Should I ride it

[fossyant]

I have a 20 year old galaxy that I use regularly, andis in goodcondition. But the condition of this one makes me wonder, it is exceptional, part of me wants to keep it like this, part wants to ride it. Then there are parts that will wear out

Ride it when dry - it's not going to be worth loads as it's a mainstream Raleigh. My best bike is handbuilt for me, top end stuff, but I ride it. You can get used parts off ebay. No point owning it if you don't, and my bikes always bring a smile.

 

[raleighnut]

I'd ride it.

 

[Fastpedaller]

No point in having it and not riding it........ That's exactly what my wife said about my old 531 racer which I sold in 2014 because I didn't want to ruin it putting mudguards on (no eyes) and using tubs on gritty roads. I sold it (a good move) and bought a Spa tourer frame. If it is suitable for your needs then use it (or sell it if not), but don't just let it be unused.

 

[Illaveago]

I can see the point of not wanting to destroy the pristine look of the bike . I can also see that the bike should command a high price as it looks new despite being 40 years old. The bike is virtually NOS with just an extended road test mileage on it. People will spend hundreds of pounds restoring their bikes to get it to look like yours yet yours is original and the frame won't have been stressed from use like a restored bike might have had.
If you were to sell it you would need to find the right enthusiast who would appreciate all of its merit's and willing to pay the premium it deserves which might be difficult.
As you have another bike which you use you could ride the Clubman on special sunny days so that you could get some use out of it . It does seem a shame that it has not been used but also it would be a shame to destroy the pristine look.
If you were to sell it you would need to find the right person . You wouldn't want to sell it for peanuts but finding the right person will be the difficult bit .

 

[froze]

The bike is fine to ride, but it's been sitting for a long time so you will need to have everything regreased and lubed because the grease gets stiff over time, and I mean everything, failure to do so could ruin bearing, not that those can't be replaced, but why if you can avoid it?

I ran into the same situation about a year ago when I found a 77 Raleigh Competition GS leaning up against a dumpster, the paint and components were in extremely good shape, all that was wrong was the headset was frozen. Took it home, got the headset out, cleaned it up and the bearings looked fine, so, I re-lubed it she runs very smooth, then I relubed everything and found stiff grease in the BB and the hubs. The bike ran great except the Campy GS derailleur stuff never worked great even back in 77, I was familiar with that stuff, so since I had a set of brand new Campy Nuovo Record derailleurs I bought brand new in 76, 77, or 78 that I got on a stupidly low-price sale, and never used the stuff, I put those on and the bike shifts great now. I also had a set of used Campy brakes from the same period, so I took off the Weinman Carrera brakes and put the Campy on instead so now the entire bike is Campy. I kept all the original stuff of course. That bike I found had very low miles on it, the saddle was the original Brooks Professional that was never broken in because there are no butt bone indentations in the leather.

Anyway, just get it relubed and regreased BEFORE you ride it. And while you're at it make sure you can get the seat post out, then put a thin film of grease on the post and on the inside of the seat tube to prevent the seat post from ever rusting into the seat tube.