Lock down fun - autopsy on eBay bargain Dawes Galaxy

[epicyclo]

So should I be happy to have a nice Campag wheel for the bike? What could be wrong with that?

Hopefully nothing, but...

When I placed it beside the other wheels I noticed it was slightly smaller. A quick check of the wheels with the Maillard hubs revealed they had Weinmann 27x1¼" rims, The Campag wheel is a 700c.

So now I have a conundrum. Which wheel size is correct? Maillard hubs were the correct version for a Galaxy.

As far as I know the Galaxy with cantis was introduced for 1988 and at the same time 700c wheel became standard on it. The year prior to that the Super Galaxy had cantis but retained the 27" wheel size. It's not a huge difference in size, 622mm versus 630mm, but the canti mounts are in a fixed position, so with the wrong wheel the brakes may not be optimal - there's usually enough adjustment in position, but that affects the leverage force.

So that decides tomorrow's job. Get a spare 700c wheel and a spare 27" wheel and mount them on the frame to see which is the better.

It also raises the question, what sort of Galaxy do I have?

The logos have no mention of Super, so presumably it's a bog standard Galaxy. But then there's the possibility it was a special order by some retro grouch in the late 80s who didn't want any truck with that new fangled foreign wheel 700c size. (Dawes were always quite happy to custom build a frame, change standard measurements etc).

Or it could simply be a carryover last years Super Galaxy frame repurposed as the new model.

A good excuse for some research, I'll be back on this subject later. Who knew lockdown could be so exciting?*




*Is this a sign of lockdown mania?

 

[velomaniac]

Re:

My first Galaxy dating from the 70's was 27 X 1&1/4 wheels with campag hubs. In fact the BB and headset were also campag although the chainset and gears were Suntour. My second early 80's Galaxy had gone 700c and maillard/suntour mix, no campag.
Consequently your campag hub might not be original but who knows ?

 

[epicyclo]

A bit of research including eBay of all places has turned up a few similar examples with 27" wheels. So the Maillard hubs are probably original.

From what I've been able to glean from going through old mags and catalogues is that the 700c wheels probably came in with the brazed on rear brake cable mount. My model has the little chrome seat post bolt mounted version. That was probably as simple as using up stock of Super Galaxy frames for the first few months of the canti model.

I'm tempted to try to press out the cups and do a bit of shade-tree engineering to restore them like I used to when I was a lad. It seems a shame to scrap otherwise decent wheels. A lot of people don't realise that it's possible to do that, they think you have to replace the cups (Maillard used to sell spares in my day) or scrap the wheel.

But in the meantime they'll go to the back of the shed because I have other wheels.

Today looks like it's going to be wet, so I'll put up the results of the rest of the strip down.

 

[epicyclo]

[Job done]

BB was no problem.

Hardest part was getting off the plastic caps covering the crank bolts. They had gone brittle and disintegrated leaving enough in the crank to stop the bolts being accessed. A bit of time and careful chiselling with a homemade chisel (modified ex spoke) sorted that.

The actual BB came off with no more difficulty than usual. (It had been liberally doused with WD40 and left for a while.)



The surfaces of the BB bearing cups and cones were good even though the balls were clogged up. That will be a cheap fix.

Pedals were pretty hard to shift especially as I did not have a spanner that fitted in the space so had to rely on a 8mm allen key on the ends. As you can see, pedals are end of life.

Steering head also was no problem. The lower cup was had extensive surface rust on the exterior, but the internal surfaces were ok. Balls also claggy.



And finally, a picture of some unidentifiable bits of unknown utility.



Looks like I got a bargain. I was expecting some major disasters. As I mentioned earlier, it looks like the bike had been well cared for in a previous life and that has protected its internals from the ravages of exposure to a salty climate,

The only snafu is the remains of a bolt broken off in the braze on for the rack. I have to get a small enough ezy out, and then do some very delicate drilling. Meanwhile it's getting doused in WD40.

It just goes to show that a bit of careful maintenance and care for a bike will protect it for a long time.

[/Job done]

 

[epicyclo]

The traditional weighing of the bits

Frame weight 2.125kg


Fork weight 880gms


So that's the end of the autopsy, but not the end of the bike.

Unlike most autopsies, in this case, the patient will be reconstituted and restored to health.

Reverse autopsy to follow...

 

[Peachy!]

Good stuff..

 

[Woz]

Now you see this shit is better than what's on TV. It's all there people - a journey of rags to riches.

 

[legrandefromage]

Despite Peachy seemingly having most of my pedals, I do have a very nice set left, an all alloy version of what you have up there, if you want them.

*thinking about it, I even have a 130bcd triple version of that crank with Sugino rings.

If you are interested I'll post some pics.

 

[Peachy!]

Despite Peachy seemingly having most of my pedals, I do have a very nice set left, an all alloy version of what you have up there, if you want them.

*thinking about it, I even have a 130bcd triple version of that crank with Sugino rings.

If you are interested I'll post some pics.

You been holding out on me?

 

[legrandefromage]

MKS Sylvan dear chap