How do you tell a good used bicycle from a useless one?

[DebW]

I love my bullet-proof, stainless steel rims and the Gazelle is *definitely more than 27 pounds However, it's so meticulously engineered that it is still a joy to ride, like unto a completely non-polluting Mercedes... tho' even with seven speeds, I am *not* sure I"d want to lug it up anything "torturous;" worst we've got here are overpasses.

With steel rims, if you dent them, you can beat out the dents with a hammer. We used to do it all the time.