Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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David9694
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Joined: 10 Feb 2018, 8:42am

Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by David9694 »

I guess a lot can happen to a bike in 30 years.
As sold
As sold
Drive train mismatch
The Shimano chainset seems to be a replacement - rated 8 or 9 speed, but it’s running an original looking 7 speed freewheel. I will replace the chain - do I just get a 7 speed chain?

Radial front wheel
The plan is to donate this bike, having cleaned it up - I need to rebuild this as 3x, don’t I? (Good news - hub and rim are both listed in the EDD spoke calculator. )
Radial
Radial
Bluemels Club Special mudguards in green
There’s a 5” crack in the rear and a minor one in the front, but these seem like NOS. I’m awash with faded gold ESGE mudguards, having recently found an unfaded pair on a bike being sold in my village, so it will likely get those
Mudguard
Mudguard
Spa Audax Ti Ultegra; Genesis Equilibrium 853; Raleigh Record Ace 1983; “Raleigh Competition”, “Raleigh Gran Sport 1982”; “Allegro Special”, Bob Jackson tourer, Ridley alu step-through with Swytch front wheel; gravel bike from an MB Dronfield 531 frame.
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geomannie
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Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by geomannie »

Assuming that the freewheel is not worn, it would be reasonable to use a 7 speed chain but should work with 7/8/9 speed chain. Just a question. Is it really a freewheel? On a bike of this quality & date I would have expected a freehub.

I also guess this is not the original front wheel. It would almost certainly have been built 3-cross spoking, which is what I would want for touring use. But to be honest, if you plan to donate the bike and the front wheel bearing are good & the rim true, I would keep it. Chances are it would be fine for the potential user.
geomannie
David9694
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Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by David9694 »

geomannie wrote: 29 Oct 2021, 8:43am Assuming that the freewheel is not worn, it would be reasonable to use a 7 speed chain but should work with 7/8/9 speed chain. Just a question. Is it really a freewheel? On a bike of this quality & date I would have expected a freehub.

I also guess this is not the original front wheel. It would almost certainly have been built 3-cross spoking, which is what I would want for touring use. But to be honest, if you plan to donate the bike and the front wheel bearing are good & the rim true, I would keep it. Chances are it would be fine for the potential user.
Thanks. There’s one or two other odd things like the paint slathered over bubbling original - bad enough to pry off in places - underlying rust not too bad; quite heavy wheels, but it’s running 23s. The radial front wheel can only be an amateur effort.

It’s a hyperglide screw-on 7s rear freewheel. I did wonder about changing it for an 8s, but probably a bridge too far.
Spa Audax Ti Ultegra; Genesis Equilibrium 853; Raleigh Record Ace 1983; “Raleigh Competition”, “Raleigh Gran Sport 1982”; “Allegro Special”, Bob Jackson tourer, Ridley alu step-through with Swytch front wheel; gravel bike from an MB Dronfield 531 frame.
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geomannie
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Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by geomannie »

Do you perhaps mean a 7 speed Uniglide cassette, where the outer ring is screwed down to hold it in place?. I (still) have a 1987 Raleigh Royale which originally had this. I hope that your cassette is OK as I think finding a relacement could be very difficult. If its Hyperglide its certainly a cassette, not freewheel and replacement should be fairly easy (expect perhaps in these strange parts shortages times).

23mm tyres are a bit inappropriate. I think it would likely have come with 28mm, considered wide back then.
geomannie
keyboardmonkey
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Joined: 1 Dec 2009, 5:05pm
Location: Yorkshire

Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by keyboardmonkey »

Assuming the rear is a match for the front hub pictured then it looks like a 7-speed Hyperglide/Uniglide compatible freehub was fitted as part of that groupset (see Leica Lad’s comments)...

https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx ... 4&Enum=110
David9694
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Joined: 10 Feb 2018, 8:42am

Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by David9694 »

I can promise you it’s a ye olde freewheel! Sonos hub, Rigida rim.
Freewheel
Freewheel
Spa Audax Ti Ultegra; Genesis Equilibrium 853; Raleigh Record Ace 1983; “Raleigh Competition”, “Raleigh Gran Sport 1982”; “Allegro Special”, Bob Jackson tourer, Ridley alu step-through with Swytch front wheel; gravel bike from an MB Dronfield 531 frame.
keyboardmonkey
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Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by keyboardmonkey »

David9694 wrote: 29 Oct 2021, 12:46pm I can promise you it’s a ye olde freewheel!…
Well that’s fairly conclusive :D
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geomannie
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Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by geomannie »

I can't be sure, but likely neither wheel is original. I would have expected better on a new Super Galaxy of that date. That is what was confusing me.
geomannie
rjb
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Location: Somerset (originally 60/70's Plymouth)

Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by rjb »

I had a Dawes supergalaxy tandem of that era, same colour but it had a 6 speed freewheel on Suzue tandem hubs. My same era galaxy was mauve with 7 speed freehub. As has been posted, neither of the wheels is original.
Last edited by rjb on 29 Oct 2021, 4:22pm, edited 1 time in total.
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
David9694
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Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by David9694 »

geomannie wrote: 29 Oct 2021, 1:14pm I can't be sure, but likely neither wheel is original. I would have expected better on a new Super Galaxy of that date. That is what was confusing me.
The wheels aren’t a pair. One canti has been changed, the sealed b/b probably isn’t original. Not sure the RD is original from the maker’s pictures and specs I can find. If only it could talk.
Spa Audax Ti Ultegra; Genesis Equilibrium 853; Raleigh Record Ace 1983; “Raleigh Competition”, “Raleigh Gran Sport 1982”; “Allegro Special”, Bob Jackson tourer, Ridley alu step-through with Swytch front wheel; gravel bike from an MB Dronfield 531 frame.
Jamesh
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Joined: 2 Jan 2017, 5:56pm

Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by Jamesh »

What not sell it to someone who will value it as a serious touring bike rather than a donation to anyone?

Use the proceeds to buy a more useable hybrid?

Just a thought.

Cheers James
David9694
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Joined: 10 Feb 2018, 8:42am

Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by David9694 »

So anyway, here we are all done. When it got it, there was a QR seatbolt; TLDR I had to replace the seat pin it came with as I couldn’t get it tight. The pedals, though smooth aren’t actually a pair - tush,tush, Mr Vendor. Front wheel re-built 3x, new tape, some nearly new Tour Ride tyres I had lying around. Very faded gold ESGE guards; someone was selling a Raleigh Richmond locally, which I bought mainly for its vgc gold mudguards that are now on my 1984 Record Ace. Crazy saddle, huh? The paint job is far from perfect.
D85D50B6-9385-4464-9780-0D58A8465A0B.jpeg
Spa Audax Ti Ultegra; Genesis Equilibrium 853; Raleigh Record Ace 1983; “Raleigh Competition”, “Raleigh Gran Sport 1982”; “Allegro Special”, Bob Jackson tourer, Ridley alu step-through with Swytch front wheel; gravel bike from an MB Dronfield 531 frame.
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geomannie
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Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by geomannie »

Looks a good-un!

Nice job.
geomannie
Bonzo Banana
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Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by Bonzo Banana »

What a lovely looking bike. Always a fan of the Dawes Galaxy. As for the freehub vs freewheel situation. I bought a Giant OCR recently of about 2000 vintage give or take a year or two with 7 speed Sora and annoyingly that has a freewheel and seems to be original wheels. Online it seems it could be either type for the age. I guess a little older and its a freewheel and a little later and freehub and cassette. I plan to swop out the rear wheel at least so I can put a 7 speed cassette on. I've got a 11-34T 7 speed cassette which I hope the rear derailleur will cope with but we will see. I might have to use a derailleur hanger extender but don't really want to do that. This will give the bike the full range of high and low gearing that I want. The Giant OCR was a lot cheaper than a Super Galaxy so I guess it got its freehub upgrade later.
David9694
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Joined: 10 Feb 2018, 8:42am

Re: Dawes Super Galaxy 1992

Post by David9694 »

geomannie wrote: 13 Nov 2021, 8:56am Looks a good-un!

Nice job.
Too kind - the low res photo hides a few sins.

They seemed pretty taken with it when I dropped it off yesterday and were asking what I thought it might fetch. I said maybe try for £200. I wonder if it might do more if I tried a more modern colour scheme? A petrol blue non-metallic, a fawn or mid-green metallic, burnt orange pearl?

I could have bought it some new pedals for £5-£10, but the non-matching ones it had seemed ok, so I decided to draw the line there.

Is anyone making bike tyres in the UK? It just seemed poignent that the 27x11/4” whitewalls I got for my next build are stamped “made in Belarus”

Had an email from Ribble today, categorising their bikes by availability - but there’s a tonne of potentially highly rideable old touring bikes on Ebay, just needing a bit of TLC, cables, chains, maybe tyres and a bit know-how.

Keeps me off the sofa now the dark nights are here.
Spa Audax Ti Ultegra; Genesis Equilibrium 853; Raleigh Record Ace 1983; “Raleigh Competition”, “Raleigh Gran Sport 1982”; “Allegro Special”, Bob Jackson tourer, Ridley alu step-through with Swytch front wheel; gravel bike from an MB Dronfield 531 frame.
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