Buying an old(isn?) Raleigh mixte

[Niki12]

I'm looking for some advice on a bike I've found for sale locally, and whether it would be a good choice for me.

The bike is a Raleigh mixte, in a cool orange color (the most important part, clearly). The asking price is 150 Swiss Francs. A new cheap bike at wal-mart equivalent will cost me around 300, 400 for a version with battery operated lights/fenders. The bike appears to be in very good condition, with the paint not chipped or anything. I haven't seen it in person, all I have is the image on the ad- which hopefully is included below.

I am 5 feet tall. So, I'm really short, and I'm only willing to buy a bike that will be comfortable for me to ride (this will be my main transportation/mostly-city bike). I live in an extremely flat town situated in a valley in the Alps (a somewhat humorous juxtaposition of really steep mountains surround, but no hilly terrain whatsoever where my day-to-day is)

So the first question is what kind of information would someone who knows something about bikes be able to tell me about this one? Raleigh I know is a well-respected brand. But based on looking at it, approximately how old is it? At that time, were the mixte frames from Raleigh being manufactured in a size that would accommodate my short stature (this is *really* what I'm trying to get at)? I wrote to the seller and included a link to epicycle explaining how to measure a mixte, so hopefully they will write back I will get concrete information. Based on the (hopefully) included picture, might this bicycle be small enough for me?

Then, assuming that is fine, how difficult would it be to upgrade various pieces. I know I could change those stupid grips with the finger ridges (I hate those). I'd like to add a dynamo hub, and lights- lights are required by law here for riding in the street, the dynamo hub is a nicety that I would very much like. If I eventually wanted to switch out things like the gearing, or the pedal apparatus (I think that's the "crankset", but I'm not an expert), or modernize the brakes would that be easy to find affordable parts for this bike?

Any other caveats, or special advices?

Thanks in advance

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi Niki and .

You'll find more expert people than me in the Classic and Vintage section of the site who'll be able to tell you more, but to my eye that looks like it's from the late 1970s or early 1980s, based on the style of the logo and the few clues from fittings that I can make out.

I don't know any details about frame sizes for these models. If the seller can give you the seat tube length (as measured from the centre of the crank spindle) and if you know your inside leg measurement (measured to the ground, not trouser length) it'll help.

One of the things to consider with old Raleighs is that if it was made in their Nottingham factory, certain parts like the headset and the bottom bracket are likely to have been made using Raleigh's own threading which isn't compatible with standard modern replacements (bikes from their other factories may be okay though). This website has some information to help identify where it was made if you can get the frame number

I'd expect a bike made for the Swiss market to have 700c size wheels but it might be worthwhile confirming that as it would limit what tyres you could fit if it turned out to be an old British size.

If you want to change the wheels it's worth knowing that older bikes (not just Raleigh) will have a narrower spacing between the rear dropouts that won't take a more modern wheel. Steel frames can be respaced though so it's not necessarily a deal breaker, but it needs to be done by someone who knows what they are doing.

I hope this helps a bit.

 

[Niki12]

Thanks! I'll repost over in the other section.