Rhythm Thief
Legendary Member
- Location
- Ross on Wye
Over the weekend, I bought a 1990s Dawes Audax Giro 700 sight unseen on eBay. I have no need of this bike, and could actually do without yet another project, but I've always had a soft spot for "the racing Galaxy" and I remember wanting one when they were introduced and were being advertised in Cycling Plus back in the day. I actually bought one in 2018 (another eBay purchase) and did most of my riding on it, despite it being a bit too small for me, until I sold it a couple of years ago.
Anyway, this one popped up on eBay at a bargain price (sixty quid) and it was in Stratford upon Avon, which is a decent ride from where I live in Ross on Wye. Wouldn't it be great, I thought, to buy the thing, take some pedals and a decent saddle and enough tools to give it a quick service, get the train to Stratford and ride it home? (Just as an aside, I'd planned something similar with the last bike I bought on eBay, a 1980s Mercian road bike, but having bought the train tickets I came down with a cold the night before and reluctantly collected it in my wife's car instead. I didn't have that option this time as she was using the car.)
So, that's what I did, despite (in a spooky echo of the last time I tried this) coming down with a cold the day before I was due to get the train, almost immediately after booking my train tickets. But, as mentioned above, this time I had no choice. So hey for the first bus to Gloucester at ten past seven, carrying a saddlebag full of tools and a Brooks Cambium saddle and a helmet and wearing my cycling kit under my jeans. And feeling like shite.
The journey was uneventful, which was nice. I always like travelling by train. I had a pleasant walk across Stratford to the seller's house, where I saw what I'd bought for the first time. It turns out that there are some disadvantages to buying a shite bike unseen on eBay and intending to immediately do a reasonably serious ride on it. I had enough tools to change the saddle and put the pedals on, and I'd had the foresight to bring chain lube and WD-40 with me (those RSX shifters are bombproof and there isn't a lot that can go wrong with them that WD-40 can't fix. So I thought, anyway), but I didn't have the tools to fit the bottom bracket the bike so desperately needed. Nor (this is embarrassing) could I pump the back tyre up (valve clogged with old sealant) or get the tyre off to change the tube.
By this point, I'd been in the seller's garage for over an hour and felt I'd wasted enough of his time; he was, after all, expecting to hand over the bike and send me on my way. So I walked back into Stratford to the excellent The Charity Bike Shop, who fitted a bottom bracket and a new inner tube there and then. Neither I nor the shop mechanic could get the front shifter to work, but we did get 7 of the 8 gears on the back working.
Finally I was ready to go! Two hours later (and forty quid lighter) than I'd budgeted for, but never mind. I had lights, and a mostly working bike and 100k to ride. I just needed to bring the bars up an inch or so, but would they move? No. The stem is solidly seized, so I had no choice but to go with it as it was.
The ride was reasonably uneventful, rather surprisingly. The first bit was out to Long Marston on the Stratford Greenway, which was nice, then into the lanes to Honeybourne, Broadway (where I stopped to adjust my saddle and, as it turned out, lose my 6mm Allen key), Toddington (going past the house I bought my first Dawes Audax from six years ago), Tewkesbury, and Newent. Where I stopped, after 73km, as my shoulders, back and wrists had finally cried enough in protest at the unreasonably low handlebars I could do nothing about. There was a convenient pub, my wife was ten minutes away with the car and, in all honesty, I lacked the spiritual and physical wherewithal to tackle the final 18km or so, which involved the only serious climbing on the whole route, over Linton ridge.
So that's that. The bike is now in a long queue of projects and other people's bikes in for service. I have no need of it, but as I said above, I've always had a thing for these so I'll sort out the stuck stem, restore it and keep it for a bit. On balance, it was a fun little adventure, made more so by the element of jeopardy introduced by the fact that I'd bought a bit of a lemon. But there's a nice bike lurking under the neglect and £120 (bike plus service plus train fare) is not too much to pay for a day out like that, including a bike.
I'll post the rebuild in the "Projects" forum. In the meantime, anyone near Stratford should check out The Charity Bike Shop. They have some lovely classic road bikes in at the moment, including a beautiful Mercian tourer and a Dawes road bike (painted, rather cheekily, as a Colnago). Nice people, too, who dropped everything to help me out.
Anyway, this one popped up on eBay at a bargain price (sixty quid) and it was in Stratford upon Avon, which is a decent ride from where I live in Ross on Wye. Wouldn't it be great, I thought, to buy the thing, take some pedals and a decent saddle and enough tools to give it a quick service, get the train to Stratford and ride it home? (Just as an aside, I'd planned something similar with the last bike I bought on eBay, a 1980s Mercian road bike, but having bought the train tickets I came down with a cold the night before and reluctantly collected it in my wife's car instead. I didn't have that option this time as she was using the car.)
So, that's what I did, despite (in a spooky echo of the last time I tried this) coming down with a cold the day before I was due to get the train, almost immediately after booking my train tickets. But, as mentioned above, this time I had no choice. So hey for the first bus to Gloucester at ten past seven, carrying a saddlebag full of tools and a Brooks Cambium saddle and a helmet and wearing my cycling kit under my jeans. And feeling like shite.
The journey was uneventful, which was nice. I always like travelling by train. I had a pleasant walk across Stratford to the seller's house, where I saw what I'd bought for the first time. It turns out that there are some disadvantages to buying a shite bike unseen on eBay and intending to immediately do a reasonably serious ride on it. I had enough tools to change the saddle and put the pedals on, and I'd had the foresight to bring chain lube and WD-40 with me (those RSX shifters are bombproof and there isn't a lot that can go wrong with them that WD-40 can't fix. So I thought, anyway), but I didn't have the tools to fit the bottom bracket the bike so desperately needed. Nor (this is embarrassing) could I pump the back tyre up (valve clogged with old sealant) or get the tyre off to change the tube.
By this point, I'd been in the seller's garage for over an hour and felt I'd wasted enough of his time; he was, after all, expecting to hand over the bike and send me on my way. So I walked back into Stratford to the excellent The Charity Bike Shop, who fitted a bottom bracket and a new inner tube there and then. Neither I nor the shop mechanic could get the front shifter to work, but we did get 7 of the 8 gears on the back working.
Finally I was ready to go! Two hours later (and forty quid lighter) than I'd budgeted for, but never mind. I had lights, and a mostly working bike and 100k to ride. I just needed to bring the bars up an inch or so, but would they move? No. The stem is solidly seized, so I had no choice but to go with it as it was.
The ride was reasonably uneventful, rather surprisingly. The first bit was out to Long Marston on the Stratford Greenway, which was nice, then into the lanes to Honeybourne, Broadway (where I stopped to adjust my saddle and, as it turned out, lose my 6mm Allen key), Toddington (going past the house I bought my first Dawes Audax from six years ago), Tewkesbury, and Newent. Where I stopped, after 73km, as my shoulders, back and wrists had finally cried enough in protest at the unreasonably low handlebars I could do nothing about. There was a convenient pub, my wife was ten minutes away with the car and, in all honesty, I lacked the spiritual and physical wherewithal to tackle the final 18km or so, which involved the only serious climbing on the whole route, over Linton ridge.
So that's that. The bike is now in a long queue of projects and other people's bikes in for service. I have no need of it, but as I said above, I've always had a thing for these so I'll sort out the stuck stem, restore it and keep it for a bit. On balance, it was a fun little adventure, made more so by the element of jeopardy introduced by the fact that I'd bought a bit of a lemon. But there's a nice bike lurking under the neglect and £120 (bike plus service plus train fare) is not too much to pay for a day out like that, including a bike.
I'll post the rebuild in the "Projects" forum. In the meantime, anyone near Stratford should check out The Charity Bike Shop. They have some lovely classic road bikes in at the moment, including a beautiful Mercian tourer and a Dawes road bike (painted, rather cheekily, as a Colnago). Nice people, too, who dropped everything to help me out.
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