Author Topic: Ebay - Raven Catalyst 588L  (Read 2529 times)


markheld

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: Ebay - Raven Catalyst 588L
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2013, 04:53:02 PM »
Well I'm the one who ended up buying this.  The moral of the tale being to ask for more photo's before taking a description as gospel and travelling half the country to see it.  On the plus side, the girl who was selling it had described it as being in 'excellent condition' in ignorance of the meaning so no real hard feelings, but the conditions was best described as neglected.   Its clearly seen some heavy use and has then been left untouched in a kind of garage for over a year, with no DW40 or anything to protect it.  (so all the components have rusted and an example is that the SPD pedals had seized completely.)  The good news is that the frame appears fine, the hub works as it should and I paid a lot, lot less for it than than I would have for had the excellent condition been correct.   She rides beautifully and some judicious changing of components and painting of racks etc, will see her back to at least an acceptable condition.  Still need to locate the key for the Pitt Lock Skewers mind.   Then she'll be set for a two week tour on Sustrans Route 68 at the start of September

Danneaux

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8277
  • reisen statt rasen
Re: Ebay - Raven Catalyst 588L
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2013, 06:10:47 PM »
All congratulations on the new purchase, Mark; I'm so glad it ended up "in the family" with someone on the Forum where we can follow its progress.

I was "surprised" in a similar way when buying my used 1970 Raleigh Gran Sports 27 years ago. The ad copy sounded great to my sleep-deprived mind (I'd been awake 63 hours with a full load of uni classes and two jobs) and when I went to see it, only the owner's wife was present and knew only that it had been maintained by her husband, "who teaches bike repair at the community college". The bike was parked outdoors in the rain, seemed to have all its major components intact, and had a low price. In that rummy state, I bought it without a test ride.

'Took it home by car only to find many of the spokes had rattled free of the wheels in-transit (semi-laced, not tensioned, and with the nipples barely threaded). That was a harbinger of things to come, but I still have the the frame; everything else was changed over. It rides well with early-'80s Japanese componentry and has been a good, reliable bike ever since.

You seem to have fared much better! It sure looks good in the seller's photos! If it is largely a matter of cleanup and derusting/painting, I'd say you got a real deal. Sometimes, just a little TLC will do wonders in transforming a used bike, and you've got all the most important parts. I'd love to see some photos of it now so we can follow the progress under your ownership. I think it'll come out wonderfully; so glad you got it!

All the best,

Dan. (...who vowed to get more sleep and take a test ride before buying another bike in a rainstorm)

markheld

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 7
Re: Ebay - Raven Catalyst 588L
« Reply #3 on: August 07, 2013, 09:23:01 PM »
Thanks Dan and I'll take some photo's as I go along to show progress.  I already had a spare saddle, pedals and a set of both XTR V brakes and the Avid Black Ops ones.  So the plan is for:

New brakes and cables
Oil change for the hub and check of shifter cables
Check to see if the eccentric bracket has seized or not
Remove and re paint the pannier frames (from a quick inspection I think the Tubus front pannier is doubtful)

The Schmidt hub works so life is pretty good.

All the best

Mark