Dawes Super Galaxy 2012

[Paulus]

So I had mentioned I am ok the slow lookout for a Galaxy. I wasn't too bothered by age, but wanted to get the project on the road for a bargain basement price.

I've sold a few bike and bits over the last few weeks so had got a budget of £200. This would have been laughable 18 months ago, but I knew if I had patience something would come along that I could do in budget.

I didn't have to wait long. I'd seen this 2012 model up for £500 a few weeks ago and had discounted it as being too expensive. However I noticed it was still there when I searched FB and the other day it dropped to £350. Last night I had a chat with the seller and they agreed to sell it for £200, being just a couple of miles away I could try it for size too.

I went armed with a pump and it felt right from the moment I sat on it, it's a 53cm compact frame.

Anyway the seller seemed relieved to sell it, I got the impression they are on a dead line, it had been her bike bought from new but not ridden for a long time.

To the bike. I'm fairly sure this has done a few hundred KM max. It seems to have all original equipment except the rack, and nothing is worn. Just a bit of mud.

Will get a list of jobs together tonight.
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That's a lot of bike for £200.
Well done.

 

[Proto]

Ha, looks familiar! Fabulous bike.

This is my eldest daughter’s bike at the start of a solo trip from Mulhouse to Roscoff, then on to Bristol. She has christened it ‘The Tank’!

I bought if for her when she and her sister were planning a trip from Vancouver down the west coast to the Mexican border. Bought from an older gentleman who had himself bought it to complete a single journey, LEJOG. It was bog standard and immaculate. He asked for, and got, £250.

We had to make a few changes for the US trip. She struggled with the size of the brake/shift levers and ended up fitting small Cane Creek brake levers and bar end shifters. Changed the saddle, then added a dynamo front wheel, rack, panniers and bar bag. All worked well and launched her into the world of ‘Adventure’ riding.

 

[GeekDadZoid]

I'm about 160km in with the Galaxy and really starting to feel at home on it.

Took it out for a bridleway ride on Friday up some very steep hill and on some pretty rough track and it handled it superb. The fast run back down the A6 home from New Mills was equally pleasing, well as good as a ride on the A6 can be.

I am keen on replace the bars with some wider ones I have, but I need to wait till I get some new tape.

So far so good though.

 

[wafter]

Nice work - glad it's going well

While new toys of any kind are always nice, IMO there's nothing that comes anywhere close to feeling as virtuous and universally splendid as getting out on a "new" bike that you've chucked a load of time into making your own

 

[GeekDadZoid]

Thought I would update the thread, done 1135km on the bike as of this evening and I think I possibly love it even more than I did when I got it.

Couple of small changes, it's got the Spa Nidd and Airbike pedals from my Holdsworth as I was not really too happy with the kit on it and I didn't have the cash for new ones for now.

Also had some cheap bar tape I had in stock much tidier than what was on it but not very nice, I'll save up for something good.

I've also stuck my Cateye fork crown mount on and tidied up the mudguards.

 

[scragend]

Thought I would update the thread, done 1135km on the bike as of this evening and I think I possibly love it even more than I did when I got it.

Couple of small changes, it's got the Spa Nidd and Airbike pedals from my Holdsworth as I was not really too happy with the kit on it and I didn't have the cash for new ones for now.

Also had some cheap bar tape I had in stock much tidier than what was on it but not very nice, I'll save up for something good.

I've also stuck my Cateye fork crown mount on and tidied up the mudguards.

Is that a Carradry saddlebag you've got on there? I have one but I had issues with it catching my legs when I was riding. I bodged something up to hold it further away but yours looks like a better solution. Can I ask how you have it mounted?

 

[GeekDadZoid]

Is that a Carradry saddlebag you've got on there? I have one but I had issues with it catching my legs when I was riding. I bodged something up to hold it further away but yours looks like a better solution. Can I ask how you have it mounted?

It is a carradry, it's one of Carradices own solutions

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/luggage/carradice-sqr-saddlebag-uplift-system/

 

[GarGri]

So.Well done on your negotiating skills. I can't help wondering why you haven't levelled up that rear rack! I bought a similar one off Facebook marketplace and offered the seller £275 when he was asking £350. He said £325 was the lowest he'd go. I advised him to look on Ebay sold items to see what they actually go for and he came back to say OK. I sold it a few months later for £400 as I wasn't keen on the bar end shifters.

 

[GeekDadZoid]

So.Well done on your negotiating skills. I can't help wondering why you haven't levelled up that rear rack! I bought a similar one off Facebook marketplace and offered the seller £275 when he was asking £350. He said £325 was the lowest he'd go. I advised him to look on Ebay sold items to see what they actually go for and he came back to say OK. I sold it a few months later for £400 as I wasn't keen on the bar end shifters.

It had a Blackburn rack on it when I bought it, but I am already invested in saddlebags so took it off in favour of them. I can carry my laptop, a change of clothes and tool kit in the carradry bag no bother.

I still have the rack for if I need more carrying space, but I do have bikes that are made for lugging cargo.

As for my negotiation I just decide what I can afford and what's it's worth to me and stick to my guns. If they say no I usually say no problem but get in touch if you change your mind. Works about 50% of the time.

 

[scragend]

It is a carradry, it's one of Carradices own solutions

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/luggage/carradice-sqr-saddlebag-uplift-system/

Thanks! Looks like a good option.

 

[wafter]

As for my negotiation I just decide what I can afford and what's it's worth to me and stick to my guns. If they say no I usually say no problem but get in touch if you change your mind. Works about 50% of the time.

Good work - I find that being flexible and respectful helps in this regard. Delivery / etiquette is the key IMO. As a seller I'm no fan of lowballs, but "I have a budget of £x, please keep me in mind if it doesn't sell" is immeasureably more paletable than the raft of "offers" I get from illiterate muppets that simply contain a unitless number with no further explanation..