one of the ones that is basically a Grand Prix with a couple corners cut.

Desirability is definitely a matter of perspective here. If I had no bike, or nothing better, I would be pleased to have it. Having eight bicycles that are more pleasing to ride, I'd take a pass on it. If the objective is to have something to ride, might seem worth it. However, a bit more searching is likely to yield something considerably better. From a monetary standpoint, there's little there to be obtained.

USAZorro

I'd lean towards the U-08 for $10.00 over the dumpster Raleigh. So much of this hobby/addiction is wrapped up in why we gravitate to the bike and what we intend to do with it. There are clear, no-brainer decisions, and also much closer calls. I may ask questions about someone else's decisions, or possibly point out things that I think might help educate someone, but I am well beyond telling someone they made a mistake unless they told me their evaluation criteria and asked my opinion.

desconhecido 

Yeah, they do.

Looks a lot like a Sprite except for the drop bars. Looks like a steel rear brake caliper and I think most of the Taiwanese ones used Weinmann, but I don't know that for sure. Also, the Taiwanese ones I've seen don't say Nottingham on the head badge. Again, I'm not sure about all Taiwanese Raleighs.

No, it's not a great bike -- bordering on not even being good -- but bikes of similar vintage and quality can be decent and serviceable bikes. It's not really very much more crappy than a Raleigh Sports and I've got a garage full of those and I heart me some Sports.

kunsunoke 

Well, cheap or not - there's always home for it at the co-op.

browngw 

The Raleigh Canada Plant made bikes in this country until about three years ago. The Sprites, Sports, Grand Prix and a hundred other lessor names were a pretty much the same "Hi-Tensile 20-30" steel construction. Often bikes sold in Canada would show up with N serial numbers from England likely because of the lesser tariffs.
The R serial denotes Made in Canada. (not Taiwan).
I recently rebuilt a 1995 Triumph ATB made by Raleigh Canada and sold it for $265. A current Record Mixte is also for sale. All good frames and pretty bikes. There is no traction to be gained by passing along the snobbish part of the bike hobby to others.

https://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...2&d=1432922539

BigChief 

I don't think the remarks here are motivated by snobbery. A lot of the riders here use their bikes for serious mileage and hilly country. The idea of riding a Record halfway across Vermont would be torture compared to a quality lightweight. But, there is a whole different style of riding and it's one that I personally enjoy. It is shorter, flatter trips on relatively heavy vintage bikes. I've spent more time on my old Raleigh Sports and even MY DL-1 lately than my lightweight Motobecane. It's just plain fun. Something about the feel of the old bikes appeal to me. I can see why more serious riders would think poorly of the cheaper models. They wouldn't be as suitable for the riding they do. For me, I could have fun rescuing this bike from the dumpster and riding it around. I just wouldn't expect it to be good on long trips or very hilly roads.

browngw 

Just acquired a full chaincase DL1 this week! Would love to see a picture and description. Mine can be seen here. https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ays-tonne.html

rjhammett

If you have the parts in your parts bin to get it running go for it. It would make a beater bike extraordinaire. Just don't expect much when completed. I wouldn't ride it very far unless you wanted a really good workout. I wouldn't spend more than $20 on it.

Oldpeddaller

C'mon guys, give Bustaknot a break! He got the bike for free. He went to the trouble of putting trousers on to rescue a lugged steel Raleigh from land-fill or worse. He's enquired about it's heritage and wants to give it a home.

OK it's not a Hetchins, a Confente or even one of Raleigh's better offerings. However, many (most?) of us started our cycling careers on bikes of a lower level than this one. A used front wheel, weinmann or dia-compe rear brake calliper, new brake pads and it's a rider. Make a good bike for riding round town, in bad weather, you could even lock it to a lamp post and not lose too much sleep! OK not worth buying new parts for, I admit but this is one bike that you could easily convert to a fixie - or better still maybe, a single speed freewheel bike with two brakes for minimal cost - and not have a crisis of conscience.

Good luck Bustaknot, let us know what you decide and how it goes.

Johnny Mullet

Nothing wrong with a cheap or low end bike. Some people really like them

ramzilla

At least take it to the local bike charity.

Roll-Monroe-Co

You can get it going. Why not give it a shot? It's no Campione del Mondolaccio, or whatever. Who cares? Enjoy it. Maybe you'll have some frustration. That's working on old bikes. Whatever. Cripes.

browngw 

Saving a usable bike from landfill and finding it a good home is reason enough.

BigChief 

Mine's a 1973. All stock. Riding it reminds me of driving my Father's Sedan DeVille in the 70s

MielleCondor72

I agree with the more positive posters here. Why the terrible disparaging comments about a bike saved from the dumpster? Okay so its not a top of the line bike from Raleigh? So what? The OP was asking for assistance to figure out what he had just saved. Couldn't the C&V forum readers be a bit more helpful and little less judgemental? For a free bike it looks to be in pretty good condition seeing how it came out of a dumpster.

I respect the opinion of someone of nogliders experience. The OP didn't say he was going to spend a lot of money on this bike to get it back on its wheels. He wanted to know what he found and confirm the year and country of origin. A free bike can't be all bad.

The bike needs a front rim and tire to make it servicable to ride. Once its been ridden the condition of the bike can be better determined. I for one hope the OP takes the more positive posts and keeps those of us interested - like myself informed as to how the project goes. I'd like to see how it turns out. A trip to his local co-op can solve the wheel and tire issue. As others stated it would be a good learning and city bike to ride around without having to worry about it being stolen in a bike mad city like Toronto.

Bustaknot keep us informed on how it goes. I look forward to updates hopefully.

gna

+1

noglider 

Sorry for the negativity. I should explain. I don't mind low end bikes at all. I've owned and enjoyed several. But a low end bike which is also in bad or unknown condition is likely to have surprises. Those surprises might be deal killers such as stripped threads, a stuck seat post, or whatever. There might be a mechanical reason the bike was tossed in the trash.

But I certainly don't know. Maybe it will go together fine and it won't cost much.

dddd

Nothing much wrong with this bike if it fits the intended rider.

Oh, someone put a steel caliper in back, likely a repair. The crankset looks cheap but if the rings are true then you'll enjoy the shifting feel that steel chainrings offer.

Best of all, these cheaper bikes almost always have the more stable, relaxed frame geometry (which usually argues for a larger-than-normal frame size choice for the rider), and also are more useful as they are less attractive to thieves.

So I say this bike is worth fixing up as long as the frame size is not on the small side for the rider.

And if you like having a rear rack, that mounting plate will make the most-robust mounting that a cast aluminum Pletscher rack can have.

Hey, and if Johnny Mullet can kick out a personal time-trial on his way to work on his Huffy, then this bike could be up to similar service.

I took my sub-$100 Steyr Clubman on a 4-hr training ride last Tuesday out to Camp Far West, and even pedaled a 14-minute-flat climb up Ridge Road on the way back to the ride start in the hilly Newcastle area. I pretty much couldn't tell I was riding such a cheap bike with but five cogs on the freewheel and with the original cottered steel cranks!
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8087/...4e22f069_c.jpg

At the same time, for those of us who might frequently come across better bikes at really low prices, fixing up any old bike might not be worth the effort in parts-swapping, saddle, cables, handlebar tape, stem, etc, so low or no-cost bikes aren't necessarily a good investment in effort, time and money unless the bike is appealing to the owner.