Another DL-1 roadster owner here, mine is a 1972 men's 24" frame. The catalog claimed a 22" frame also, but they're very rare. If you needed that short a frame, you'd normally buy a 23-1/2" frame Raleigh Sports instead. My old boss as A.R. Adams Cycle in Erie, PA was a huge believe in these bikes.
Mine is a daily rider, actually my main commuter bike (I will split the duties between it and my '69 Raleigh Sprite w/Sturmey-Archer S5) and I absolutely love it. I have no problems whatsoever doing the eight mile round trip to either of the two more distant shopping malls from my house, and will happily use it for the fourteen mile round trip into downtown Ashland, VA. Comfortable, stately, and an absolute joy to ride. As mentioned above, the brakes are the weak point, I've gotten around them as best I can by using Cool Stop pads. They're not an answer, but they help
The other weakness of the bike is that you do not want to be miles from home and catch a puncture. This is not a bike that you try to patch/change a tube along the side of the road.
Of course, once you've had one, you can't stop there. Two years ago I picked up a Chinese Flying Pigeon which turned out to be unrideable until I swapped the wheels out for a set of DL-1 wheels and converted it over to a three speed. It's now rideable, but the difference between the Chinese licensed copy and the British original is frightening. (The first picture is prior to the conversion, I had to discard the rear carrier and stand because the SA hub didn't have a long enough axle.)
The other roadster I've had was the most sorrowful cycling experience of my life: A 1938 Humber ladies frame that I was restoring for a WWII reenactment group (British Women's Land Army) that unfortunately was in my shop the night it burned to the ground. Picture are before and after.