Touring bike advice

Hi all,

I'm currently the owner of a Dawes Galaxy. I bought it second hand 3
years ago for £250 when I was a student, I didn't know much about
bikes but it was light and seemed to be what I wanted. I'm very glad
I bought it because I have been extremely pleased with it and I've
cycled to many places with it very happily.

However after 3 years of use as my primary form of transport its
looking a bit old. The teeth on the gears are ground down and the
headset has so much play its unreal. I took it into a shop yesterday
and they said it would cost about £150 to get it patched up and
suggested I should consider buying a new bike.

So my questions a

Is it worth fixing the bike or should I get a new one? I don't know
much about parts, if I get bits replaced (chainset, bearings inside
headset, e.t.c.) is there anything I should keep an eye out for or
should I just trust the shop to pick suitable parts?

Do I gain much if I get it replaced with a new Galaxy? I've also seen
that Dawes make Super Galaxys and Ultra Galaxys, are these much better
than the normal Galaxy? I was also shown a Trek 520 which at £900
seemed quite expensive but it had better breaks which looked pretty
good. Are there any other tourers that I could consider? Can I get a
lighter bike that is just as strong?

I use my bike a lot and I submit it to a fair deal of punishment (for
a road bike) so I want something that will last. What is the life
expectancy of a good bike?

I wish I knew more about bikes , so many options. Any insight would
be greatfuly appriciated.

Cheers,
Matthew

"Matthew Shaylor" wrote in message
om...
Hi all,

I'm currently the owner of a Dawes Galaxy. I bought it second hand 3
years ago for £250 when I was a student, I didn't know much about
bikes but it was light and seemed to be what I wanted. I'm very glad
I bought it because I have been extremely pleased with it and I've
cycled to many places with it very happily.

However after 3 years of use as my primary form of transport its
looking a bit old. The teeth on the gears are ground down and the
headset has so much play its unreal. I took it into a shop yesterday
and they said it would cost about £150 to get it patched up and
suggested I should consider buying a new bike.

The frame is the most important part of a bike. If you are comfortable with
this frame (and the Galaxy is a nice frame) then up-grading makes a lot of
sense.

T

Matthew Shaylor wrote:

I'm currently the owner of a Dawes Galaxy.

Lucky you :-)

I bought it second hand 3
years ago for £250 when I was a student, I didn't know much about
bikes but it was light and seemed to be what I wanted. I'm very glad
I bought it because I have been extremely pleased with it and I've
cycled to many places with it very happily.

Doubly lucky - you got it right first time!

However after 3 years of use as my primary form of transport its
looking a bit old. The teeth on the gears are ground down and the
headset has so much play its unreal. I took it into a shop yesterday
and they said it would cost about £150 to get it patched up and
suggested I should consider buying a new bike.

Shoot them and burn the bodies. Your bike is Perfectly Good and well worth
spending £150 on fixing it up, or better still spand half that and learn
how ot do it yourself. A Galaxy is the benchmark for touring bikes, and
for £150 you will get nowhere near the quality of a a Galaxy. With a bit
of the "grandad's old axe" (three new heads and four new handles, but it's
still the same old axe) a Galaxy can last a lifetime.

OK, it depends a bit on the age - it it's a really ancient one then there
are some advantages to the latest and greatest, but ultimately if it has
done the job for three years, and it can be patched up, it will probbaly
continue to do the job.

Unless you have acompelling reason to change it, I really would just fix up
the bike you have. I have a 1985 Claud Butler Super Dalesman which my LBS
told me was "obsolete." I spent £450 a year or two back having the rear
triangle reset to take modern cassette-style gearing, replacing (worn out)
27" with 700c wheels, fitting bar-end shifters and the like. For £450 you
can get quite a good bike, but not as good or as light as my Claud.

For comparison you could look at the Orbit range, or Edinburgh Bicycle - but
frankly if you can get your Galaxy back on the road for £150 then I would
suggest that makes good sense.

Before you do it, find your local CTC District Association (
http://www.ctc.org.uk, apologies if you already know them) and see if there
is a local tourists' mechanic. Shops are in the business of selling new
bikes, not keeping old ones on the road.

I use my bike a lot and I submit it to a fair deal of punishment (for
a road bike) so I want something that will last. What is the life
expectancy of a good bike?

The life expectancy of a Dawes Galaxy is Forever :-)

--
Guy
http://chapmancentral.demon.co.uk
"Sic hoc adfixum in obice legere potes, et liberaliter educatus et nimis
propinquus ades"

"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote in message
...
." I spent £450 a year or two back having the rear
triangle reset to take modern cassette-style gearing,

I just pressed out the rear triangle with a scissor jack. Cost = £0!

"rifleman" wrote in message
...
"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote in message
...
." I spent £450 a year or two back having the rear
triangle reset to take modern cassette-style gearing,

I just pressed out the rear triangle with a scissor jack. Cost = £0!


Didn't even need a scissor jack - just laid the frame on the floor, one foot
on the inside of the rear dropout and a gentle pull up on the other one -
repeat for the other side and hey presto, bike changed from 27 axle width to
modern 700 width ..... or of course you could use the Sheldon Brown (qv)
"piece of lumber" frame adjusting method.

RG

Matthew Shaylor wrote:

Is it worth fixing the bike

Yes

or should I get a new one?

No

Take a look at my 1986 tourers biography at
http://www.mseries.freeserve.co.uk click on My Touring Bike to learn how
mine has changed over the years.

Matthew Shaylor wrote:

Is it worth fixing the bike or should I get a new one?

I think it'll be worth fixing up if you like the frame and at least some
of the components are useable and in reasonable condition. Brand new
tourers are shockingly expensive. I'm glad I did up my old Raleigh Royal
tourer. By using some used equipment, I've now got a bike with a much
better spec than I could have afforded to buy new, and I plan to go on
gradually upgrading it.

I suspect your bike could be made roadworthy by spending less than the
quoted £150 but be warned that a *full* modernisation job will cost more
(for new equipment).

I don't know
much about parts, if I get bits replaced (chainset, bearings inside
headset, e.t.c.) is there anything I should keep an eye out for or
should I just trust the shop to pick suitable parts?

Headset: Just replace bearing balls unless cups are pitted. An
inexpensive YST or Stronglight headset will do fine if you do need a new
one.

Chainset: New chainset can be cheaper than replacing all the rings and
might also be a good idea if changing the rear wheel or number of gears
(to get better chain angle and more space between rings), but do you
really need new rings? Unless they are very obviously knackered, I would
simply try a new chain and rear sprockets first (this could save a lot of
money). Then replace chainrings/chainset if chain skips.

If getting new chainset, get a new modern "cartridge" bottom bracket.
Shimano UN73 has a good reputation and doesn't cost much

Do I gain much if I get it replaced with a new Galaxy?

You'd have all-modern components which would be easier to maintain an keep
up-to-date, plus more gears and better brake levers.

What is the life expectancy of a good bike?

Frame can last for your lifetime; most components if maintained well
should last quite a few years at least.

~PB

I wrote:
[new chainset]
might also be a good idea if changing the rear wheel or number of
gears (to get better chain angle and more space between rings),

I'm not sure that would be necessary on second thoughts. A different
bottom bracket spindle length might be sufficient to correct the chainline
if necessary. I think older chainsets had their rings closer together
than modern ones but that might not be problematic (for a wider cluster of
rear sprockets) if chain angle is good.

~PB

Pete Biggs wrote:
Matthew Shaylor wrote:

Is it worth fixing the bike or should I get a new one?

I think it'll be worth fixing up if you like the frame and at least
some of the components are useable and in reasonable condition.
Brand new tourers are shockingly expensive. I'm glad I did up my old
Raleigh Royal tourer. By using some used equipment, I've now got a
bike with a much better spec than I could have afforded to buy new,
and I plan to go on gradually upgrading it.

I'm glad I did my Royal too, after a few short rides I am starting to
remember what a great bike it is.

I suspect your bike could be made roadworthy by spending less than the
quoted £150 but be warned that a *full* modernisation job will cost
more (for new equipment).

I'll second that, just start with what needs changing, clean and lube the
rest for now.



I don't know
much about parts, if I get bits replaced (chainset, bearings inside
headset, e.t.c.) is there anything I should keep an eye out for or
should I just trust the shop to pick suitable parts?

Headset: Just replace bearing balls unless cups are pitted. An
inexpensive YST or Stronglight headset will do fine if you do need a
new one.


Chainset: New chainset can be cheaper than replacing all the rings
and might also be a good idea if changing the rear wheel or number of
gears (to get better chain angle and more space between rings), but
do you really need new rings? Unless they are very obviously
knackered, I would simply try a new chain and rear sprockets first
(this could save a lot of money). Then replace chainrings/chainset
if chain skips.

My Royal has the original chainset and rings and they have done many
thousands of miles. I change my chains regularly. I fitted a new UN53 BB
recently, replacing the original, it cost about £12 from
ChainReactionCycles.


If getting new chainset, get a new modern "cartridge" bottom bracket.
Shimano UN73 has a good reputation and doesn't cost much

Do I gain much if I get it replaced with a new Galaxy?

You'd have all-modern components which would be easier to maintain an
keep up-to-date, plus more gears and better brake levers.

But for me anyway there is something about old machines that still do their
job perfectly.


What is the life expectancy of a good bike?

Frame can last for your lifetime; most components if maintained well
should last quite a few years at least.

Yup I expect at least 15 years from a handmade steel frame, my Royal is
going on for 18 now.


~PB



--
The Reply & From email addresses are checked rarely.
http://www.mseries.freeserve.co.uk

Matthew Shaylor wrote:

However after 3 years of use as my primary form of transport its
looking a bit old. The teeth on the gears are ground down and the
headset has so much play its unreal. I took it into a shop yesterday
and they said it would cost about =A3150 to get it patched up and
suggested I should consider buying a new bike.
=20
So my questions a
=20
Is it worth fixing the bike or should I get a new one?

Fix it. A new Galaxy would be something like =A3600 *if* you get a deal =

on a last year's model, quite a bit more for a brand new current spec.=20
The gears are easily swapped and so is the headset, and as it's the=20
frame that's the heart of the bike and the Galaxy has a very good frame=20
you'd be mad (IMHO) to buy anything else worse if the bike fits your=20
usage patterns well.
Or if you can afford much cash on something nicer, fix it anyway as a=20
hack bike and spare. Which would you rather leave outside the cinema=20
for 2.5 hours, a brand spanking Ultra Galaxy or a rather second hand=20
looking one that won't catch anybody's attention?

Do I gain much if I get it replaced with a new Galaxy? I've also seen
that Dawes make Super Galaxys and Ultra Galaxys, are these much better
than the normal Galaxy?=20

New Galaxy will have benefited from the gradual but inexorable rise in=20
component quality and capability at any given price level over the=20
years, but the frame will, I think, be similar if not basically the same.=

Supers and Ultras have better classes of componentry and are thus better =

bikes, but bear in mind they're designed for serious touring use. If=20
you're just getting about on it day to day they're rather big=20
sledgehammers to crack a nut, and once you've ground road salt into the=20
transmission day to day over winter it'll just mean you need to replace=20
more expensive componentry! :-(
But if you want to go touring seriously, by all means look into it and=20
keep the Galaxy as your hack bike.

I was also shown a Trek 520 which at =A3900
seemed quite expensive but it had better breaks which looked pretty
good. =20

An Ultra-G is, IIRC, =A31250 for comparison. Note that though I=20
personally prefer V brakes, the Cantis you get on any flavour of Galaxy=20
are quite up to the job of stopping it if properly adjusted, and it's=20
quite possible for Vs to be hopeless if *not* properly adjusted. It's=20
more a case of different than better and more down to personal preference=
=2E
Also the point that for touring the 520 needs extra spent on mudguards=20
IMHO, and the rack is pretty grotty compared to what Dawes supply as=20
standard and really ought to be replaced for serious loads. And it=20
doesn't have a front rack either...

Are there any other tourers that I could consider? Can I get a
lighter bike that is just as strong?

Just take off the mudguards and rack (and suffer with a rucksack and get =

sprayed with road cack for hours on end on a serious tour...). You=20
*can* (see Cannondales, for example) but lighter and just as strong=20
implies more money.

Personally I changed direction and got a *heavier* bike, but one that's=20
an order of magnitude more comfortable (not an exaggeration) and carries =

loads better. Yes, it's more work to get it up a big hill, but OTOH it=20
has better aerodynamics and its road suspension make it a more efficient =

roller, so coming down the other side or into a headwind it's quicker=20
despite the extra weight. See=20
http://www.kinetics-online.co.uk/htm...etmachine.html (or=20
www.bikefix.co.uk for the other UK dealer).

I use my bike a lot and I submit it to a fair deal of punishment (for
a road bike) so I want something that will last. What is the life
expectancy of a good bike?

The frame should last years and years, well into double figures unless=20
you're abusing it. Componentry wears out, but can be replaced as needed.=


But first up I'd invest in new parts for your existing Galaxy. They're=20
good frames and will stand up to a lot. Against the cost of a brand new =

bike of similar quality, =A3150 really isn't very much.

Pete.
--=20
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/