Another dating question, sorry!

Hi all, first post.. (Your friendly neighbours at ctc sent me here, what a great resource. Sometimes I really miss old England)
Having moved to Aus 6 years ago I packed up and brought my Raleigh over, I don't know why it had sat in the shed for years, then the garage, then the shed over here. After a good powerwash and removing a family of Redbacks that had made a home under the saddle, I lubed her up, new tubes and tires and away we went. Covered over 250k's very quickly and she began to show wear and tear. Crank noises, spokes grinding etc. So I had permission to buy new, a new Scott Foil 40 is my new ride. I cannot bear to part with the old girl so I plan to restore, maybe too original if not certainly respectfully. No brifters on this one....
I purchased from trader magazine ages ago, it was just to replace my stolen one so I could get to work, size was more important than anything.
The bike has never had many stickers only Raleigh on the tubes and front forks. No other names or identifiers, it was sold as a Raleigh Racer!
The frame number is WP 801162 or WP 801763 can't make out the last three numbers to well as they are masked by the cable guide. From a bit of research does this make it a November 1988, Nottingham built? The Shimano 300ex Derailleurs, brakes and Biopace crank gear id has been checked too, on the crank P 170 A I assumed 170 is crank length so using the P/A would give me January 1991 date stamp, is this correct? I weighs as per the picture (10kg) thats with me holding it on the bathrooms scales, not the most accurrate method, but, it gives you an idea!



Can anybody help identify, original catalogue pictures? Age, value today in current condition? Restored?
So far people have named it an élan or Elise, non of the images found so far match the paint.
I have tried in Australia to do all this but have drawn a blank, Sheldon Browns website seems to lonly focus on the earlier bikes.

at risk of sounding brutal, there's no real value in a bike like this i'm afraid.
judging by the brakes alone, the alloy parts are going to be corroded
and the spokes most likely the same.

the bike itself when new - well, i don't recognise that particular raleigh model
but we sold similarly equipped bikes "back in the day" that retailed for around £350 - £399.
in the condition you describe i wouldn't be able to put a price on it, more how much a
prospective buyer was willing to pay. bear in mind that you can buy
a nice brand new alloy framed, 27+ speed gear road bike for only £299!!

these days...a bike like yours AND mine has more worth in sentimental
value to the original owner than any real monetary value to the punter.

just my opinion and i hope that it's not too honest!

:?

Yeah I figured the value of 0, in aus that's about $150. Can I restore the alloy? Or should I start polishing and make best? To rebuild both wheels is $100 that's with comparable spokes.

it just depends how much this bike means to you, i guess.
you'd be lucky to improve the appearance of it no matter how much elbow grease you
pour into it. we used to see bikes like this come into the shop all the time -
they were hammered by years of commuting and lying outside or in a damp shed.
i'd imagine that the drivetrain will be worn out and that it all needs replaced.
check the chain for slack where it engages with the chain ring teeth and check
the teeth themselves for wear. a nice inverted "V" shape is good, a hooked
shark's fin shape means it's buggered.

Ok, if I am unable to identify her, I really need to know.....

How can I determine wether the frame is 18-23, 501,531 in the absence of decals?

If its a 18-23 then sentiment or not, she becomes a FIXIE arrgh, as money and home spray job for this is well within my skill level. and my savings go on a throw away new gen MTN bike.

If its 501 or above, I will hunt down parts campag or ultegra, must be some laying around cheaply somewhere! Get her blasted and painted pro, loads of those around here and make her suitable for the Raturday run in Brisbane, Vintage road bikes for that Saturday jaunt, in cycling Jersey stating " Steel is Real" on the back. The one day carbon is forgotten!
this all ends in a Coffee Shop refresher...

rusty bodie, thank you for your input. I know the value is bugger all, but like you I feel quite sad about giving her up.
The teeth look like they are starting to shark, see picture.

the big ring teeth look fine but i can't see the inner ring teeth from the photo.
if it's shark finned then you're looking at a new chainring.
with the chain on the big or small ring, try pulling the chain away from the
chainring at the 3 o=clock position with your fingers. if it pulls away easily
with noteable "sag" to the chain, then you'll need to replace it and the
cassette/ freewheel on the back wheel.
i would have thought that a bike like this with those components would be
a 501 or even a 531 frame. what model bike is it?

Thats the big question.
I have no idea! No markers, stickers I will take some better photos soon, left my camera at work. Only stickers on it are designed by raleigh on both down tubes and the Nottingham raleigh sticker on the forks. And of course the badge on the front.

Anyone, can we name the baby?

The Serial is WP 800 1623 there is also a 5 facing the back of the frame above the WP
A few more pics including serial:

Hello Mate,

After lugging her halfway around the world, I'm not surprised that you've become attached to her!

Have a dig around on here for more info on Raleigh serial numbers, but the 300EX group was produced between 1990 & 1999 and Biopace between 1983 & 1993 to give you some idea. I'm wasn't aware that Shimano date coded anything, but January 1991 fits with the rest so you may be right.

Bearing in mind that the groupset was at the lower end of Shimano's range, I'd guess that your frame is 501 or 531 main triangle only; I don't know of an infallible way of checking though. What's the seatpost diameter? Comparing it to similar bikes on your Saturday run might give you an indication.

Cheap Campag and Ultegra? While you're there, get me some! I agree with Bodie that the only real value is sentimental. Spend some time with the T-Cut, Peek and wire wool, sling some new bar tape and cables on and you'll be surprised at how fresh she looks but a new paint job is a bit over the top and Ultegra or Chorus would be pointless.

However, she's your bike so it's your call...

Looks like an 18-23 unicrown fork, double bottle mounts plus low-end Shimano kit suggests one of the entry-level 531 (main tubes only) models, Strada or Elix maybe? Not familiar with the paint job though, which I'd guesstimate at early 90s judging by the decal font.

David

Measured the tube, 26.98mm I think that make it 501?
Also what are those lugs there is one clearly on the steerer tube pictured above and there is also one on the seat stay above the rear cassette.
I have the old man coming over for a holiday, think I will give him the AUTOSOL and some T-cut and point him to the shed and keep him off the Xbox
Any more thoughts, or at the very least, what are those lugs for?