I took out my Dawes Galaxy 531 Ladies bike out of the shed not sure whether I want to keep it or sell it. I bought it in 1991 to accompany my sons on their cycling trips but have not ridden it for seven years after being prescribed cardiac medication with vertigo as a side effect. I am now on better drugs and vertigo is no longer a problem, so I tried the bike on the local cycling track and actually enjoyed riding it - decided to keep it and benefit from cardiovascular exercise. The problem is that I have forgotten how to use gears, also not very confident at present taking one hand off the handlebars to move the two levers. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Newbie
- Thread starter MariaJP
- Start date
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Chris S
Legendary Member
- Location
- Birmingham
Sell the bike and put the money towards something with indexed shifters, mounted on the handlebars. Most modern bikes have them.
the snail
Guru
- Location
- Chippenham
Hii Maria, nice bike you have there, glad you've decided to keep it and use it! I think the best thing is to carry on as you are, find a quiet place and practice changing up and down, you'll soon get more confident. On relatively flat terrain you can just use the middle gear on the front (or small ring if you have two front rings) and just concentrate on the rear derailleur.
Training is available too, if your cycling/road skills are a bit rusty:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/bikeability/the-three-levels/cycling-skills-for-adults/
Training is available too, if your cycling/road skills are a bit rusty:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/bikeability/the-three-levels/cycling-skills-for-adults/
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
Or keep the bike and have it converted to indexed shifters.
The Galaxy is a popular model of bike, you might regret it later if you sell it.
Ravenbait
Someone's imaginary friend
- Location
- The Seventh Level of Hell
Hi Maria. Whereabouts are you? There might be some folks in your neck of the woods who could help you get your confidence back.
Mostly it's just a case of refamiliarisation. You'll soon get the hang of it.
Sam
Mostly it's just a case of refamiliarisation. You'll soon get the hang of it.
Sam
With regards to being confident riding one handed: if you are riding with your hands on the tops of the handlebars for example, just raise one hand slightly above the bars (you'll still be able to quickly have both hands on the bars if needed). Keep practicing going further and further with your hand just hovering above the bar & eventually you will have the confidence to move your hand away & will be able to reach the gears. Practice with both hands somewhere nice & quite (a park maybe) until you've got the hang of it
Oh! & I'd keep the dawes & possibly upgrade to sti levers (brake & gear combined) in the future.
I'm with the 'Keep the Bike' brigade.
It's a nice bike and if you like it, keep it.
I was a late convert to gear levers mounted on the brake-lever brackets (in my case Campagnolo).
I'd strongly recommend changing in due course, just because it makes so many things so much easier.
If you do decide to change, you can find stuff on eBay. When folk upgrade to 10 or 11-speed groupsets, they will have to flog of their 7, 8 or 9-speed equipment.
But for now, I'd just get used to the bike again as it is.
It's just like riding a bike: once you've learned you won't find you've forgotten.
I'd get the existing bike in the best possible condition (which it may not be after 7 years idle) so maybe a trip to your local bike shop for a once-over.
Then follow the advice from other posters on getting back into the swing of it.
It's a nice bike and if you like it, keep it.
I was a late convert to gear levers mounted on the brake-lever brackets (in my case Campagnolo).
I'd strongly recommend changing in due course, just because it makes so many things so much easier.
If you do decide to change, you can find stuff on eBay. When folk upgrade to 10 or 11-speed groupsets, they will have to flog of their 7, 8 or 9-speed equipment.
But for now, I'd just get used to the bike again as it is.
It's just like riding a bike: once you've learned you won't find you've forgotten.
I'd get the existing bike in the best possible condition (which it may not be after 7 years idle) so maybe a trip to your local bike shop for a once-over.
Then follow the advice from other posters on getting back into the swing of it.
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Welcome!
I'd second the 'keep the bike' brigade. I have a Galaxy of similar vintage, although as it's one of 4 mounts, it's sadly underused at the moment. I eventually decided I didn't get on with drop bars, and converted to 'normal' bars, although I kept the down tube shifters. But I think I'm going to convert them to twist shifters - it's fairly easily doable for a bikey person, you get cable stops that bolt on where the shifters are now, and then carry the cable on up to whatever shifters you choose - a decent bike shop could sort it for you. So I'd say, give it a little time and practice, see how you get on, and then consider the options.
Gears - stick on the middle chainring at the front most of the time, and use the rear gears to keep a comfortable cadence (pedal spinning rate). If you see a hill coming up that might need it, change down to the little chainring while you still have a couple of lower gears spare at the back to keep changing down. Again, practice will do the trick.
I'd second the 'keep the bike' brigade. I have a Galaxy of similar vintage, although as it's one of 4 mounts, it's sadly underused at the moment. I eventually decided I didn't get on with drop bars, and converted to 'normal' bars, although I kept the down tube shifters. But I think I'm going to convert them to twist shifters - it's fairly easily doable for a bikey person, you get cable stops that bolt on where the shifters are now, and then carry the cable on up to whatever shifters you choose - a decent bike shop could sort it for you. So I'd say, give it a little time and practice, see how you get on, and then consider the options.
Gears - stick on the middle chainring at the front most of the time, and use the rear gears to keep a comfortable cadence (pedal spinning rate). If you see a hill coming up that might need it, change down to the little chainring while you still have a couple of lower gears spare at the back to keep changing down. Again, practice will do the trick.
johnr
Über Member
- Location
- Grand depart 2014 county (east)
You won't go far wrong on this forum if you just do what Arch says. I think it might even be one of the rules.
For what it's worth, I'd stick with what you've got and adjust yourself back into it, even if it means sticking to one ring and taking conservative routes until you're more confident.
I'm glad I stuck with my old boneshaker when I started getting more serious. I went through about 4-5 phases of what improvements I thought I needed. After about six months, I was ready to make the changes and was confident the investment was worth it... as it proved to be!
You've picked a great time of year to start again. Enjoy!
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
I may say the most, but even I don't think I'm always right....
On this case though, I would stick with the bike. Apart from anything else, a few months of riding it will help you decide what you like and don't like about it, and then if you do decide to upgrade to something new, you've got a check list of things it needs to have, a benchmark of things you'd do differently. With so much choice out there, it's hard to decide on a new bike without some criteria.
