drdonna

Hello,

I am looking for a bike to just ride around town and found one on Craigslist.

The seller says it's a 'Galaxy Pro Racer Tech 2000', which I cannot find any information on. Also, they say one of the gears does not engage, but there are new tires and brakes on it. They are asking $100 for it. Is this bike any good? And what does it mean for one gear not to engage?

Thank you for your help.

randyjawa 

I am not familiar with a Galaxy Pro Racer but I have had a few Galaxy bicycles come my way. I found them all to be, pretty much, not all that great. Perhaps the OP's Pro is different but I cannot say for sure. That said, the bike does not sound road worthy and a hundred dollars seems pretty high to me. That said...

If the bike has a decent tubing set and forged, as opposed to stamped steel dropouts, it just might be something that I would take a second look at...

Stamped steel dropout rear...


Forged dropout rear...

drdonna

Thank you for your response. That helps a lot.

wrk101

Type 1: A vintage bike that does not show up on Google tends to be a private label, store brand. Back during the bike boom (1960s and 1970s), there were literally thousands of brands of bikes. Tire shops, department stores, even gas stations sold bikes. They were mass produced low end bikes where the manufacturer added a decal or two and made the bike whatever brand the store wanted. Generally these are bikes to avoid.

Type 2: There are also modern bikes you won't find on the web either. These tend to be department store "quality". Amazon sells some Galaxy branded bikes.

Type 3: There were a few private label bikes in the 1980s and 1990s that were quite nice! Most of those show up on the web.

Without pictures, I have no idea which type this bike fits in.

Bikes where "one of the gears doesn't work" are best suited for a knowledgeable person that can fix it. Realize seller has not taken the time to repair. Labor rates at shops in my area are high, reflecting the shortage of workers and the cost of business. One of the gears not working could be a simple adjustment, or it could be a bad part(s).

As far as what the seller means, hard to predict. But its a sign of neglect, despite the new tires. Who spends the money on new tires and doesn't fix shifting?

Myself, I love buying bikes that don't work, because it means a discount. I bought a bike once that was totally disassembled, guy had taken it apart and couldn't figure out how to reassemble it. But I have the time/tools/knowledge/space/spare parts to do such a rebuild. A local shop would have charged more than the bike was worth once rebuilt for such a project. Lacking such attributes, I would seek out bikes where everything works, they are spotlessly clean, no rust, and then test ride them. Paying more upfront for such a bike can end up being a bargain!

drdonna

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I ended up not going for it. Will keep looking for something more road worthy. Thank you.