Dawes cyclocross bikes

godders

Retrobike Rider
Hi all, just wondering if Dawes ever made cyclocross bikes ? Just out of inferest really !

Cheers

Mick
 
Not that i've seen, not in the last couple of decades anyway. I do know of several people who repurposed some of their touring bikes as cross bikes though. Even going so far as to cut off excess bosses.

Weren't very good though, low bottom bracket and poor handling (for a CX bike).

Some people have done the same with the raleigh touring bikes as well (when raleigh didn't have CX bikes available)
 
Re:

Thanks for that, interesting that such large scale british brands didn't exploit a market like that ! CX seems to be going through a resurgence in interest over the last few years but it must have still been very popular when the larger uk manufactures were at the height ? Perhaps this is one of the reasons that so many went to the wall ie not seeing the potential to sell more bikes and gain those loyal customers!! ?

Mick
 
TBH, they may have had them further back (70/80's maybe) but since i started at the shit kicking end of CX in 1987/8 all the way through until now, i've not seen a pukka dawes CX bike.

And many UK manufacturers have put their heads in the sand regarding the latest fashions!
 
mattr":2vm3jwtc said:
TBH, they may have had them further back (70/80's maybe) but since i started at the shit kicking end of CX in 1987/8 all the way through until now, i've not seen a pukka dawes CX bike.

And many UK manufacturers have put their heads in the sand regarding the latest fashions!

Yes a real shame as had they kept up with trends they may have survived through without going under ! :(

Mick
 
Back in the 60's they had a professional CX rider, Eric Stone, who was very good and rode for several brands before retiring. I think Eric was a runner before he tried CX and made a big mistake (possibly due to naivety and not understanding the petty officialdom of cycling in that era) in wearing a trade top in an event. For this he was duly declared 'A Professional' and, as the top may (or may not!) have had 'Dawes' emblazoned on it, he rode for them for a while before being snapped up by one of the 'main' teams. Whether his CX frames were actually Dawes made is, as usual in these circumstances, open for debate.

However, as for them actually selling their own CX frames for the general market I would say is doubtful as the sport wasn't really 'big' enough in those days to warrant the expense.
 
Re: Re:

godders":346g2j3o said:
Thanks for that, interesting that such large scale british brands didn't exploit a market like that !
there was no market.
there were a handful of specialised CX'ers who rode the season and a few road racers who wanted a bit of winter sport. but no "market" as such to tool a factory up.

the "gravel" / CX bikes we see today are a modern thing
 
Absolutely massive.......... some of the bigger events have been running since before the war.
It's well worth taking a trip over for a weekend to catch a couple of early season events. We did it last autumn. A super prestige and a trophy event. Must have been 20000 people at the super prestige and we actually spoke to half a dozen or more of the pros (you can just wander into the parking area at most events) even got a nod from Sven Nys at the second event (he recognised us from our pit walk at the first one) so did Sanne Cant, Ellen Van Loy and Quinten Hermans parents :D .......... it was a proper worth while trip.
 
As older frames had bigger clearances a cross bike was often simply created by taking a winter training bike, removing the guards and swapping the wheels.
Elmy Cycles kept the flame alive with dedicated bikes, along with Paul Milnes.
 
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