Raleigh Airlite 100 possibly single speed project

Good! The first thing to decide, is what the bike is to be used for. Right bike too: decent enough, but if it's wrecked or stolen, you haven't lost too much.

How far is your commute? What do you need to carry? Will you be wearing cycling clothes and getting changed or cycling in your work clothes? Might you use the bike for evening/weekend jaunts?

Straight/riser bars give you a good view in urban traffic; however, if your commute is any distance, you might miss the drops for the variety of hand positions. Re-using the bars and levers you've already got would save a few quid too.

If you remove the gear shifters on the down tube (dts), you can use the adjuster screws on the derailleurs to select a gear. The rear derailleur also acts as a chain tensioner; the front derailleur as a chain keeper.

Try something around 67-69 gear inches (gi) for commuting; if you do take it out for longer, leisure rides then 71-74gi might be better. Count the teeth on the chainrings and rear sprockets (it might be stamped on them) and stick the numbers in here.

The shallow teeth, ramps and pins on the chainrings and cassette make shifting gears easier, but with a single speed set-up you want the chain to stay where it is and in as straight a line as possible. Use the large chainring with the smaller rear sprockets and the small ring with the larger ones.

When you've got that far and found a gearing you're happy with, you can consider what needs doing to convert it to a "proper" single speed and tidy it up a bit.

Thanks for your input, the ride is only about 4 miles, I'll most likely be riding in normal shorts and a hoody, I'll be carrying my work clothes and my sandwiches :D The weekends I would be most likely using my MTB. I really don't think I'd ever use the drops at all. I don't have any bars or levers lying around so I would have to buy them.