Another great bike. The Olympian is certainly not the “holy grail” of Raleigh bicycles, but it sure is a nice around town or light touring bike. My time with this bike was short-lived as the frame was way too big for me (I comfortably ride a 58 cm./23″ frame). This bike had a monster 26″ seat tube, but it was so pretty I couldn’t pass it up.

In the early 1980’s the Raleigh Bicycle Company was in flux, with production now situated in the USA, the Olympian model was created to replace the Super Record as a mid-level bicycle with decent components and a sport/touring geometry. The bike had stem shifters vs. the classier downtube shifters, suicide brake levers, Columbia chromoly frame, aluminum rims/levers etc. and a 12-speed transmission. Geared toward the weekend rider, this was an affordable USA-made machine and as evidenced by this beautiful 30+ year-old example, it was built to last.

Ultimately, this bike ended up in the hands on a much taller chap than myself who always wanted a Raleigh road bike and finally was living the dream.

Ride safe.