new things

A little early Christmas present to myself. It’s red and 853, lets hope it rides as good as it looks.

Dawes Galaxy update

Long time no post I know, so here we go.

Been riding the Galaxy on a daily basis, tweaking various things along the way. A new front rack arrived this week.

Need to sort out a bag for it now. Had planned on getting an Alpkit Airlock Xtra, but they’ve sold out.
Next idea is to use a Carradice SuperC Racktop bag, mounted sideways, as it has a rigid base and plenty of strapping and “should” fit between my bars nicely.

I’m hoping to get a new one man lightweight tent, and sleeping bag and head out on some micro adventures, putting the tent and sleeping bag on the front and the carradice on the rear. The idea is to ride out of london, camp overnight and ride back the next day.

I foudn this shot on Spencer Brown’s flickr, kind of sums the above plans up:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spencer_brown/12992832924/

 

The Galaxy gets a makeover… Part III

headset and BB in, but some BB issues – i.e. its f***ed – mean that its staying like this for the meantime. oh and I’ve lost thee bb cable guide and various other bits and bobs in the months its been in bits! great.

The Galaxy gets a makeover… part II

Picked this up from Armourtex this afternoon, the green paint is great and the pearl lacquer really glistens in the sun. It’s currently at LMNH’s having the headset installed, but here’s a quick teaser:

The Galaxy gets a makeover…

I’ve had my Dawes Galaxy which I bought s/h from a CTC forum member for a couple of years now (see my earlier posts), with a selection of nice but reliable parts. Here it is when last rideable on a short tour:

But for the last year it had been sitting out of action with a cracked headtube. About 5 months ago I got Ryan at Oak Cycles to repair it, which he did brilliantly – thoroughly recommended, since when it has been languishing ontop of the wardrobe awaiting funds to get it powdercoated at Armourtex.

I dropped it in yesterday, the chosen colour being RAL 6035 with a pearl gloss Lacquer.

Now i just have the task of cleaning the box of parts – all in a fairly sorry state – so I can stick it all together once the frame is done. The build will involve all the previous bits (full list to come), plus new consumables – tape, pads, cables etc… and possibly some Nitto noodle rando bars. Some of my inspiration is detailed in this post.

 Stronglight 170mm Touring Triple 48/38/28

Shimano 105 rear derailleur – Shimano RX100 front derailleur

Shimano RX100 downtube shifters

Avid Shorty 6 cantilver brakes

Tektro touring pedals with MKS (njs!) toeclips

3TTT stem with possibly 3ttt ergo bars and unknown brake levers

Campagnolo lowflange road hubs laced to (F) Alesa 917 rim and (R) Mavic Open Sport rim

There’s also a blackburn rear rack, cheap seatpost with either a flite max or a charge bucket, and some black plastic mudguards.

Back on the bikes.

So I’m back on the bike following a little crash… broken finger now healed and black eye a lot less obvious than it was.

After the crash I was in need of a new helmet so I splashed out on the Giro Atmos, which feels great, so lightweight and with great air-flow – oh and its an obnoxious shade of acidy flouro greenyyellow…  (And I used my LFGSS cap for the first time yesterday.)

Tourer inspiration.

I’m still counting the pennies, saving up to get my repaired Dawes Galaxy repainted. So in the meantime I’ve been scouring the interwebs (mainly on LFGSS – a great resource and forum for all kinds of cycling and bicycles, way beyond the original remit of London Fixed Gear and Single Speed) for inspiration for the rebuild. I’m thinking of going for a more classic build this time, i.e more chrome and brown, which should go nicely against the green or blue paint I’ve got planned.

First is this fantastic F.W Evans tourer which was rebuilt to catalogue condition by  ‘Hilly Ben’ off the LFGSS forum. I think this bike is just a fine example of the British touring bicycle, lugged 531 frame, racing green paint, cantilever brakes, all the braze-ons and plenty of brown  leather. The thread following the build is here.

Next up is this fantastic Faggin Tourer/Randonneur restored by ‘psee’ again from LFGSS. I really like the combination of the tan sidewall tyres with the bright chrome mudguards. Build thread.

More of an Audax/Randonneur bicycle but still awesome. Once again seen on LFGSS is ‘Spotter’s Raleigh Royal, this has been upgraded with a modern groupset, but still looks great especially with that big porteur rack on the front. There is a build thread which is a little out of date now.

And finally another LFGSS bike, and this one is firmly in the audax bracket, but nevermind, this Longstaff Audax is just a lovely bicycle. “Vesalius’s build thread is here.

getting there…

Got my Dawes Galaxy back from Ryan at Oak Cycles yesterday, with a new headtube after the old one cracked, and  he’s done a great job! It’ll be off for a new coat of powdercoat at Armoutex in a couple of weeks, still undecided on colour, but will probably be green of some description. I’m planning some new mudguards, racks, bigger tyres and a new saddle when I build it up again. Can’t wait to have this one back on the road.!

Share this:

Here’s the latest (albeit not great quality) photo of my Roberts Cycles fillet brazed road bike. I think I’ve got it pretty much where I want it to be now that I’ve fitted Koolstop salmon brakepads, a Flite ti and a Thomson seatpost. The only future changes will be 23c tires and new bar tape for summer.

The North Race

One of my iphone snaps got posted on The North Race as part of their “why I ride competition”. I didn’t win but pretty cool to get it posted. Check The North Race out, its got a really good mix of original content from various posters.