[CR]re: Is it a Dawes Galaxy or not?

(Example: Framebuilders:Tony Beek)

To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Russ Fitzgerald" <velocio@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 22:12:36 -0400
Subject: [CR]re: Is it a Dawes Galaxy or not?

With all due respect - if the bike in question still wore its headbadge and/or some transfers, there would be no question that it is a Dawes, right? Even if it differed from the stock specifications, right?

I mention this because I have a circa 1962 Dawes Realmrider that differs from the catalog specifications. The Realmrider was a derailleur bike that as I understand it was sold in 4, 5, 8 and 10-speed variants. They came stock with at least one shifter braze-on and a cable housing stop on the right chainstay.

However - my Dawes, which appears to be in its original factory paint, has a Sturmey FW gearhub; there is no trace of a shifter braze-on on the downtube. There are no cable guides or housing stops for gear cables anywhere on it. You can see it at -

http://homepage.mac.com/russfitzgerald/PhotoAlbum5.html

I suspect that Dawes was still a small enough company that someone could have said, "hey, build me a fully-chromed bike with no braze-ons." This bike lacks the customary rear brake cable stops and the gear housing stop on the chainstay, but that could have been at a customer's request, I think.

Other option - those original fittings were removed when the frame was renovated, polished and chromed.

Russ Fitzgerald
Greenwood, SC
http://internaldetours.blogspot.com