Dawes Galaxy :D

[ChrisEyles]

This week I was the very lucky recipient of a lovely old Dawes Galaxy! The owners are moving house, have just bought another pair of touring bikes (and even before this it was their back-up - I think they had a pair of Thorns as their go-to bikes), and they don't have the space to keep it or the inclination to get it ride-able again. They are both keen cyclists and we'd been chatting about our hobbies when I mentioned I enjoyed doing up bikes, and they immediately said I should have the bike. I was a little taken aback, I shall have to think of a nice way to return the favour if I can.

It's a small-ish frame so I'm really hoping Mrs Chris can be persuaded to have a go on it for a pootle around the lanes. It's such a generous gift it would be a shame to sell it on. Otherwise I'm planning on keeping it at work and going for some Summer evening rides, should still be fine with a long stem and a bit more seatpost showing.

Unfortunately it's too dark for pics outside and the light in my garage is terrible, but I'll get some up when I'm able.

The bike was de-commissioned when the original forks had worn through on the steerer inside the head tube (I've never seen this before and can't quite imagine how it happened - maybe a very loose headset ridden a very long way?). The bike did come with a "new" fork, but it has a threaded steerer that's totally the wrong length for the (short-ish) head tube. I guess this means I'm going to have to convert to a threadless A-headset set-up.

Other than that, I think all it's going to need is new cables and a brake hanger to get it ride-able... though I'm already thinking about fresh bar tape and new tyres etc etc to get it looking pristine.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I've always had a hankering for one of these in the back of my mind so I'm quite excited now

 

[woodbutcher]

Very interested to see your pics, mainly because l don't know what a Dawes Galaxy looks like !

 

[midlife]

Pics would be nice . Just get the LBS to cut and re thread the steerer or buy some different forks.

Shaun

 

[ChrisEyles]

TBH I quite like the idea of converting the a threadless stem. They don't look as classy but it's nice to be able to swap out different lengths, and I guess Mrs Chris will probably prefer a short high front end to start if the bike takes her fancy. The threaded part is so high it will only be in contact with the top third or so of the stem, so I don't think there should be any issues with clamping stresses.

Pics to come at the weekend (I shall be hopping from foot to foot if I don't get the chance to tinker around with it at some point).

 

[ChrisEyles]

Well I've had a good go at the bike over the weekend, and it's looking pretty good!

I swapped out the old headset cups for a threadless cartridge bearing headset so I could use an A-headset stem to get around the wrong length threaded steerer. It's the first time I've attempted this and I was a tiny bit apprehensive since I know you're *supposed* to use proper tools to remove/install the races, but as usual a block of wood, hammer, and punch got the job done nicely.

Installing the threadless stem went fine, though I don't have quite enough space underneath the stem to route the front brake cable for the centre-pull canti brakes. My current bodge is to have the brake hanger slightly off to one side, which isn't mechanically ideal, but seems to be working fine until I figure out a better solution. I would be tempted to drill a hole through the centre of the stem and route the cable through that way but I'd then be worried about stress risers and cracks in the stem... you can just about see my bodge from this pic.

The hubs and BB were running nice and smoothly already so haven't opened them up yet but may bung a bit of grease in just to make sure later on. The whole bike needed a ruddy good clean-up but underneath the gunk everything was working nicely - even the gears just needed a little tweak to get them indexed nicely.

The bike's kitted out with an Exage groupset which looks pretty solid and is quite attractive, in a functional sort of way.

I spent a bit of time this afternoon giving it a thorough once-over to check all bolts, bearings etc etc for safety, and fiddled around with the position of the bars and brake levers before taking it for a cautious front-brake-only spin around the village.

First impressions are that it rides beautifully, and I'm a tiny bit gutted that it's really too small for me (saddle is too low for me in the pics but the seatpost has been sawn off so I don't want to risk putting it too much higher).

I then asked Mrs Chris if she fancied a little go, and got a tentative yes The frame is about as big as she could possibly ride but with the seatpost slammed all the way down it's pretty much perfect for her from a pedalling efficiency point of view.... though perhaps not from a comfort and confidence one, and we didn't get out of the garage this time! She's said she'll have another go on it once I've got the rear brakes going (waiting for a cable inner in the post) if I take the toe clips off. We'll see how we get on, but if she takes a shine to it a shorter stem would probably make it a pretty good fit for her, and new bar tape/tyres and a front mudguard would finish it off nicely.

 

[woodbutcher]

Well I've had a good go at the bike over the weekend, and it's looking pretty good!

View attachment 338671
View attachment 338674
View attachment 338678

I swapped out the old headset cups for a threadless cartridge bearing headset so I could use an A-headset stem to get around the wrong length threaded steerer. It's the first time I've attempted this and I was a tiny bit apprehensive since I know you're *supposed* to use proper tools to remove/install the races, but as usual a block of wood, hammer, and punch got the job done nicely.

Installing the threadless stem went fine, though I don't have quite enough space underneath the stem to route the front brake cable for the centre-pull canti brakes. My current bodge is to have the brake hanger slightly off to one side, which isn't mechanically ideal, but seems to be working fine until I figure out a better solution. I would be tempted to drill a hole through the centre of the stem and route the cable through that way but I'd then be worried about stress risers and cracks in the stem... you can just about see my bodge from this pic.

View attachment 338677

The hubs and BB were running nice and smoothly already so haven't opened them up yet but may bung a bit of grease in just to make sure later on. The whole bike needed a ruddy good clean-up but underneath the gunk everything was working nicely - even the gears just needed a little tweak to get them indexed nicely.

The bike's kitted out with an Exage groupset which looks pretty solid and is quite attractive, in a functional sort of way.

View attachment 338672 View attachment 338673

I spent a bit of time this afternoon giving it a thorough once-over to check all bolts, bearings etc etc for safety, and fiddled around with the position of the bars and brake levers before taking it for a cautious front-brake-only spin around the village.

First impressions are that it rides beautifully, and I'm a tiny bit gutted that it's really too small for me (saddle is too low for me in the pics but the seatpost has been sawn off so I don't want to risk putting it too much higher).

I then asked Mrs Chris if she fancied a little go, and got a tentative yes The frame is about as big as she could possibly ride but with the seatpost slammed all the way down it's pretty much perfect for her from a pedalling efficiency point of view.... though perhaps not from a comfort and confidence one, and we didn't get out of the garage this time! She's said she'll have another go on it once I've got the rear brakes going (waiting for a cable inner in the post) if I take the toe clips off. We'll see how we get on, but if she takes a shine to it a shorter stem would probably make it a pretty good fit for her, and new bar tape/tyres and a front mudguard would finish it off nicely.

Now l know what a Dawes Galaxy looks like...very nice

 

[biggs682]

Best Galaxy colour enjoy

So did you use the new threaded forks as were ie too long ?

Never thought about doing that and using an a head set up which as you say are easier to set up to required length

 

[ChrisEyles]

Yes, I did use the too-long threaded steerer forks that came with the bike. The set-up seems to work perfectly well. My only slight concern is that if the stem were clamped on the threaded portion it might not be quite as strong as an unthreaded proper A-headset steerer tube, but in this case the threads are so high off the head tube I think it'll be fine. It does mean the stem has to be slammed, but a riser stem should be able to get a good position - and if Mrs Chris ends up with the bike she'll have a low saddle height so won't need a silly rise stem in any case.