Dawes Super Galaxy

My first "proper" bike was a 23.5" Dawes Super Galaxy which I bought with compensation from a road accident in about 1983. It was midnight blue and equipped with Sun Tour front and rear mechs, a double chainset which I upgraded to a Stronglight/TA triple (which is still in use on my Claud Butler Super Dalesman), a bottom bracket dynamo and a home-made battery backup device which was built into an aluminium box on the inside of the rear rack. It had classic touring wheels, Weinmann 27" with Michelin Club Tourist tyres, and GB Randonneur bars. I fitted Grab-Ons and a Brooks B17N saddle, which eventually became very comfortable. With this bike I began to do Sunday rides of anything up to 100 miles. I used to ride to Bushey to a bike shop which I liked (Thirteens Cycle Depot - I heard that the owner had died a couple of years back). I learned to use toeclips (clipless pedals were very rare back then!), ride at a reasonable cadence, take my place in the traffic and all the other life skills a cyclist learns.

I also learned about not carrying things on the bars when a bag went in my front wheel one day and pitched me on my head......

It was a great bike, and I would have it still if I hadn't kept growing well into my twenties. By 1985 I was too tall for it, and as Dawes disn't do a 24.5" (next up was 25.5" which I thoght too big) I went up to the Dalesman. Not that I've ever regretted it, but the Dawes was a much stiffer bike so infinitely better with a heavy load on, especially front low-riders.

I took the Dawes to Uni in 1986 and eventually sold it to a friend, Iain Sharp. He took it home on the roof of his car. Or most of the way home, anyway. The two parted company on the A1(M), and that was the end of that. A sad end to a fine machine.

In 2001 Chris Juden wrote a review of the current Galaxy in Cycle Touring & Campaigning (the CTC magazine). The review is copyright CTC 2001, I have scanned it as a pdf for those friends who are looking at buying one. It's big due to background tint. If you find this useful please join the CTC.