Dawes Appreciation Society

[singlespeedscott]

Very nice

[munga]

85 Kingpin

shwing-pin!

[LugNut]

About time I posted a picture of the tandem, now that it's more or less finished.
Late 80s Dawes Super Galaxy, Reynolds 531 with Deore and Stronglight gearing.
IMG_2835 by biekomelbourne, on Flickr

[matt1986]

Looks gorgeous, one of the nicest tandems I've seen

[singlespeedscott]

+1

[grantw]

Great work!

[ldrcycles]

Finished rebuilding the Shadow with gears today, ready for my brother to ride her in the Strade Bianche. The original Simplex front derailleur was cracked (no surprises there) and with a lack of foresight i had put the cranks on another bike which i sold a year or two ago . Ah well, the Sugino No.6 cranks are nicer anyway. The wheels are quite a step up from new too, Miche hubs on Araya 1" rims. I was a bit concerned about the narrow rims at first but the 1 1/4" tyres fit just fine and don't look to be losing much bag compared to a wider rim. The Rolls is quite tatty and is just there to make it look more complete.

[Covbandit]

Finally sorted (except for decals, which i've misplaced and can't find).
I know i've posted this pic everywhere but i'm just so happy!

That's just the sort of thing I want to do to mine, only I want 7,8 or 9 gears and only 1 cog on the front.

Slightly quieter wheel rims though.

[WyvernRH]

Finished rebuilding the Shadow with gears today, ready for my brother to ride her in the Strade Bianche. The original Simplex front derailleur was cracked (no surprises there) and with a lack of foresight i had put the cranks on another bike which i sold a year or two ago . Ah well, the Sugino No.6 cranks are nicer anyway. The wheels are quite a step up from new too, Miche hubs on Araya 1" rims. I was a bit concerned about the narrow rims at first but the 1 1/4" tyres fit just fine and don't look to be losing much bag compared to a wider rim. The Rolls is quite tatty and is just there to make it look more complete.

That's a very nice job you've done there! Kudos....
Updated but period looking. Massive improvement on the sad bike you rescued earlier in the thread.
I don't think anyone would blame you for tossing the Simplex rear as well and fitting a Suntour VX rear and matching levers or the like. A common upgrade to these bikes and later models were Suntour anyway.

Richard

[WyvernRH]

About time I posted a picture of the tandem, now that it's more or less finished.
Late 80s Dawes Super Galaxy, Reynolds 531 with Deore and Stronglight gearing.
IMG_2835 by biekomelbourne, on Flickr

Magic! IMHO these bikes were the pinnacle of production steel tandems. There was just nothing to dislike about them, they worked 'off the shelf' for heavy touring but you could still fiddle around and customize them easily if so needed.

Richard

[ldrcycles]

That's a very nice job you've done there! Kudos....
Updated but period looking. Massive improvement on the sad bike you rescued earlier in the thread.
I don't think anyone would blame you for tossing the Simplex rear as well and fitting a Suntour VX rear and matching levers or the like. A common upgrade to these bikes and later models were Suntour anyway.

Richard

I'm planning to keep the Simplex rear (assuming it doesn't break ) as it actually shifts really well, i was quite surprised with it. And as much as i like SunTour stuff a bit of "exotic" French equipment is good for variety .

[singlespeedscott]

That's a very nice job you've done there! Kudos....
Updated but period looking. Massive improvement on the sad bike you rescued earlier in the thread.
I don't think anyone would blame you for tossing the Simplex rear as well and fitting a Suntour VX rear and matching levers or the like. A common upgrade to these bikes and later models were Suntour anyway.

Richard

I'm planning to keep the Simplex rear (assuming it doesn't break ) as it actually shifts really well, i was quite surprised with it. And as much as i like SunTour stuff a bit of "exotic" French equipment is good for variety .

Actually the Simplec SLJ derailleurs are some of the best ever.

[WyvernRH]

[quote="singlespeedscott"Actually the Simplec SLJ derailleurs are some of the best ever.[/quote]
Very true, but that is not an SLJ...bit further down the range I think?

Richard

[singlespeedscott]

Definitely

[ldrcycles]

Criterium. The molded lugs for the limit screws are both cracked, so who knows how much longer before the rest of it goes .

[WyvernRH]

I acquired this 1960's (?) Dawes at the weekend. The bike has been totally 'upgraded' some time in the 70's I would say and I'm pretty sure that the only original bits of equipment are the Weinmann brake calipers. Frame number on rear l/h dropout is T59230.
I would be interested in any guess as to the model and the date. The badge makes it after the late 50's - does anybody know exactly when the badges swapped over from 'Torch over D' to 'Torch over Dawes'' ?
It has a 26.5(ish) seat post and was originally Leaf/Emerald Green with no chrome. The headset is one of those weird types that has pressed cups which are not a bearing surface but all they do is hold a loose bearing race.




I have compared it to the 1964 catalog and it seems to have features that are earlier than most of the models in there. For example,
(1) The odd combined cablestop/pump pegs on my frame seem to have been replaced by clamps on everything except the Realmrider model.
(2) It has a cast/forged fork crown that differs from those shown on 1964 models but looks like those on 1956 models.
(3) Gear cable stops are the 'thru' type that are meant to guide an outer cable not act as a stop between inner and outer cable.So a full length outer from lever to gear? Benelux Mk 7?
(4) Fork dropouts have longer pointy rear prong which does not seem to appear in the 1964 models.

My best guess for a date would be late 50's early 60's. As for model I've no real idea.
In 1964 the Emerald Green seemed to be only available on the Galaxy and Realmrider models but I have been told that the 'Red Feather' model was available in Green at some point. Other models were around in the early 60's I am told. Does anyone have a catalog between 1956 and 1964?

Help please!

Richard

[ldrcycles]

So the headset is like a cross between English and Continental?

[WyvernRH]

So the headset is like a cross between English and Continental?

Yes, that's right. I hadn't seen one like this til I moved to Oz but they seem fairly common on early 60's Speedwells et al. Never seen one on a UK bike before tho'.

Richard

[WyvernRH]

OK, I give up. I'm looking for ANY Dawes catalog twixt 1956 and 1964. I can't find anything on the Internet... but maybe I'm not looking hard enough?
Adverts from that period would be useful too!

Richard

[Clydesdale Scot]

1956 at threespeedhub

there is a article about Dawes in the V-CC The Boneshaker 168 Summer 2005 by the Marque Enthusiast, and a short update in News and Views 319 p36 that the register is going well.
he appears to have a number of catalogues.

was there anything in particular you were after?

[WyvernRH]

was there anything in particular you were after?

I'm trying to identify the red Dawes above. In the period of interest I can only find the 1956 and 1964 Dawes catalogs on the internet and I know from the head badge that it is post circa 1958 and the frame has features that seem to pre-date the models shown in the 1964 catalog. So I'm guessing it dates from the early 60's and I would like to find a catalog from the 1958 to 63 period to see if I can match it up. Adverts from this period are useful but are frequently hand drawn and vague on details.
The frame was originally Emerald Green which sort of hints to a Galaxy but it could possibly be a Red Feather (which came in Red, Blue or Green at one point ) Equally it could be some other model like a Dalesman which came and went twixt 56 and 64.
All very puzzling...
I can sort work out the period equipment that a frame of this quality would have had from a few adverts I have but it would be nice to know what model it was originally

Richard

[outnabike]

About time I posted a picture of the tandem, now that it's more or less finished.
Late 80s Dawes Super Galaxy, Reynolds 531 with Deore and Stronglight gearing.
IMG_2835 by biekomelbourne, on Flickr

Magic! IMHO these bikes were the pinnacle of production steel tandems. There was just nothing to dislike about them, they worked 'off the shelf' for heavy touring but you could still fiddle around and customize them easily if so needed.

Richard

Majic?.....where does the riders head on the back go.....

[Clydesdale Scot]

Richard
PM sent

[WyvernRH]

OK, I give up. I'm looking for ANY Dawes catalog twixt 1956 and 1964. I can't find anything on the Internet... but maybe I'm not looking hard enough?
Adverts from that period would be useful too!
Richard

Sorry should have updated earlier. With some stellar assistance from Philip (Clydesdale Scot) this frame has been identified as a 1963 Dawes Medallion.


http://veterancycleclublibrary.org.uk/n ... 201963.pdf

Richard

[tomalophicon]

Evening Dawes fans,
Wondering if someone here might be able to identify this frame.
And whether (I know it's a long shot) it might be usable after removing that monstrosity of a home-welded strut (pending any damage it might have been compensating for).
Has canti brake mounts and welded rack mounts on the seat stays. It's fairly light and has a nice ding when it's flicked.
Seat tube diameter is 27.2cm.