RoadWearier

I have owned better bikes. So yes to some extent I know of better. But I have to say I don't understand the hatred of these. Wheels that are somewhat out of true actually seem to work ok. If these wheels were on Dura Ace components they'd either be rubbing like crazy or not stopping the bike at all. It's almost as if bikes.made for casual riding in the 80s didn't require super anal specs. I probably should take pics and video but suffice it to say the wheels wobble and the brakes aren't perfectly flush...but..they actually work!

No they don't stop on a dime but they stop well enough for all of the city riding I've done so far. The turkey levers work ok too! I also find the stem shifters to work just as well as downtube shifters. It's not like the bike.goes wildly out of control when I shift. I dunno. I'm starting to think some of the dogma on here might be a little wrong.

I feel like older bikes lower level bikes were made for people who weren't so anal about maintenance.

RustyJames 

A bike doesn’t need Record or Dura-Ace to be fun.

1989Pre 

I think those Capri's were black, right? I like stem-shifters, and there are a lot of people here who do, also. I had them on my '80 Grand Prix that I rode to work five days a week for four years. I never had a problem, and I think they look good, too. These mid-range bikes are under-estimated, especially when they have aluminum components.

RoadWearier

I wonder what the differences were between the Grand Prix, the Capri and the 80s Raleigh Record were. Most people would answer "Who cares?" but I wonder about weird stuff I guess.

1989Pre 

Yes, it would be good to examine the geometry, tubing and frame component differences that distinguish these models. I know that Grand Prix had different tube-sets through-out its long history, including 531 on the final iterations. There was a post, recently, exploring about ten bikes from $150.00-$250.00, but the only Raleigh-built was a Rampar. When I look at bikes like these, I don't even consider the components, because I'd be up-grading anyway.

bboy314

I’ve no problem with lower level bikes and components being used, but dura ace brakes would probably stop as well or better (and a bike equipped with dura ace would have higher quality rims that don’t go out of true as easily).

rustystrings61 

Watch for the next Clunker Challenge 100. When I fell into that rabbit hole in 2016 with a 1975 Motobecane Grand Touring - the last year of 2030 gaspipe and stamped dropouts, complete with Weinmann centerpulls, an early Shimano Tourney swaged crankset and Normandy Sport hubs laced to 27-in Weinmann alloy rims - I discovered just how much fun a budget 70s 10-speed can provide. I also realized I wasn't really noticeably slower on it, either - though I make no claims of ever having been a fast rider. I DO tend to prefer downtube shifters because that was the dogma I grew up with, and I tend to removed brake extension levers because they get in the way of riding on the hoods, but much of that is a holdover from cycling in the mid-70s, when stem shifters, turkey levers and big pie plate spoke protectors were the hallmarks of cheap bikes. Never mind the fact that functionally those cheap bikes were pretty similar to the gaspipe Batavus and Schwinn LeTours my buddies and I were riding - hey, we had chrome fork tips and high-flange hubs with quick releases and some sort of cotterless crank, so we were cool ...