Old Dawes

[colin54]

If the front brake is an original 1990 Weinmann one. You can at least find the date of that, the part might be from the previous year of manufacture before being fitted to a complete machine or the same year.
There is an explanation here on the Vintage Trek . com site which tells you how to read Weinmanns codes (on the rear of the brake arms.
It's a big if that it's the original brake though !
http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm#dia
I have a hunch that the Dawes 1990 catalogue I linked up-thread tells you most of what you need to know, I don't see that knowing the frame number will get you any further.
Good luck.

[drossall]

Some frames have the number repeated on the fork column. Can't remember whether that applies to my Dawes Imperial. I know I've seen it on one of my bikes.

[colin54]

Looking at the 1990 catalogue again, I see this statement ''upgraded for 1990 to give increased fork and frame clearances and vertical dropouts for perfect wheel alignment and quicker wheel changes''. I note your frame has vertical dropouts.
https://dawescycles.files.wordpress.com ... at-vcc.pdf
This is also possibly when they went to 700C wheels ?


I was looking at this original looking Galaxy in ebay's sold listings which has similar logos but is a different blue to yours possibly, it has horizontal dropouts, so earlier presumably. Scroll down for photo's.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dawes-Galaxy ... 7675.l2557

I note with some amusement that the Galaxy transfers on the seat tube & forks read from the top down on the drive-side seat stay, and the bottom up on the non-drive-side. I'd never noticed that before, a little Galaxy take off and landing joke perhaps ! I wonder if yours are the same or if it was a factory mistake ?
I like investigating Galaxy models, they give a good snap-shot on touring equipment development through the years.
Good luck.
Edit; I note from the same catalogue the seatpost being a 27.0mm , just in case you assumed it was 27.2mm because the frame was made made from 531, just something you might come up against, always worth measuring to confirm of course.
Specifications can change against the year's catalogue description, due to improvements, parts shortages etc.
Apologies if this is obvious to you already.

[Thehairs1970]

Little update.

I tried a spare 10 speed wheel I have knocking around the house. It fits! So I guess that opens options a bit.

The brake is not. Weinmenn, it’s a Shimano. Not sure what that tells us, if anything.

[colin54]

For Shimano there should be a two letter code stamped somewhere on the brake , which will tell you the age of the brake
anyway. Not the 'via' logo in your picture, I've never found out what that means.
According to this 1991 German catalogue the Galaxy had Shimano Cantilevers fitted in that year, but it's a different colour to yours (in the German Catalogue at least). You can get the key to the codes from that Vintage Trek. com I linked to up-thread.

https://dawescycles.files.wordpress.com ... 1991-1.pdf

[Thehairs1970]

So the brakes are 1992. Can’t find a 92 catalogue with Galaxies in though to check.