Dawes Galaxy/Super Galaxy or Surly LHT?

[PH]

Your LBS could probably also get you the frame best known as the Hewitt Cheviot or Cheviot SE. The Cheviot is Reynolds 631 and the SE 725 with polished stainless steel dropouts. At Hewitt's prices the Cheviot would be a bit under budget and the SE a fair bit over. With either you'd get your choice of colour, decals and braze ons.
You wouldn’t have to search far to find positive reviews, here’s a starter;
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=15666

[random37]

I've had with a Dawes Galaxy for years, but I have to say if I had £1000 to spend on a bike I'd buy a Hewitt. The Galaxy was the best off the peg touring bike money could buy for a long time, but now, there's lots more choice.

[rogerzilla]

The Hewitt frame is a bit too "compact" for my liking (compact frames on touring bikes require ridiculously long rear carrier stays, so what rigidity the frame gains, the rack probably loses). If they made a bike with a more level top tube I'd probably go for it.

Tha Galaxy has the same problem, but not quite as badly. The LHT's top tube is almost level.

Does anyone else make a level top tube tourer these days?

[Si]

Does anyone else make a level top tube tourer these days?

Has no one mentioned the "M" word? Or are they out the price bracket?

Anyhoo, my 2p worth would be to go for a used Brit built galaxy frame (with HTT if you want) and spend the rest on good wheels and kit. I'm loving my 1991 Galaxy that I got for £40 complete with nice campag kit

Although I also went for a new One Down frameset and love it - not had any rack stability problems. Although I guess that that wouldn't be that much diferent to the Thon that you are selling.

[stevew]

Hewitt's not very "compact" and the carrier fits fine and it's really solid. If you don't like where the carrier braze-ons are (possibly be better a bit higher up) you can always ask for them to be fitted in a different place as I'm sure they told me that all the braze-ons were fitted here in the UK.
The Cheviot makes a fine tourer and it's well within your budget.
I like mine a lot.

[PH]

The Hewitt frame is a bit too "compact" for my liking

How tall are you?
The largest size is considerably less compact than the others. Here's mine


I can understand not liking the look of compact frames. But I think any decent rack would be rigid enough on any frame. I don't notice any difference between the Hewitt and very compact Thorn with the same rack (Tubus) and same camping load (16kg)

[rogerzilla]

I'm very average-sized; I take a 21.5-22" frame (assuming a level top tube, that is).

Mercian is well out of the price range, I'm afraid. There is an absolute limit of £1000 which I can't add to from my own funds, not even by a penny.

[CJV]

it turned out that they were Germans, but their LBS sold Dawes, and had bourght the Gals because they admired the quality of the "steel of the pipes"

So not only does the Galaxy have a cult following and qualifies the owner for membership of an international fraternity, but in addition, nothing beats the quality of its pipes. What more can you ask?

[rogerzilla]

I'm coming round to the Cheviot, mainly because Hewitt (not sure if it was Paul himself) actually bothered to respond to my e-mail enquiry. He recommended the large size.

I've asked Mercian what a KoM (level top tube) would cost with really basic kit, but I suspect it's not do-able. Mercian also use the old-style top tube cable guides, which means running the whole rear brake cable in outer. I thought they died out years ago. Apart from the level top tube, the Hewitt seems technically superior in every respect.

[glueman]

Mercian will put cable guides where you fancy them. A 631 King frame comes out about £500 and you can pick whatever paint you fancy. If you went for factory wheels you might squeeze in under a grand and you could swap or rebuild the hoops as and when.

You'd also have a bike you want to ride in 15 years time. 631 is good real-world tubing and can take more knocks than theoretically stronger steels.

[blazingsaddles]

The Hewitt frame is a bit too "compact" for my liking (compact frames on touring bikes require ridiculously long rear carrier stays, so what rigidity the frame gains, the rack probably loses). If they made a bike with a more level top tube I'd probably go for it.

Tha Galaxy has the same problem, but not quite as badly. The LHT's top tube is almost level.

Does anyone else make a level top tube tourer these days?

Bob Jackson cycles although its a little more than the Surly. I think just under £ 400.00 for the frame and forks.

I went up to Hewitts to have a look at Cheviot and I sat on the xl frame when I was there and I thought it was too compact. I'm 6'2" and I dwarfed it. Thorns Club Tour is also a compact frame but comes in more sizes they do a 620 size that looks nice on their site and they do an xt version with bar end shifters for £ 1000.00. Its also 725 Reynolds and comes with a 14 day trial period.

I like the look of the Surly though. Must say I would get one before a Galaxy.

[rogerzilla]

Mercian said complete Kings start at £1,700, so that's 70% out of the price range (I can't even get a voucher for more than £1,000).

[bretonbikes]

I really, really don't want STI

Go on, I've got to ask - why on earth not? You'll be telling us you don't like indexing next!


If you're worried about reliability while in the far reaches of Tajikistan, why not get a bar-end shifter (or some old down-tube shifters) and pop them in your packing just in case?

I'm with Roger here. Though they are great for racing cyclists, they have an exposed mechanism every time you brake, a falling bike loaded with camping gear, or a minor spill will wreak them and possibly end a tour, and unlike bar-ends there's no friction option if anything goes out on alignment on tour (bent derailleur, gear hanger, binding cables in rain etc). Leading a tour this year my rear derailleur started playing up, just switched off the indexing and used friction - no problems. With STI I would be rattling down the road hopping between gears.

For a touring rider reliability is everything because a failure can end, or at lease curtail, a long saved for holiday. The only disadvantage of down-tube (my choice) and bar-end shifters is you have to take a hand off the bars to use them - big deal, if you can't do that you shouldn't really be on a bike...

Oh and as for the Tajikistan comment - there are lots of places in Europe, or even France where you are a 50 miles from a decent bike shop, and on getting there you may well find that, 'oh we don't have them in stock - waiting time currently 3 weeks'...

[rogerzilla]

Here's a 10 year update!

I bought the Hewitt Cheviot and rode it, loaded and unloaded, for nearly 10 years. It is good unloaded (I had to fit a shorter, high rise stem as my neck didn't agree with Hewitt's setup). Loaded with 36lb of camping gear on the back, it's not as good. Can't be ridden out of rhe saddle, too much lean steer, wags its tail and you sit down quickly. My old Nomad never did that. Rear wheel quickly went out of true, front wheel wasn't correctly centred. I hate riding other people's wheels (no one really has the time to build them properly if they're doing it for a living) so I built a new front dynamo wheel and fixed the rear one. On the plus side, the (second) finish lasted well and the 631 tubes are very rust resistant. I built the bike up myself because the first paint just flaked off - some cowboy had sprayed it green without blasting off the factory red - and the frameset went straight back for it to be done properly. They forgot the tubing stickers that time.

So I've striipped all the bits off and transferred them to...a Surly LHT frameset! Will report on how that rides sion...

[whoof]

Mrs Whoof has been riding a Dawes Horizon as her touring and occasional commuting bike for a number of years. This year she bought a Surly LHT and she much prefers the handling especially loaded.
The Horizon has been shod with studded winter tyres and will be kept solely for the handful of days a year when her commutes might be icy.