Old Dawes Galaxy

[Libraryman2]

O.k....I’ve seen the the Allen key at the top of the stem is used to adjust height...there was only an inch left in the tube and looked weak so many thanks...adjusted now so the max line Is just inside the tube and not visible...

I feel I’m getting there..

Ray

 

[Chat Noir]

Re:

Nice thread, prompting lots of memories.

We bought 2 Dawes Galaxies from Priory Cycles in Birmingham in mid 1979 so that we could cycle from Roscoff to Santander on our first proper cycle tour (having endured purgatory in Ireland the previous year cycling without gears on the west coast). Lovely bikes, did everything for many years - commuted, road rides, touring, carrying 3 children on the back, off road, the days when one bike was all you needed. My partner's bike was stolen in London in about 1981 but mine is still in the shed.

Serial number BB291 and the spec from 1982 seems very familiar. We should have the old books that came with the bikes but a quick look found nothing. I remember the cloth bar tape but mine now has the grab-ons that were common in the '80s. Still has the original Suntour FD, the Weinmann centre-pulls (but not the levers, they were replaced), same stem and bars (have always liked randonneurs). Remember snapping a seat post when high in the hills in the Cevennes with my youngest child on the back and managing to bodge a fix that involved using a suitable sized branch into the seat tube and the saddle clamped on! Don't think I sat down too much on the long, windy and very fast descent but we made it back to where we were camping - in fact, it probably was used for a few more short rides on that holiday before getting back to London and a replacement.

The pump was shaped to fit between the bottom bracket and the top tube alongside the seat tube, with slight curves at each end to ensure snug fit, so no pump pegs.

These bikes were very popular with cycle tourists and had a good reputation.

Sounds like you're enjoying yourself, which is what it's all about!

 

[ZG862]

The "chrome nuts" are the upper cup and lock nut of the headset bearing. The whole unit can be replaced but you'd only tend to do that if were worn out. If you lift the frame by the top tube with the front wheel just off the ground and the rear wheel higher then move the steering off centre, it should re-centre immediately and smoothly. Any sticking or lumps and that's bad (but might just need adjustment). If you put the bike back on its wheels, push down on the handlebars and pull up on the front end of the top tube. If you feel any rocking, then the bearing is too loose. Again might be adjustable. If you want to replace the headset regardless, you can save a little bit of weight by moving to an alloy one - Stronglight B9 is light and well engineered. I don't recall what Dawes used originally on the (alloy headset equipped) Super Galaxy but it may well have been this. There are many other choices. I'd advise against just replacing the cup bearing and locknut with a randomly sourced set; Everything wears together and its hard to guarantee compatible bearing sizes. The surface rust on the brake hanger should clean up with a bit of chrome cleaner, but I'd agree that the lock nut has probably had it.

To lower the handlebars, undo the allen key bolt that goes through its centre a turn or so (i.e. not all the way) and don't touch the headset bearing parts describe above. There's a wedged nut on the bottom of the stem which may not just drop down enough to free the stem from the fork tube and if this is the case, give it a tap with a mallet. The stem should now be loose in the forks. Pull it out and check for any damage/bending and if it is bent, throw it in the bin. Take the opportunity to run a rag into the fork tube prior to re-fitting, and smear a little grease on the stem and wedge nut before refitting to anywhere below the max mark that works for you. Tighten the central bolt so that the stem will still twist under a big force (e.g. a collision). It's better that it moves than digs into someone/bends the bars. This still means do it up tight, just not as tight as it will go.

Rear gears = rear gear changer = rear mech = rear derailer = rear derailleur (the original French word iirc). I often found people struggled to pronounce the latter (DUH-RAY-UGH) so used any of the others. The original Suntour VX-S was a very good unit, probably marginally better than the heavier Shimano Sora that has been retro-fitted, although might have struggled with the 32(?) tooth ring you have for your lowest gear. The VX-T model was/is more suited to this sort of gearing. The front mech is original.

Oddly, it looks as though the chainset (the big toothed thing that the pedals attach to) was also replaced at some point. The SR ones were absolutely fine but I'd imagine when it showed signs of wearing out it may have been cheaper to replace the whole thing than find some new rings. That Stronglight one is marginally less good than the original and looks a little worn (some of the teeth come to a point, as they do with the block at the back...) but there a few (hundred) miles still left in the gear train I suspect.

Final tip: As you've taken the rear rack off, check for clearance of the chain against the screw that now protrudes inwards a bit further than it did. Ideally fit a fibre washer (ask you plumber for one) to stop the mudguard stays shaking loose.

Z

 

[Libraryman2]

Some great advice here and.....if I can offer a compliment, you know your stuff!

The bolt was indeed to close to the chain after rack removal...fibre washer fitted!

Yes...I guess creating memories are the main point of living, I can’t ever see me Creating similar memories cycling!

Ahh...o.k so I’m guessing the pump was a compression fit between top and bottom ..interesting...I can see them in the catalogs but Sadler missing!

Thanks for the advice re: the headset...I’m not sure that I will replace them yet..if at all....I will be referring back to this thread for sometime....I can’t remember it all.

I do those checks you advise..although it doesn’t feel too bad...I did run a rag in it, it was pretty dirty when It came out i

Thanks for the info on the rear mech!! And the front chainset....I think the whole thing needs proper adjustment...if I’ve not put the gear selector in the correct position, the chain comes off, happened twice this morning until I learned how much to move the lever!

Ray

 

[hamster]

For adjustments and all things 'how to' the Park Tools website is golden.

Assming the bike has stood unused for a while, greasing the hubs and headset will help a lot.

Fitting a new headset to replace the rusty one isn't difficult but needs proper tools to make a good job. The Tange Passage headset is a cheap well performing unit that also looks right. https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Tange-Seiki-Pa ... 129193.htm

Looking at the photos the chain is on wrongly, the joiner (handily in the photo) its banana shape should follow the shape of the chain wrap on the sprocket.

 

[ZG862]

Adjustment is much easier than it first seems. The chain moves between gears simply because the gear mechs push it sideways until it does.

With the rear mech, you move the lever until the chain is in the gear you want and then fine tune it backwards or forwards until the mech is aligned under the selected gear and there is no clicking or scraping (of the chain being pushed into the next gear or rubbing on the cages of the mech). Pretty much the same with the front, except there is less fine tuning to do. The only tricky bit comes at the limits. At the smallest rear cog, the mech needs to be able to drag the chain into gear but not pull it so far over that it gets caught between the block (=freewheel/cassette/collection of sprockets) and the frame. The adjustment screw for this is normally captioned "H" (High) and usually on your right as you face the mech. Make the adjustment with the chain in the largest of the chainrings at the front, ideally whilst the bike is held securely on a stand that allows the wheels to spin. It can be done with the bike upside-down, but you tend to damage the brake cables. When you have the adjustment such that it will change from the second highest gear to the highest, ensure there is no excess slack in the cable when the right hand lever is full forward. If necessary, release the cable pinch bolt, pull the cable tight (there's a tool for this but you can pull it with your fingers or carefully with pliers - you don't want to crush the cable as it will fray/start breaking) and re-tighten the pinch bolt. Now we must do the other limit, and this one is done with the chain in the smallest chainring. Take great care not to allow the rear mech to throw the chain into the spokes; wind the adjustment screw over far enough and it will let you do this and you can really mash your wheel. Likewise, don't limit the throw so much that the chain can't climb up to the big sprocket. Take it slow and watch what the mech is doing.

Now the front mech. Note before you start that the 2 sides of the cage (the flat plates that push the chain between gears) are deliberately NOT parallel when viewed from above, but converge at some point ahead of the bike. Occasionally the mech gets knocked out of position and if this is the case with yours, take a picture and come back here. Anyway, assuming the mech is in the right place (pretty likely), stick the chain on the largest sprocket at the rear and the smallest sprocket at the front (the lowest gear. Adjust the low limit screw on the front mech (usually closest to the bike centreline) until there is no rubbing of the chain on the inner face of the cage . With the left hand lever full forward, take up any slack as you did at the rear. Change to the next lowest gear (2nd largest sprocket on the back) and then using the left hand lever, change to the large chainring. Adjust the other limit screw to ensure that the chain is not thrown off the ring toward the pedals when making this change. Change to progressively higher gears with the right lever and check that the front mech can push the chain up and down, again adjusting if the chain is being thrown. You're done. When riding, always avoid using the largest chainring/largest sprocket and similarly smallest/smallest as the angle it puts in the chain wears it out unduly. Probably less so with modern chains but still a factor worth bearing in mind.

(Incidentally, you will now appreciate why you should always back off the pedal pressure a tad whilst you're changing gear. Push the pedals hard enough and the mech simply can't push it out of the gear it is in).

That's a load of words but about 5 minutes when you're actually doing the job. Simpler and more reliable than modern "index" (click-click you're in gear) systems but evidently only suitable for a better class of cyclist .
OK, the new ones are faster but don't let on to youngsters that there isn't a highly-skilled black art to your friction system.

Just noticed that Hamster is a faster typist than I am and offers good advice on your chain that you should follow before adjusting the gears. Good luck and shout if anything doesn't make sense.

 

[Jamiedyer]

Certainly a very nice old tourer/randonneur and I am sure you will get a lot of happy miles from it.
Certainly it's a nice read through this thread seeing it get pulled back in to shape by yourself.
look forward to reading more and also reading about some of your rides.

Jamie

 

[hamster]

Certainly a very nice old tourer/randonneur and I am sure you will get a lot of happy miles from it.

Quite. The bike industry has just rediscovered this kind of bike: nowadays it's called a gravel bike or endurance bike but it's exactly the same thing! :facepalm:

 

[Libraryman2]

Hi all, just to update this thread, I’ve taken the advise and done a number of jobs ...just maintenance really...
Stripped all the brakes down and seen that the brake pads are hardened..need to change them..
Cleaned all the freewheel down, teeth are worn but as advised, some good riding left in them...checked the chain wear...negligible to none...
Stripped down the crankset....and Bottom bearing...this has caused the most trouble!!
The chainring was running out of true..refitting it in a different position on the crank has improved the situation..crank runs reasonably true now...circa 1mm..
Bottom bearing is typical of cone and ball type ..

Now following the set up procedures as detailed above..

The chain rings are worn probably to excess...I want to renew them if I can....would someone help me to source the correct type??

Currently fitted with 36 teeth and 48teeth. But I need the crankset really...the large chainwheel and crank is one piece!!

Ray

 

[ZG862]

Hi Ray,
It goes without saying that the choice of chain rings is fundamental to the gearing and thus the suitability of the bike to your purposes - so do this bit carefully. You're right that you'll need to replace the cranks to change that worn ring. There are 2 important dimensions to consider: 1) Bolt circle diameter (BCD) and 2) crank length.
BCD determines stiffness (desirable in bikes too) and also the minimum ring size that you can fit. It also affects availability of rings, should you contemplate changing ratios at some point in the future.
Crank length affects the torque that the rider can introduce into the system and also reflects the riders physical size. Back in 1982, pretty much every adult bike was fitted with 170mm cranks, this being a pretty good compromise. (Most also had 52/42 rings which are generally awful but that's a separate story). Arguably, the smallest frame sizes should probably have had 165s and the 25+" frames 175s but this drives up cost. I don't want to make any assumptions about your physique but would point out that shorter cranks are a little less demanding on the knees and hips.

Without looking it up, the Super Galaxy model was originally fitted with a Stronglight model 99 chainset which has an 86mm BCD and something like this would be a good choice for this bike in my opinion. I expect that you could fit one of these on your existing bottom bracket. Others will recommend more modern Shimano/Sram brand alternatives which will also do the job.

However, before I get ahead of myself, the starting point should really be gear ratios and range, which means a bit more input from you before I can advise. What is the terrain where you ride like? Flat fens or steep hills? Are you expecting to be taking much of a load on your rides? Are you the Daley Thomson build or more svelte? Perhaps most tellingly, how suitable do you find the current range of gears to your needs? With this info it will be possible to recommend a suitable setup that should bolt on and won't break the bank.

Z