noel r.

This is my review of the Mercier Galaxy ST Express, in Black with Drop Bars. I ordered it and it came fast
First Off I am a 6 foot 2 inch Supper Clydesdale@ 300LBS+ I haven't ridden a road bike in 20 +years. I have a custom built Breezer Thunder Comp hardtail, and a Fuji reveal also bought from Bikes direct it beefed up with 40 spoke handbuilt rims. I ride off road and hard. I recently found Zwift and did not like the stress I was putting on my aluminum frame hard tail. I went in search of a cheap steel frame that I could build up. My trainer is a wahoo snap.
First off out of the box this bike looks cool. The paint, welds and frame are pretty nice and well make. The steel is 240 Hi-ten steel nothing special but not aluminum. The Rear Wheel is a bolt on 130mm w a 7 speed freewheel. It is not QR! Or a cassette. The front is a QR the rims were not perfect but I did not care about the front as it's never going to spin. The Hubs are no name china. I was going to convert the rear to QR it but my Local Bike shop had a QR Rim with (machine breaking surface and a better hub) spot on true for 59.00 and they swapped the cassette and mounted it for free. The shifters and derailleurs are all ok shift smooth and no ghost shifting they won't need an upgrade till I wear them out. They did need to be adjusted. However The square BB and the Crank on the bike is absolutely no good for anyone weighing more than 80lbs. The cogs are riveted and stamped and they flex I can see the defection in the cogs as I spin. (98 watts and it feels like I'm going to bend the cogs). The Bottom bracket is a standard 68mm English tread. I had a spare Hollow tech 2 BB installed it and took the saint crank off my hard tail. I plan to install a Claris r2000 HT2 road crank (8 speed double) and time ac2 clip pedals but with the saint installed I now see 0 issues with cranking out on this bike and the frame works nicely in my trainer no flex or twisting like I had with my aluminum frame bikes. I have over 100 miles on this now no creaks or noises.
The following should be noted. The stem is a 22.5 its weak it has some flex but works. It is going to be replaced with a suntor adjustable. The Bars are nice but are nothing special and wrapped nicely
I don't use the breaks or levers the bike is used for my trainer. They look adequate but I would upgrade them before ever using them on the road.
The seat went the first day. It was rock hard. Comfort seat installed.
If I ever ride this on the road I will also replace the front wheel matching the rear one from my LBS.
Over all I spent 229(248 w tax) for the bike 59 for a rear rim 80 for a good crank and 48 got clip pedals. I Total 436.00 I'm happy and I'm not worried about trashing an aluminum frame that cost a small fortune
I hope this helps someone looking for a cheap but descent road bike.