Old Raleigh Bike...
 

... anyone have much experience with them? They look like they would make a good commuter bike, if in good shape. Looks like they are easy to maintain, but parts are hard and expensive to buy...

What parts are hard to find? The bottom-bracket bearing is probably an odd size, being British, but you don't often have to replace those.

Brake parts look like they are harder to find, and yes the bottom bracket bearing, look like Phil Wood makes those for $30.

You can probably find complete brake assemblies that will fit, although the arm length on the caliper will be longer than on most new high-quality units.

I have an old Atala that had the same problem, which I solved by adding bosses for cantilever brakes. Bolt-in caliper mounts are available, but I used silver-solder to attach conventional caliper mounts. These mounts come with most new brake sets.

My room mate got an '85 Raleigh road bike, this year, brand new!!! The shop had "lost it" in the attic and just came across it a year ago. He paid 225 I think ...

It's pretty nice, but I can't tell you much about reliability because it is brand new! :D Still had the manual tied to the handlebars

They're as good as anything from the era. The angles will be much more relaxed than anything modern, which is better for commuting.

By "old"; how old?

Do you mean like a Raleigh Record 10 speed or an ancient upright 1940s style, the kind with huge wheels and fully enclosed chain?

The former is worth considering, IMHO, while the latter is a fascinating curiosity but not something you'd want to rely on.

I am talking about the old, old bikes, with the internal hub transmissions...

E-bay might be a good place to look for parts.

My 1960 Schwinn Corvette has an internal three speed bendix hub. Still works, sort of (bad cable, can't find replacement). But internally, it's all there and works. Is that any indication?