Dawes Galaxy Tour

[SkipdiverJohn]

One way to check whether it's a 531 fork is to crash the bike. If the fork is okay but the frame is trashed, then it's a 531 fork.[

A less drastic method is to remove the fork and weigh it against a known hi-tensile one with a similar length steerer tube. All things being equal, a 531 fork will be lighter than a gas pipe one in the same size. The difference won't be big, but there will be some as the Reynolds fork will be taper gauge to compensate for setting the curve in, the gas pipe one will be constant. A 531 butted frame will almost always have a seat post diameter of 27.2 mm, give or take 0.2 mm. My own 531's, one of which is a Dawes, are all 27.2.

 

[MichaelW2]

One way to check whether it's a 531 fork is to crash the bike. If the fork is okay but the frame is trashed, then it's a 531 fork.

In my experience with olde worlde steel frames, the fork caves in before the frame buckles. The repair is a cheap fork not an expensive frame.I dont think 531ST is any different.
A 531 Galaxy of that vintage would have been made with the heavier duty Super Tourist tubes. Galaxy tourers went through good and bad patches in production.

 

[Paulus]

One way to check whether it's a 531 fork is to crash the bike. If the fork is okay but the frame is trashed, then it's a 531 fork.

That's probably not the recommended way to test the forks

 

[Ian H]

In my experience with olde worlde steel frames, the fork caves in before the frame buckles. The repair is a cheap fork not an expensive frame.I dont think 531ST is any different.
A 531 Galaxy of that vintage would have been made with the heavier duty Super Tourist tubes. Galaxy tourers went through good and bad patches in production.

531 forks were, notoriously, overbuilt. Dave Yates, among others, will confirm that.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

531 forks were, notoriously, overbuilt. Dave Yates, among others, will confirm that.

Vastly superior tensile strength in relation to it's weight with a 531 fork. I believe that 531 forks contribute tangibly to the perceived ride quality of a frame, based on comparing my Raleigh Royal frame to my other 531's that don't have 531 forks.
Better not to crash them at all, whether 531 or gas pipe!

 

[Illaveago]

Vastly superior tensile strength in relation to it's weight with a 531 fork. I believe that 531 forks contribute tangibly to the perceived ride quality of a frame, based on comparing my Raleigh Royal frame to my other 531's that don't have 531 forks.
Better not to crash them at all, whether 531 or gas pipe!

If they are anything like the forks on my Falcon Professional they will take hell of a lot to bend them .

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

If they are anything like the forks on my Falcon Professional they will take hell of a lot to bend them .

Relative strengths of various tube steels:-

As you can see, after fabrication, 531 is almost twice as strong as gas pipe. If the framebuilder employed silver rather than brass brazing, and so kept the temperature down, it's possible the 531 could literally be twice as strong.

 

[Illaveago]

Relative strengths of various tube steels:-

View attachment 570215

As you can see, after fabrication, 531 is almost twice as strong as gas pipe. If the framebuilder employed silver rather than brass brazing, and so kept the temperature down, it's possible the 531 could literally be twice as strong.

I'm just going by the fact that my forks are too narrow and I've been trying to ease them out using a car jack . They are very very springy !

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I would be somewhat wary of trying to permanently cold set 531, as it's yield strength is much closer to it's UTS than if you were brute-forcing a bit of hi-tensile. The general opinion seems to be you can get away with 531, but 753 is a total no-no, but even if it works you will weaken what you bend and shorten it's life.
I've had no great difficulty jamming a 126 mm rear wheel into a 120 mm frame or a 130 mm wheel into a 126 mm frame just by springing it open a bit with my hands whilst slotting in the wheel.
Another thing that would dissuade me from messing with the fork is if you do open it out, it needs to be done symmetrically, not bending one blade more than the other. Any asymmetry will affect the bike tracking straight if ridden no-hands. I've got a Raleigh hi-tensile fork which is slightly misaligned after I repaired the worst of some old crash damage. I'm not going to push my luck too much by trying to make it perfect, so it can't safely be ridden hands free as it won't stay straight for very long.

 

[Davidi]

Hi and @Davidi from a fellow Dawes Galaxy Tour owner.
View attachment 569583


Looking closely at the details on your frame it looks to be what the stickers claim it is. Mine does have the Reynolds stickers on and it's 531ST. It's a great bike - eats the miles, handles well and gives a nice smooth ride.

I hope you'll really enjoy yours when it's built up.

First look at frame in the daylight, very pleased

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

First look at frame in the daylight, very pleased View attachment 570274

Looks great.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

First look at frame in the daylight, very pleased

Now is an ideal time to weigh the frame before any components are fitted to it, It's the method of checking a frame for quality that doesn't lie.
I have a full 531ST touring frame & forks in 23" size, which weighs 7 1/4 lbs with just the headset fitted. given your frame is smaller, it should come in at no more than 7 lbs if it's full 531 as it is now.
By comparison, a basic hi--tensile steel frame & forks can be expected to weigh in at around 9 lbs, and possibly slightly over.

 

[midlife]

That looks very smart, full set of braze ons including the extra bottle cage under the down tube. Class

 

[Davidi]

Hi and @Davidi from a fellow Dawes Galaxy Tour owner.
View attachment 569583


Looking closely at the details on your frame it looks to be what the stickers claim it is. Mine does have the Reynolds stickers on and it's 531ST. It's a great bike - eats the miles, handles well and gives a nice smooth ride.

I hope you'll really enjoy yours when it's built up.

Hi Phil
Would you be kind enough to tell me:
The make and model of canti lever fork arms, I believe I could run into issue with modern arms?
Silly question, the wheel size (700c I bet)?
Your brake levers, both types?
How many sprocket on rear cassette?
Headset?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Hi Phil
Would you be kind enough to tell me:
The make and model of canti lever fork arms, I believe I could run into issue with modern arms?
Silly question, the wheel size (700c I bet)?
Your brake levers, both types?
How many sprocket on rear cassette?
Headset?

No problem:
1) The original canti brakes don't have any markings but I believe they are Shimano. Mine were originally very poor so I bought some replacements hoping for an improvement only to find they didn't fit due to the mounting points being too narrow. If buying again these are the ones I'd be looking at: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brakes/front-shimano-altus-ct91-cantilever-brakes-silver/ (Incidentally, after playing round with adjustment I made my existing brakes work brilliantly.

2) Not a silly question. The wheel size is indeed 700C. Original fitment was Shimano Parallax hubs laced to Mavic rims. If replacing (which I'll have to do in the not too distant future) my personal choice would be Deore hubs and Exal LX17 rims. (Should have mentioned, rear spacing is MTB 135mm not race bike 130mm)

3) I bought the bike fitted with a flat bar and inappropriate V brake levers. My rebuild was with Tektro RL340 brake levers,Tektro Cross Brake Levers, and Shimano Dura Ace bar-end shifters.

4) Mine was originally 3x8 speed but the rebuild made it a 3x9 speed with 24-34-46 chainrings and an 11-34 cassette. I very much like this setup which will go plenty quick enough for me and will climb pretty much anything in my area.

5) I'm still on the original headset after a stripdown and regrease. Don't know what make it is. The handlebar I chose has a 26mm clamp area so I went for this stem in an 80mm reach: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/stems/100-systemex-1-inch-quill-stem-260mm-clamp-silver/ which suits me.