Dawes Fox Restoration

Hi, Im new to the forum and I'm wondering if I could have some advice please. I have recently got a Dawes Fox Sports Tourer. It's in pretty tatty condition but completely origional. It's a 1981 model and I was just wondering if it was worth restoring. Worst part is the 27" rims, they are pretty badly rusted but still very usable. Everything else could be cleaned up or replaced. At present I have it in a ridable condition. Whats your views please?

Best Regards

The Dawes Fox was near the bottom of the Dawes range but it's still a nice bike. I'd say it's definitely worth some light restoration, as long as you aren't expecting it to be worth a fortune.

This is my one.


P1050366 by RichardB5, on Flickr

It had the wheels replaced with 700C alloy wheels before I got it, and a few other salvaged bits had been fitted.

After being impressed with the Suntour gears on another bike I collected together a New Winner freewheel, VX rear derailleur, Compe-V front derailleur and Power Shifters- mostly from poor listings on eBay.

If your one is working at the moment I would suggest a similar approach, ride it and replace/upgrade bits as you go. You can buy new wheels that look the part at a reasonable price or look out for some second-hand ones locally. After that it's just a case of fettling as you see fit.

Hey, thanks for your reply and photos. Your bike looks really well, mine unfortunatly is not just as nice. Im going to do some light restoration and just enjoy the bike, as it breaks or wears out i'll replace it. Once again, thanks for your reply.

You might be surprised at how well your one scrubs up, mine is pretty rough on close inspection. I didn't see mine before it was done up by http://www.fifebikeworks.org.uk/ (I didn't buy it from them) but I've a feeling it was quite forlorn looking. It's amazing the difference a bit of fettling and TLC makes.

I think there are projects like Bikeworks in most areas and some of them sell spare parts, it might be worth seeing if there is one near you.