Oh no, it's beat up on Raleighs from the '70s again here on CR!!
Actually I enjoy reading all these comments from those of you fortunate enough to own and ride the very machines I lusted over as a 15 year old. But I was never able to afford to buy one. Even today, I am intimidated by their beauty... you can take all of your continental bikes and none, not one, comes close. Nope.
Then again I have never ridden one. My Raleighs are all c. 1948-51 (plus my "new" one from 1961) and you won't find more sweeter running, race-worthy mounts in the two-wheeled universe. The classic 73 deg head and 71 seat geometry of these takes a lot of beating. My '51 Clubman seems to have no problem keeping up with machines 1/20th her age, half her weight and costing what a new house would when she left Nottingham.
Then again back in the those glory days Raleigh wasn't having to emulate Italian frame geometry and other foreign practices. They just designed and built great looking, nice handling bikes. And I need to get one of those early Internationals just to see if they still did c. 1972. I kinda bet they still did.
Peter Kohler, whose favourite bird remains the Heron. Washington DC USA