I bought this bike in 1988 when I was fifteen years old. Within the first year of having the bike, one of the cable clamps broke. Since the frame is guaranteed for life, I sent the bike back to Raleigh and they gave me a new frame which I've had no problems with since then. Up until 2 years ago, I only did recreational riding. In that 12 years of recreational riding, I only needed the usual basic maintenance. Once I started training for the AIDSRide, I started putting more money into it -- only because I was putting a lot of miles on the bike. I've replaced a lot of parts on it, i.e., chain, brake set-up, gear shifters, etc., but since then, the bike has been riding like a charm. I put 1,000 miles of road riding on it last year and quite a few miles of mountain biking. I wouldn't think of buying another mountain bike. Well, I would if I were getting into some serious downhill, but for now, it's just recreational mountain biking for which my Raleigh is serving me very well. I also get a lot of compliments on the color.