Dawes Super Galaxy - what to do?
Hi,
Please could I ask some advice? *
I've been helping out with a local charity bike sale which received a Dawes Super Galaxy 531 minus a rear wheel as a donation.
Specs:
- 22"/56cm
- Reynolds 531 frame in gunmetal grey, it's been well-used but looked after, with decent quality Jagwire cables & pads
- Shimano 105 brake levers, shifters say Shimano, can't see anything more than that in a dim light - these all appear to be working perfectly
- Shimano Deore LX mechs
- front wheel is 'Mach1' rim
Pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/102104766 ... 242741669/
It was a policy that all the bikes we were selling had to be roadworthy, so it was given to me to try to fix up. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I wasn't able to do this in time and the sale day has now passed.
There are a couple of options for us, bearing in mind it's a bit of a niche market (compared to the cr*p we usually sell) and we're trying to raise as much money as possible for charity:
- selling the bike as is, on eB*y or a local club forum (or here, if the charity is happy and it'll reach the right market).
- putting on a pair of 90s-era wheels I have with 105 hubs, used Gatorskins and a new cassette, and selling it as a complete bike. Cost for parts & labour: ~£25-35 (the wheels need truing but I can do the rest myself and will donate the wheels and tyres).
What do you think please? Would it be better to leave it as incomplete or make it road-ready? Would the wheels suit the bike? (I can supply pics of the wheels if needed.) I've had a look on eBay and elsewhere and the benchmark prices for similar machines seem to range from outrageous to bargain basement, although I confess I'm not completely au fait with the history of steel-framed bikes. The fellow who usually prices the bikes up seemed to think it was worth £200-300.
NOTE: the forum rules state not to ask how much bikes are worth, but if you could direct me to appropriate resources for more definitive pricing, that would be great and a useful reference for the charity.
My own opinion is that a serious buyer would want to put his/her own choice of wheels, tyres and cassette on, but it depends on how many serious buyers there are out there, compared to those who just want a bike to ride. IME, rear wheels with working freehubs, especially from that era, are a lot rarer than front.
*NOTE: This bike is not currently for sale. Please DO NOT PM me with offers; I'll consider it rude and it'll annoy me. Besides, the end decision is not mine to make; I'm just fact-gathering on behalf of the charity. Thank you.*
Please could I ask some advice? *
I've been helping out with a local charity bike sale which received a Dawes Super Galaxy 531 minus a rear wheel as a donation.
Specs:
- 22"/56cm
- Reynolds 531 frame in gunmetal grey, it's been well-used but looked after, with decent quality Jagwire cables & pads
- Shimano 105 brake levers, shifters say Shimano, can't see anything more than that in a dim light - these all appear to be working perfectly
- Shimano Deore LX mechs
- front wheel is 'Mach1' rim
Pics:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/102104766 ... 242741669/
It was a policy that all the bikes we were selling had to be roadworthy, so it was given to me to try to fix up. Unfortunately, due to other commitments, I wasn't able to do this in time and the sale day has now passed.
There are a couple of options for us, bearing in mind it's a bit of a niche market (compared to the cr*p we usually sell) and we're trying to raise as much money as possible for charity:
- selling the bike as is, on eB*y or a local club forum (or here, if the charity is happy and it'll reach the right market).
- putting on a pair of 90s-era wheels I have with 105 hubs, used Gatorskins and a new cassette, and selling it as a complete bike. Cost for parts & labour: ~£25-35 (the wheels need truing but I can do the rest myself and will donate the wheels and tyres).
What do you think please? Would it be better to leave it as incomplete or make it road-ready? Would the wheels suit the bike? (I can supply pics of the wheels if needed.) I've had a look on eBay and elsewhere and the benchmark prices for similar machines seem to range from outrageous to bargain basement, although I confess I'm not completely au fait with the history of steel-framed bikes. The fellow who usually prices the bikes up seemed to think it was worth £200-300.
NOTE: the forum rules state not to ask how much bikes are worth, but if you could direct me to appropriate resources for more definitive pricing, that would be great and a useful reference for the charity.
My own opinion is that a serious buyer would want to put his/her own choice of wheels, tyres and cassette on, but it depends on how many serious buyers there are out there, compared to those who just want a bike to ride. IME, rear wheels with working freehubs, especially from that era, are a lot rarer than front.
*NOTE: This bike is not currently for sale. Please DO NOT PM me with offers; I'll consider it rude and it'll annoy me. Besides, the end decision is not mine to make; I'm just fact-gathering on behalf of the charity. Thank you.*
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Comments
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It's a touring bike so the rear dropout spacing is wider than normal road bike wheels. Besides, you want beefier wheels for touring bikes anyway. The front wheel I think is rather poor for the bike anyway.
It looks a nice bike (and the valuation is reasonable for it in working order) but whoever buys it will need to spend some time fettling it and getting new mudguards and rack etc. Personally, I would put it on Ebay as is. There is a strong market for these bikes on Ebay and with decent photos and description I suspect that you'll make more money by not spending money yourself getting it roadworthy. If I was after that bike, I'd be straight off to a wheelbuilder to get handmade touring wheels for it which would cost about £170 and are easily sourced. Cheap wheels to fit are still going to cost £60 and more for the cassette and the buyer who is prepared to pay a decent amount for this bike won't thank you for inflicting them on him or her!
Nice toenails by the way!Faster than a tent.......0 -
Haha! Hadn't realised how many shots my feet were in. Oops. :oops:
That's great advice, thanks. Backs up what I was suspecting, I'll pass it on to the charity. I know the bike has already been to the Pyrenees but I'd love to know how it lost the wheel and other bits. Hope it'll live again soon...0 -
Judging from the photos showing 'bar-end shifters' my guess is that the rear wheel would need a 5 or 6 speed freewheel (not a modern cassette). Measure the space between the insides of the rear dropouts, probably 120-126 mm which is standard for road bikes of that era.
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA0 -
Good points, thanks.
I think it's a 7 speed as there's 6 distinct clicks when I operate the shifter, which tallies with the description of similar bikes (21 speed). The crankset is a triple (48-38-28).
I've checked the dropout width and it appears to be about ~135mm inside to inside, according to Sheldon Brown that's '135 mm Rear 7- 8- and 9-speed (MTB)'.
Having the tape out reminded me to check the size though, and I discovered it's a 22inch/56cm, so not as big as I initially thought (there were so many bikes around when I was doing the measurements, I think I got it confused with another Dawes https://www.flickr.com/photos/102104766 ... 5222984640 - went for £25 at the bike sale! I treated myself to this fully-functioning beauty for £20 - first task was dropping the seat and lifting the bars https://www.flickr.com/photos/102104766 ... 443783058/).0 -
JayKosta wrote:Judging from the photos showing 'bar-end shifters' my guess is that the rear wheel would need a 5 or 6 speed freewheel (not a modern cassette). Measure the space between the insides of the rear dropouts, probably 120-126 mm which is standard for road bikes of that era.
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA
Definitely a 7 speed. I have a (bent framed
) Dawes Horizon (model down from the Galaxy) that is a year or two older than that and it is 7 speed. This bike dates from the early 90s and bar end shifters were still commonly used on tourers then (and still are by a lot of folk!).
It will indeed be 135mm.Faster than a tent.......0
