I am going to pick up a raleigh single speed that I got off of craigslist tommorow, and I will look up the serial number once i have if but i wanted to get your guys opinions on if I got a good deal. Im paying 80 dollars for it and this is going to be my first experience at restoring a bike, everything is in working order except the brakes which need to be tuned up and there is a little bit of cosmetic rust.

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It looks like a Raleigh sports model that someone has converted to a road bike using parts from a Raleigh GP and some modern wheels. It is difficult for me to tell exactly from the pics.

It looks like a decent, fun bike for sure and a great place to start for a nearly ready to ride project. For a "restoration", I might try to find something that is either rare, unusual or has more original parts. I could be completely wrong on my guess on the model.

thanks for the info. yeah i figured it wasnt too rare but it seems like a cool bike to repaint and fix up for fun and cheap. any idea on the year? im guessing late 80s? but thats just going off of looks

Looks interesting - is it an original single speed or has someone altered it?

I honestly have no idea. I will inquire about it when I pick it up and ill post whatever info the owner gives me and updated pictures

Early 70's Raleigh Record. Originally a 10 speed with Huret derailleurs, probably sold for about $100 when new. I wouldn't paint it; paint and decals look fine. In fact I don't think I'd do anything to it; if you want a bike to restore, get one that has all its parts. Someone has already converted this one to a single speed, and if they did a good job of it then there isn't much you need to do.

Yeah, not a Sports model, which would have 26x1 3/8 wheels.
Nice color, btw.

That downtube "Raleigh" decal was used in the 60s, and I agree that the model is likely a Record. A good candidate for a single-speed build.

Neal

Now that I've looked at other pictures it's definatley a record when I go pick it up I'll see if the owner is the original owner and if he has any remaining parts. I was mainly going to paint it once I clean up the frame to keep the rust if bay if I did not what would you suggest? Clearcoat?

Wax!

That bike looks like a lot of fun just the way it is. You could go 10 speed or more with it or you could just leave it. Nice catch.

Now that I have had the bike for a few hours ive found some great things and some bad things. most of what I thought was rust seems to just be where the paint has been chipped away. there is a quite large bend or dent on the right part of the chainstay which can maybe be seen in the bottom right corner pic if you look close enough(hopefully and easy repair). and when attempting to adjust the brakes I have found that im probably going to need new brakes because no matter how much I adjust them they never provide enough pressure for reliable stopping power or I am completely incompetent at adjusting cantilever brakes, its probably the latter

Maybe that dent is for chainring clearance. Start with new cables and pads and take the calipers all the way apart and clean and lube the pivots. Then try adjusting them again.
Here's the one I had.

I had similar problems with older bikes - new pads will work wonders. I've just switched to Koolstop Continentals at the recommendation of just about everyone on the forums and the stopping power is much improved.