My '89 Raleigh road bike is the smoothest bike I own, in terms of riding and shifting. As mentioned above, there is a huge range of quality amongst the Raleigh line of bicycles.

The best thing I did, soon after I started cycling, was a complete tear-down and build up of my bike, (I painted the frame, while I was at it). In one weekend, I learned more about how everything works and needs to be maintained than I would have from months of reading about it. I would recomend this to any beginner who is at all mechanically inclined and has a few days to spare.