viscount

Have a 2003 World Tour, which I believe is non UK made and one of the last before the compact frames.



Question is, is it Reynolds Tubing?
No Reynolds stickers to be seen.
The other decals are immaculate and no sign of removal of another.
I just assumed it was 531 when I bought it and it certainly feels as if it is.

cycleheimer

...and now for something completely different. More useless trivia. The Windrush was a predecessor to the Galaxy. Below is a picture of a 50-year-old one. It was manufactured in Birmingham, Enland. It came with a Reynolds 531 frame with oiling ports on both the BB and head tube, Williams cottered steel crank set, head lamp mount on the right front fork blade, Brooks leather saddle, Benelux deraileurs, Weinmann brakes, Rigida steel rims. Dawes had their name stamped on many of the components and accessories. Some neat features included brake hood covers with contours for your fingers, brake lever covers, brake cable end covers, "scrollwork" engraving on the alloy handlebars, wire rear rack, fenders, and the one I have has a Miller generator light set. The one pictured is heavy as H***, but is a nice rider.

txvintage

Vis, I would think pretty much any local/regional dealer should be able to tell you.

Do you need the number of the shop my Dawes came from in Cambridge? They have been around forever.

ozneddy

2003, is that a "Retro" model ? (looks good)

Goats Do Roam

I'm pretty sure all Galaxies are 531.

They're great bikes, love mine!



I'm not sure of the year, but i know it's from the '70s and i've heard that '75 was the last year that Dawes used the torch headbadge, so i'm assuming it's pre-'75.

Goats Do Roam

Actually, if it wasn't made in England i'm not sure...

I am pretty sure that all English Dawes Galaxies were and continue to have Reynolds tubing... But to correct myself, more current British Galaxies are not 531, but some other type of Reynolds tubing.
I don't know the exact years, however.

Goats Do Roam

To chime in for a third time....

Come to think of it, as far as i know all Dawes are still made in Birmingham, England.
Except for the BikesDirect Dawes knock off... But we don't like to talk about BikesDirect.

viscount

Thanks for the responses guys.
First 2003 might not be vintage but arguably the Dawes Galaxy is a long time classic!
Do I hear dissent?

I called the current Dawes company this morning. (Based in Fort Dunlop, Birmingham, England - +44 121 748 2000) and I was told to email the technical guys at 'technical@dawescycles.com' for more info.
They hold computerised records from 2001 apparently, so somebody has got a head on their shoulders at last. I await their response.

Seek and ye shall find?
Maybe

ALL Galaxies are cool.
It's just that some are cooler than others.....
IMHO the older the better.

cycleheimer

Interesting to see pictures from "Goats Do Roam" posting. My '59 WR seems to have been refurbished back in the 1970s. The rear derailleur has a black plastic Simplex model replacing the Benelux. I now know where that idea came from. BF

viscount

I have a pair of Dawes rubber cable end covers and also a pair of bar end plugs with the spare bulb holder inside.
Such small details, but they get my emphatic vote for their attention to such details.
You don't see that nowadays.

cycleheimer

The following link will give you a little idea of how Dawes fans love the Galaxy...

https://www.londonfgss.com/thread8254.html

.... notice how some try to dissuade somebody from doing a SS conversion on a Galaxy.

Goats Do Roam

Although i'm tempted to keep the bike original (assuming of course that it is all original... i can't be sure as i'm not the original owner and i'm not that knowledgeable as to the history of Dawes) I may end up replacing the derailleurs. The simplexes aren't bad, but they don't always make the cleanest of shifts.
Plus, I find something very appealing in the idea of having a pair of campy derailleurs to go along with my campy hubs.

Actually, i don't even know if my wheelset is original... Anyone know if the galaxies of the 70s came with campy hubs?

viscount

Mention of keeping them original prompts me to show you a couple I customised.

Great bike to alter/customise.
It really needs racks both ends to take advantage of its load carrying capabilities.
Smashing bike.
Wanted to fit a 3 speed but it looks silly with 26" wheels. (27" with 3 speed hubs are difficult to find, or expensive to build)
Shown here with a 7 speed block, plenty for town use.
Will probably get the interesting lugs outlined in gold.

This Realmrider on the other hand was ideal for 3 speed and has the original 'flaming torch' headbadge.
Was originally a 5 speed with drop bars, but looks cool with straight bars and 3 speed.

viscount

Great article, thanks
Not seen it before.

cycleheimer

I found some old Dawes catalog pages on the web...search "Dawes" on Flikr and Photobucket From them I was surprised to see things like Reynolds 531, Chrome Moly, Brooks saddles, Williams crank sets, Miller generator lights, etc. appearing on Dawes models back in the 1930s.

viscount

Yeah, thanks.
The Flickr Dawes group is one of mine and I do have a catalogue from 1937 I think (can't put my hands on it right now!) but here's the link to several pages from it:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/dawes_galaxy/pool/
(I'm elevhem on Flickr)
Six months ago I knew nothing much about Dawes but we try to collect Dawes stuff and links to interesting net finds all in one place.
Will check Photobucket later. I only use it to post stuff on here!