Dawes

[another_dave_b]

A little backstory on the Tandem purchase from BikeBiz. It seems to have gone through in 2001.

In 2001/2002 they seem to have been still manufacturing in the UK, so perhaps their steel-framed bikes (tourers/audax) are still made in UK?

 

[LondonCommuter]

I have seen lots of other stuff on the internet (including on this forum to say they manufacture overseas) and the bikes have a "made in taiwan" sticker on the bottom bracket!

 

[chris667]

Not really the thread I want to read, having spent close to £2000 in the last year, but are new Dawes Galaxies that bad?

No current bike that costs over £1000 is a proper lemon. But the Galaxy was for many years the best off-the-peg tourer money could buy, and now it ain't.

 

[Landslide]

One of my workmates is the son of the last Dawes family member (before they sold up). Apparently his dad brought an early MTB home (in the days before Muddy Fox had even twinkled in someone's eye), and my mate absolutley loved it - really pushed his dad to go into MTBs. So it's probably all his fault...

 

[Chris James]

Not really the thread I want to read, having spent close to £2000 in the last year, but are new Dawes Galaxies that bad?

No, Dawes still make some very nice bikes. I think this thread is as much about design, style and branding as performance.

I have a 2006 Dawes Audax (the last with a triple chainset, which seems pretty much essential for an audax bike to me!). Anyway, it is a lovely bike, a bit hefty but actually feels very sprightly as well as beautifully comfortable.

It is the best bike I have ever had, better than my old 531c custom built. Although much of that is probably down to the huge advance in drive chain performance (if not longevity) in the last 20 years.

So my experience is that they still make excellent bikes but they are a bit staid. That's fine as far as I am concerned as I am of the Brooks saddle and mudguards persuasion.

 

[Bodger]

Seem to be shooting their selves in the foot lately. Frinstance the Sardar...it was basically a cheaper version of the Thorn Sherpa that seems to be selling well. As a framset the Dawes Sardar was very much on a par. So what did they do? Turn it into an Alu framed, front sus hybrid. all they needed do was publicise the original 631version a bit more and I'm sure they'd have sold loads.

then there was the EdgeOne - their budget SS. great bike for the money. sold a good load of them when SSing fist hit. But rather than move with the market they just canned it.

The galaxy they seem to be trying to make into somekind of top class uber-tourer, rather than the good old belt and braces ever reliable work horse that made it so popular.

The audax was a great idea: a mass produced bike aimed at audaxers before many others had thought of it. But the execution was poor and so it never caught on.

I've two Dawes bikes. A 1991 Galaxy - all old kit on it, DT friction shifters, etc. It's a great reliable, comfortable load lugger that just keeps going. Alas it seems that Edinburgh Cycle Co-op has stolen this niche away.
The other is a One Down (forerunner to Sardar) that I got NOS. Another great, no-nonsense bike. Does everything that a Thorn Sherpa can for much less money.

Dawes need to realise that some bikes are belt and braces and others are top of the line: trying to build one bike to be both is just going to turn both markets off.

 

[jimboalee]

I'v egot a Dawes now. I've had three before this one and none have give me trouble.

Dawes Cycles are at Tameside Drive, Castle Bromwich. The other side of Spitfire Island from Jaguar Cars.

They import most of the kit and assemble it there.

My Giro 500 is allu with a sticker that says "Made in Taiwan".
I've got nothing against CNC welders if they do what the Dawes CAD drawings say.
The alignment is fantastic. I can shove the front wheel straight in and turn the QR, as I can with the rear wheel.


I really hope their new range is sucessful.

 

[Fab Foodie]

STOP PRESS!
According to C+, "Dawes goes Ti" in 2009.
Galaxy Ultra and Sportif Ti (A reworked Audax-alike) both for £2999. Lotta cash.

Progress, but is it a leap too far though? From the Sublime to the ridiculous?

 

[dellzeqq]

and Canadian - Cervelo

made in China...

 

[dellzeqq]

all interesting stuff.

Can I ask a few questions?

Does the Giro add anything to the brand?

The Discovery series - has the design been outflanked by Ridgeback?

Do carbon forks and disc brakes add anything to a commuting bike?

You can probably work out why I'm asking....

 

[Crackle]

I like the Giro range, there's one in every price range but the higher one's are competing with the likes of Giant and Specialized and I think they're slightly wrongly specced i.e. 16 gears and a compact, no triple option. They do however have a younger feel to them, a point FF made. Nice geometry, traditional looks and a name that evokes (Well that might be because I had a Carlton Giro as a kid). Not too much wrong with them but just a hair away from being really appealing.

 

[jimboalee]

There's nothing wrong with my Giro. Same Tiagra groupo as other bikes for much more than £400.

A bike is as good as how its cared for. 2 1/2 years and 11000 km later, its as reliable and predictable as the day I took delivery.

 

[wafflycat]

I like carbon forks. They just give that extra bit of comfort and smoothness even on Norfolk's potholed roads be they urban or rural. Disc brakes - I've never had a hankering for them at all. Never felt that there was anything lacking from either the caliper or cantilever brakes on my steeds.

 

[Bodger]

Dawes Cycles are at Tameside Drive, Castle Bromwich. The other side of Spitfire Island from Jaguar Cars.

Good lord, I never knew that. Shall have to go skulking around their bins to see what has been chucked out the next time I pick up my wife from work.

 

[Bodger]

Do carbon forks and disc brakes add anything to a commuting bike?

Yes, I think so, they allow people who want to 'maintain an image' into the world of cycle commuting. The people who, at least at my place of work, used to get hung up about whether or not their car had alloy wheels.
It's the new golf don't cha-know!