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I bought this '91 Raleigh Talon CX for $120 today. The guy I bought it from had over a 100 bikes and motorcycles combined. He also owned a lot of model trains and unopened Revell model kits. He's a mechanic by trade, but recently retired. I'm hesitant to even share this, because it feels like LARPing to appeal to the typical /n/ poster. It was the most surreal 2-3 hours of my life.
We rode a couple of bikes around his neighborhood that forms a 1.1 mile loop, and the Raleigh was the one he suggested I take for a spin. I don't know a lot about bikes, and I was so impressed with the situation, that I probably would have bought it even if I didn't like riding it, just to not offend the guy. lol
But it was a perfect fit as far as I could tell, and I got to walk around with him and chat about all his bikes. He had a little bit of everything. I met him through a post on craigslist. The vast majority of postings are by amateurs, and I had no idea what I was about to walk into. Any indication was completely absent. Dude just humbly makes regular posts.
He tuned it up, but he said I would need to clean it. He also said the tires would need replacing eventually. The tires don't have matching air valves. His pump had both adapters, so I guess it's not that big of a deal, but I find that annoying.
Anyways, since my budget was like $600, what the fuck should I do to this thing? I want to clean it up and really take care of it. The handles look a bit dirty, as evidenced by the picture. Should I use some kind of old t-shirt and distilled water or something to wipe her down? I'll happily pay a LBS for a tune-up, but I need some general direction on how to narrow one down and what to actually request, and avoid things that are bogus or up-sells.
The seat is a tad uncomfortable, but I haven't ridden in years, so I may just need an adjustment period, but I like the position and angle it's in. I plan to ride this on paved roads at parks.
