My first new bike was a Dawes Galaxy. It was purchased from John's in Pasadena between 1968 -1970. It was a brown color but I am color blind and it could have been green. I loved the panels, one on each of the three main tubes. I don't think any other manufacturers used panels on each tube. Three main tubes 531 straight guage. Alloy 27" rims with Dunlop tires that were later copied by Specialized and after that by most other tire companies. The bar and stem were GB and the bar was the one with the engraving on the large diameter in the center of the bar. I'm thinking the seat was a Wrights and I think it had that sexy row of holes at it's bottom border. As I got further into bikes I wished it had an alloy cotterless crank and a drlr hanger built into the dropout. I once took it to the Bike Shop in Concord and asked Don if he could make the dropout have a hanger on it. He said the right way to do it would be to replace the dropout and the bike wasn't worth that. I'd say that fetish for a drlr hanger was akin to kids nowadays wanting their conversions to not have braze ons.
That bike and a subsequent Raleigh Pro bought used from Bud in Claremont were the Genesis of my desire to have a bike shop. I thought it would be a grand bike shop if all the bikes for sale sported cotterless cranks, drlr hangers and alloy wheels. I'm now living my dream. Of course, so is everyone else who has a bike shop. I wonder how they feel living my dream?
Chuck Hoefer
Vista, California USAA