Dawes Galaxy fork length and general qusetions

[bruise willies]

Evening all,
I picked up a Dawes Galaxy frame at the weekend for the sum of £15. I've managed to date it roughly to the mid '70s from the Reynolds decal and the paintjob.

I was going to just sell it on, but it turns out it's just my size, I've got most of the bits to fit etc. So, it's probably going to be built up later.
The problem is the lack of forks. I'll be using 700c wheels for convenience, but I was wondering if anyone knew the correct fork Axle-to-Crown length for these? There seems to be a few options for forks, SJS cycles, Surly CrossCheck or Steamrollers offer a 1" option. Also, making a set is an option too.
Also, would the standard Galaxy fork have been Reynolds as well or just Hi-Ten?

 

[Chat Noir]

Re:

Got one of these hanging in the shed, same colour - bought it in 1978 in Birmingham, just down the road from Reynolds and Dawes.

Super Galaxy was 531 throughout, ie frame and forks. Galaxy, which is what this looks like, was only 531 in the main frame tubes. H Lloyd features the correct Reynolds decal ( http://hlloydcycles.com/page6.htm ). This was 27" back in the day but you should be able to put 700 wheels on - more a case of getting brakes to fit. In those days they were Weinmann centre pulls. The other key measurement is the head tube for the forks.

At the time, Galaxy / Super Galaxy was a byword for durable touring bikes. Mine has done many thousands of miles, often with panniers, tents, cookers and sleeping bags (we didn't go light back in those days ..) and also carried three children over the years in a child seat (not at the same time). Haven't used it for years but can't bear to part with it.

Occasionally there are 27" forks on e-bay, including 531, but these would cost more than you've paid so far. The original was part-chromed and had bracket for lamp. If you're really keen to find out more, someone posted the catalogues on the CTC forum not so long ago for Galaxy's from the late '70s - you could search there. If you can't find it, get back to me and I'll have a look because I know who put the post up. I've probably still got the original handbooks we were given when we bought them (my partner and I got one each, but her's was stolen in London back in 1981).

Enjoy the bike.

 

[bruise willies]

Ahhh, I did have a look, but only seem to be able to find 90's catalogues. The link would be terrific.
I'm now wondering if the decals are original.
I have a few parts in the cupboard at the moment that I was going to use on a Raleigh GT250- TA Cyclotourist cranks and Mafac Racer brakes and a fillet brazed stem.
If I end up with a threadless fork, I may even machine up a Rene Herse-style stem.

 

[Chat Noir]

Re:

This is the link to the relevant page on CTC forum - some of the comments are seriously off-beam, but if you go towards the bottom you will find some links. The CTC mag has some good, detailed ads, plus some basic ones from Dawes.

http://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.ph ... xy#p981244

The decals look original to me. The 'Galaxy' and 'Dawes' were vinyl letters stuck on and easily damaged; 531 decal as I said on H Lloyd. I'll have a look at the one in the shed but most of the decals are either damaged or come off. Don't think we have a catalogue from the time but will check.

Fond memories: we bought the bikes to cycle from Roscoff to Santander (it was 1979, not 197 and then the boat back to Plymouth, think we took 6 weeks (between jobs, you could do that in those days), we still have and use the panniers we had then. Repeated the ride in 2012 with my youngest son and one of his friends riding various of my bikes, me on Peugeot 653 Athena, he on a Bob Jackson 731os, the friend on a Peugeot 753 (but we didn't carry any luggage - my partner kindly supported us).

Will see what I can dig out.

 

[pigman]

Re:

Don't get a threadless fork - it will look a mismatch of period and modern and will spoil the look.... unless you're taking a pragmatic approach and not too concerned about looks.

 

[bruise willies]

Re:

Chat Noir, thanks for doing that, I'll have a proper look later on. Sounds like you've a lot of fond memories of yours!
The threadless fork option is purely pragmatic. There seems to be plenty of suitable alternatives on ebay anyway- I'd much prefer to keep it with a quill stem.