Is a Dawes Galaxy worth £1200 ? Hoping to start a bit of touring,

[Dave Davenport]

Wish i'd seen this though:

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/riverside-7-49820125/


That looks amazing value to me, you wouldn't need to spend much on that to be ready to go.

Don't need suspension forks on a tourer, can't see the point in the hydraulic brakes either.

 

[Wally]

Dawes website shows the smallest frame is a 54cm. Don't they make the smaller ones anymore?

 

[Arch]

and don't want to buy another bike for years and years. Is there better value bikes around?

Do you have a bike right now? Can it carry panniers, or can you fit a rack so that it can?

If so, I'd suggest trying a bit of light touring on that first. You can tour on just about anything if you can carry your stuff, and you'll find out if you like it before laying out on a bike specially.

Of course, if you want one bike to do it all, a good tourer can be that bike.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Dawes website shows the smallest frame is a 54cm. Don't they make the smaller ones anymore?

Oh so they do thats weird.

 

[petenats]

Actually looking for a tourer for my other half, for commuting/touring. She has access to the cycle to work scheme but is limited to Evans to redeem the voucher.

They are doing the Galaxy for £1149, (which is the upper end of the budget) but again being 5'3" the 54cm might be a tad large for her...any suggestions

 

[HelenD123]

Actually looking for a tourer for my other half, for commuting/touring. She has access to the cycle to work scheme but is limited to Evans to redeem the voucher.

They are doing the Galaxy for £1149, (which is the upper end of the budget) but again being 5'3" the 54cm might be a tad large for her...any suggestions

I'm 5'9" and have the 54cm. I'd say it would be too big for your other half.

 

[petenats]

Thanks Helen,

It's such a shame the choice is so limited for decent touring bikes in Evans and she is limited to using them!

I'd much rather spend £1000 taking her up to Hewitt's and getting something properly fitted for that kind of money.

It seems frame size wise she is limited to Dawes Horizon, Ridgeback Horizon all sub £750. Has anyone got any experience of these bikes? The next step up is £1499 to the Cannondale offerings...

 

[Wally]

What's so good about the 'Galaxy' anyway?

 

[garrilla]

What's so good about the 'Galaxy' anyway?

Its a well constructed peice of kit. It changes every year, but they upgrade the compenents inline with previous compenents. Go to a CTC ride or similar and you'll see an array of galaxy models from over the years, many of them will be well travelled.

Its not to say other bike models aren't as good. But you do know what you are getting with a galaxy.

 

[wafflycat]

A Dawes Galaxy is the classic British touring bicycle. Not the lightest, not the flashiest, not the most fashionable name, but it is a true classic. There have been mutterings that since they stopped making the frames in the Uk that a Dawes is not what it used to be, but as I don't have one I can't vouch for how accurate that is. Mind you, if someone said to me "Here, you can have this new Dawes Galaxy" I would not say no

According to the Dawes web site, for the 09 models, the prices of the various models are here:-

http://www.dawescycles.com/c-10-touring-bikes.aspx

I would have thought that if you shop around there should be discounts available. According to the website, 54 is the smallest size. I'm 5'6" and that would be too big for me. My tourer is a Bianchi and it's more like a 51/52 my roadbike is a 51, also a Bianchi. Mind you, sizings/geometries to vary from make to make so it may be worth actually trying for size in a shop. You never know.

 

[petenats]

It seems terrible that the choice of bike seems to be more driven by available frame size than any other decision...

I suppose the other option is to go for the smaller framed bikes eg Dawes Horizon or Ridgeback voyager and use the extra cash to up the spec!

 

[MacB]

I find this surprising do they assume that all potential touring cyclists are over 5ft 6"?

Though I did think that you'd want a larger frame 'size' in old money than in new sloping tube style.

 

[petenats]

I've just e-mailed Dawes directly to see if they do expect exactly that MacB... I'll tell you what they reply if I get a response!

 

[Wally]

The sizing guide is a bit confusing on the Dawes website. I'm 5ft 8, and the 54 is too big for me.

 

[HelenD123]

Interesting that they've brought out the £500 Vantage since I last looked and it seems to have a wider range of frame sizes.