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1985 Dawes Fireball. Hand-built in Britain (with Japanese, French and Belgium parts.)

It's sort of finished apart from tweaks. The front Weinmann 730 caliper was badly bent possibly due to falling over and it hitting the frame. I've used one from my spares but it's a bit too long, the pads do hit the rim but they're at the limit. Front tyre needs replacing but it holds air...

Correction. Found out the frame was made by Ribble to Ernie Clements design.

It's long gone. In the end it was a bit too hefty for me. Sold to student from the local University. Used the money to buy a Clements 531 frame and forks.

Bike wasn't rideable at the time. I used a car bearing puller. Bit of a faff but got it off.

Started to put it back together. Managed to keep the cost down so far using my spares stash. Replaced the rusty steel seatpost with a Kalloy one left from the Galaxy. I solved the missing dust cap on one pedal by replacing it with a SR SP-150 quill pedal I had spare. They don't quite match...

Managed to save the Brooks B17.

After work activities. Strip, clean and lubricate.

My Dawes Fireball project has had the original steel pedals and unbranded chainset replace with A Stronglight set and Lyotard 82 pedals. Unfortunately one of the pedal dust caps is missing. The previous owner appears to have used plasters as a solution. Does anyone know if something like MTK...

Started the strip down. Stem and seatpost came out without too much effort. Problem areas are the thread is stripped in the drive side chainset so I can't use my crank puller to get it off. Also the pedals are solid. Soaking them with plusgas. I get the feeling it was once a well maintained...

Another shonky Dawes. This time in my size. It's been sat in a garden so should be fun.

A bit more information about the Clements. A while back I sent a message to Ernie Clements Lightweight Cycles on Facebook asking if they had any information about my frame. Out of the blue I got a reply today. After I did a bit of internet digging I thought the frame was built in the Coventry...

No sure if they're staying. They're from an older Falcon.

Age related Brooks B17 added. Should make it a more comfortable ride. I was thinking about lug lining but I think I'll leave it alone.

Has a slightly odd experience when I bought my Clements frame last year. I'd arranged to pick the frame up from the seller which happened to be on my birthday. He was about 25 miles away in Waterlooville so we thought we'd make a day of it and carry on to a favourite place for lunch and a...

Does my Ernie Clements (Olympic?) qualify? The frame was made in Wales. 😁 Edit: I've just been informed by Ernie Clements Lightweight Cycles that the frame was made by Ribble in England.

I was having a look on ebay today. (As you do) Out of interest I put Ernie Clements in the search. One came up, same decals, lugs etc. Going by the listing looks like my frame is a Clements Olympic and would have had a Campag group set and wheels. Mystery solved.

A few tweaks on the Clements today. I was never happy with the Weinmann brakes. I just couldn't get them to work properly so I decided to go side pull, which I think were on the frame originally. I'm guessing these Polygon brakes aren't high end but they were £5 delivered and inspire more...

1981/2 Dawes Galaxy large 60cm frame and forks. Reynolds 531 tubes. Reconditioned bottom bracket and headset. Some small dents in the seat tube due to over enthusiastic removal of a stuck seatpost. Needs paint or leave ratty. £40 plus post and packing or collect from Southampton.

Finally finished. Just need to ride it now.