raleigh elan

i have a garage find raleigh elan 1989 i think, green and white colour scheme there are some small spots of rust on it which i guess i could clean up but i want to get rid of it as soon as i can as i dont do road bikes i tried riding it and we aren't compatible any one know what they fetch i have looked for them online and found limited information on them and i would just like to know what they are worth mine isnt in original spec the wheels have been swapped out for mavic's and the rear mech is a shimano 105 also i think the bottom bracket has been changed as it looks like a sealed cartridge un52 is in place i assume these are upgrades any help would be good thank you

In the 1988 raleigh racers catalogue, the Elan was the top of the range (of the reynolds 501 bikes), it had a nice spec shimano exage groupset, some very trick parts, and was the same weight as low-mid range 531 bikes in the superior "raleight lightweight" catalogue.

the BB will be aftermarket yes.

i have seen them in good condition going for between £100 and £150, but obviously it depends on the time of year.

you might get nearer to £200 for it in spring/summer on ebay if the listing, description and photo's are done right. make sure you mention its one model above the "raleigh record sprint" and about 10 models above the steely low-spec Raleigh banana (which go for silly money for what they are IMO)

i was concidering breaking it for parts but i am not in the know anymore i do off road machines and most of my friends do aswell they all have looked at it and admitted its very pretty but all of
us know about nothing about racers but are aware of who bradley wiggins is lol

i've also seen these Elan's go for £50, but they were in only in fair condition, had poor advert descriptions/photo's and were in oddball locations with no postage offered.

they are not a very well known or popular model (like the banana, kelloggs and record sprint - for example) because they werent in production very long. but it is certainly not to be sniffed at.

if you did want to get into road biking it would be a very good one to start with. it takes a few weeks to get to grips with the skinny frame/wheels, ride, and drop bars but once your into it you'll never look back. Saddle and bars positions are much more important than MTB's IMO , i've been riding the same road bike for nearly 25 years (which fits me like a glove) and if i get on it with the saddle/bars adjustment wrong, the whole bike feels bloody awful lol