Very rare Dawes Edge - 1996 Reynolds 853

[Takingabreak]

These are rare beasts, only made in 1996, the last of the steel Dawes Edge before they went to alu.

vintage mountain bike Dawes 853 Frame | eBay

Rare Dawes Edge. Made in Reynolds 853 for one year only - 1996. Top tube 57cm.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Once A Hero]

Decal says fillet brazed, is that right?

 

[Hotwheels.]

Decal says fillet brazed, is that right?

That’s some rough ass brazing for sure.

 

[Once A Hero]

That’s some rough ass brazing for sure.

Doesn't look the best, which is why I question it!

 

[jelly head]

I've got a fillet brazed Dawes, and that's not fillet brazed... unless someone went over it with the welder afterwards.

Looking at it more closely some parts might be brazed on but not the full thing.

 

[kingoffootball]

It is fillet brazed, Dawes just didn't smooth them off afterwards. I like the look on the earlier frames, but on these the brazing never seems to look so good. Is there a hole in the braze where the downtube meets the headtube?

 

[kingoffootball]

Here's an example of how it looked better on the earlier 653 Dawes (apologies to Gaddmeister for using the photo without asking):

 

[Takingabreak]

As people have said, they appear to be fillet brazed rather than TIG welded but have not had the brazing smoothed as an Overburys would be. They were mass produced bikes rather than custom built and the workmanship that goes into a smooth filed fillet is costly. I guess having a fillet brazed sticker was more marketing hype rather than much else.

 

[hamster]

Yes, they are fillet brazed. Dawes decided they should look like the (then) trendy aluminium frames. It is the same on their tandems.
I am now the happy owner of the 653 frame pictured above, it's superb.

That 853 is rather nice, Dawes are systematically undervalued.

 

[CTK]

Un filed brazing like on Zinn or Curtis bikes. Some welders can make it look fantastic.