bicicleta dawes grand tour 26

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• Retro Classic Road

Could someone help identify this vintage Dawes?

• Thread starter GettingInGear
• Start date Feb 26, 2023

GettingInGear

Retro newbie.

• Feb 26, 2023

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• Feb 27, 2023

Hi folks, Just hoping to get any feedback you have on this bike, even if a small clue or a suggestion on where else I can ask for feedback. Admin suggested writing a comment here to bump my post back to the top. Thanks! Deb  

Senior Retro Guru

Dawes Dating

Identify a Dawes?

Dawes Archives - Three Speed Hub

GregoryB said: Hi Deb, Looks to be very early 50's by what I can see of the components - best guess would be made between '49 to '51 or '52. And whatever the original model name was for the bike, it might have had a different name for the US market as compared to the same bike sold new in England. Check out this link I found for a 1956 Dawes UK catalogue: Dawes Archives - Three Speed Hub threespeedhub.com The Brooks saddle on the bike is correct for that late 40's to early 50's period by the style of the metal name tag on the rear and by the round logo embossed on the sides of the leather cover. Both of these logos were updated by 1955 and the rear metal name tag then had the words "Made in England" printed underneath the Brooks name. The handlebars, stem and brakes also appear to be early 50's GB models made the GB Cycle Components company in England - the "GB" stands for the founder of the company, Gerry Burgess. The brake calipers will have the model name stamped into the caliper arms - possibly "GB Grand Tour" if the wheels are 26" size or if the larger 27" wheel size, then "Hiduminium" is more likely the brake caliper model name. From 1952 onwards, the GB brake calipers used most often on the British bikes were either "GB Sport" or "GB Coureur." Finding out the model name of the brake calipers on the bike will help greatly to narrow down when this bike was most likely made - either before or after 1952. It also appears to have an early Benelux rear derailleur with the added cogs on the Sturmey Archer rear hub (this derailleur was first introduced in 1949). The added cogs with the Benelux derailleur was a very popular conversion for 3-speed bikes back then, especially for touring or "club" bikes. Both 2 and 3 gear cogs were available from the Cyclo Gear Company in England which made the Benelux rear derailleur. And some bike manufactures also sold new bikes with this conversion as a deluxe option. As to value of the bike, that's hard for me to say. It was definitely a high-quality bike when new by all of the components and the frame made with lightweight Reynolds 531 tubing. And I've seen similar vintage aluminum water bottles with the handlebar cage for the bottle selling for as much as $250+ on eBay - that's a very hard-to-find vintage bike accessory. Plus, a person could probably spend lots of time and money up to a $1,000 just trying to get all of the various parts and accessories needed to put together a complete vintage bike like this one when this bike is already a complete and original bike. Whatever you do, don't sell it too cheap. Ebay would probably attract the widest audience of potential buyers, both in North America and Europe. And check out the website BikeFlights.com for helpful information on shipping a bike. You can even search this site for local shops in your area that can help with packing and shipping a bike. A local shop should be able to give you a rough estimate on packing and shipping the bike that you could then use for informing potential buyers outside your area what they would need to pay for having the bike shipped to them. Any other questions, I'll try to do my best to answer. Best Regards, Gregory Click to expand...

• Feb 28, 2023

Hi Deb, From trying to Google the Dawes bikes, they did sell a Flambeau model in the 70's and maybe earlier. The name is a logical choice because the word flambeau means torch and a flaming torch symbol is on the head badge. Dawes might have used that name first for the early US import models before using it again many years later in the UK. Anyway, the name "Flambeau" sures sounds really slick for a high-quality bike to market to prospective US buyers when compared to the names "Tartan Touring" or "Tartan Club." I'd rely on your dad's memory as being correct and accept that the bike's US model name was a Dawes Flambeau. Also, the other reply with that great link for Dawes Dating is worth checking out. The gallery pages show some very interesting early bikes. Your bike looks like it has the same frame as the 1946 Lightweight model but with many of the same high-end components as the 1950 Dawes Courier model. And this site has a much better link for a 1955 Dawes catalogue with some pictures. https://dawescycles.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/dawes-catalogue-1955.pdf For myself, I've learned a lot about UK bikes of the early 50's from trying to restore a 1953 BSA Tour of Britain Sports model bike. Still a work in progress for me but it has many similarities to the Dawes bike. For instance, I've seen some other UK bikes imported into the US from the early 50's that have the Reynolds 531 decal on the frame downtube exactly in the same position as on your Dawes bike - just in front of the upper mount for the tire pump. Except on the same UK sold version the decal is typically placed on the frame seat tube just below the top tube. Also, the imported bikes usually have a "Made in England" decal on the top frame tube that usually always gets worn away. Another clue is the location of the tire pump mounting on the frame. For some reason, the higher end UK road racing and touring bikes beginning around 1955 tend to have the tire pump relocated to underneath the top frame tube instead of on the downtube. And around the same time, old pictures I've studied of the 50's UK and European bike races increasing show race bikes with a water bottle clamped to the downtube from the mid 50's onwards. Not a totally reliable way to date a bike but this tends to be true for the 50's road bikes. Cheers! Gregory  

I forgot something important !! Sturmey Archer rear hubs are stamped with the model and two-digit manufacture date. If the rear hub is original, the hub date should help pinpoint the year of the bike. Gregory  

Couple of other clues which will give away a date are the Sturmey Archer shifter and the Reynolds 531 decal. Both of these were made within a certain date range so will help narrow it down. I’m surprised there isn’t a Dawes page on Classic Lightweights, but I found this page while looking which might be worth picking through: https://dawescycles.wordpress.com/date/  

Dawes Windrush | CycleChat Cycling Forum

• Mar 1, 2023

bagpuss said: The Dawes Windrush model was a popular lightweight of this era . The three speed hub / derailleur gear combo was normally done by the rider to increase the number of gears afaik . Shame you can not make out the lug work on this one . https://www.pinterest.com/pin/165155511314686319/ more here . Dawes Windrush | CycleChat Cycling Forum Hi everyone, I have just picked up a Dawes Windrush and I'm struggling to find any information about the model, I've found lots of images but I'm getting a little confused if they are all Windrush's as some have the gear shifters on fixed mounts on the top bar and some have them banded on the... www.cyclechat.net Click to expand...

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Dawes Gran Tour 725 2016 - Touring Bike

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The Butterfly Effect: The Dawes Karakum, The Koga World Traveller And The Koga Grand Tourer

Yesterday I posed a question regarding the availability of touring bicycles that come with butterfly handlebars as standard. I had a couple of responses.

At the budget end of the spectrum there is the Dawes Karakum suggested by Paul (and also Craig via Twitter). Curious name and, actually, probably too cheap. I am certainly not a man of great riches but I would be reluctant to spend ‘only’ £699.99 on a touring bike. When I bought my Ridgeback Panorama World back in 2010, I paid around £1,200. To replace it with the current model I would need to fork out £1,349.99 – ‘ refined even more for 2019 ‘ apparently – a price that, over 9 years, has held up well. I still see the Ridgeback Panorama’s price as my benchmark level and I would see it as a step in the wrong direction to downgrade to something cheaper, irrespective of the merits of the bike. That’s a logic that is open to easy criticism but that’s how I feel. The Ridgeback Panorama doesn’t, alas, come in a model that has butterfly bars fitted as standard.

The second suggestion was a from ‘Oighreag’ via Twitter:

Koga World Traveller pic.twitter.com/9VXRaBA8k6 — Oighreag (@raim1969) January 20, 2019

The picture you see is Oighreag’s Koga World Traveller bicycle. Now, specifications change over the years and I’m guessing that since Oighreag purchased their bike, Koga has tweaked the spec of its two main off-the-peg touring bikes, the World Traveller and the Grand Tourer . Here they are:

You’ll note that it’s actually the Grand Tourer rather than the World Traveller that has the butterfly bars. However, the main reason for not wanting to buy a bike which has drop handlebars (like the Ridgeback Panorama) and change them post-purchase to butterfly bars is somewhat less of a problem here in that the brake and gear shifters would be identical on the World Traveller’s flat bars as they would if butterfly bars had been fitted. Suggesting a change of handlebars to a dealer would, presumably, not be as big an issue as it was back in 2010 when I had to change not only the handlebars but also the entire brake and gear shifting system. I also had to compensate for the change of position of the handlebars – they were, effectively, moved back by at least 10 cm – by fitting ever-lengthening stems. It was all a bit of a palaver… (Browse some of these posts from early 2010 that detail the seemingly endless saga of changing the bars.)

All that said, why am I discounting the Koga Grand Tourer? The only Koga distributor in Yorkshire is Cyclesense in Tadcaster. The list price for the World Traveller is £1,999 and the for the Grand Tourer £1,649. Apart from the £350 price difference and the butterfly bars, there are other things that set them apart. The most obvious are the lack of both a front panier rack and a front hub dynamo on the Grand Tourer. The forks don’t have eyelets that would making the fitting of a front rack on the Grand Tourer easy. That does seem to be an oversight, or perhaps just good marketing by Koga to encourage people like me to pay an extra £350 for the World Traveller?

The Grand Tourer is a good-looking bike, but the World Traveller is beautiful:

What’s not to like? Well, apart from the compromise on the handlebars, perhaps.

The story doesn’t quite finish here as Koga have taken the humble touring bicycle to an altogether different level via Koga Signature . Below is a video of a very lucky Australian, Alee Denham. He describes himself as ‘ a bike, gear & travel nerd ‘ and he runs his own website, CyclingAbout.com . He’s currently somewhere in the Americas en route from southern Argentina to northern Alaska on a custom-made Koga bike that he is testing for the Dutch company:

You can have fun on the Koga Signature website and build your own bike. Earlier, I did just that and here’s what I came up with:

My own Koga World Traveller bike, complete with butterfly bars, Brooks saddle, front panier rack, carbon belt, Rohloff hub, front dynamo… Not sure about the colour but others are available (as shown in the video). Read the full spec here . It even has ‘Cycling Europe’ written on its frame. 16.4kg and, err… £3,791. Now you can understand why Alee is such a lucky guy. I need to start saving.

Just been back for a bit more customisation… Added a few things (and bumped up the price several hundred pounds.) 🙂

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10 replies »

About 10 years ago I paid £300 for a Dawes Kalahari. It has taken me from Worcester to Istanbul 1¾ times (I ran out of time in Macedonia on the first trip), both times carrying 4 well-stuffed panniers and a tent. Naming their bikes after deserts implies suitability for travel and having ridden it for years I don’t see that a more expensive bike could be an improvement. IMHO, of course.

I have three bikes I use for touring, each with a different style bar – drop, butterfly, flat. When selecting which one to use for a trip, the prospective feel of each on the likely surfaces is definitely as much a part of the decision process as other factors such as suspension, tyre width etc.

Butterfly bars are much more common on touring bikes on the continent than here; in the UK we’re keener on drop bars. So it seems to me, any road. Anyone know why the difference? Is it just a cultural thing?

Thanks Rob. For me it’s a back thing! I’m not as bendy as I used to be… 🙂 Butterfly bars win hands down (and back relatively upright…)

there are downsides to e-bikes. you cant take them om aircraft for one.

By the time you’ve saved up roughly £4000, you’ll have to consider upgrading to an e-bike because you’ll be that much older, haha!!!

Yes, probably… 🙂

Hi Andrew You have acknowledged that you’re open to criticism for discounting the Dawes. Here goes…

My own bike is a Surly Ogre and I love it, but about 10 years ago I found a female Dawes town bike which had been dumped in a lay by. I took it to the police and after the required 28 day period collected it for my wife. It has served both my wife and my daughter, for commuting and touring and has never cost a penny.

Ann Wilson, who you will know from the Cycle Touring festival had her hand built Roberts bike stolen when travelling round the World. She bought a cheap replacement and continued with that bike and has travelled extensively since with the cheaper model.

Tom Allen has written a few articles about people doing amazing journeys on bikes that have been picked up at the tip.

Its all personal choice at the end of the day, but I certainly wouldn’t discount the Dawes.

Have you considered Jones bars? I have them on my Surly and a Salsa Timberjack which I use for bike packing. I can honestly say they are the best thing I’ve ever fitted to my bikes.

Hi John. Yes, I don’t doubt there are lots of people who have completed long rides on old, probably cheap, bikes. But you don’t tend to hear about the people who decided upon such an approach and then failed to get further than the next town. In any way, for there to be old, cheap bikes, there also needs to be new, more expensive ones. The chances of me ever being able to spend £4,000 on a bike are almost nil but I do like the look of those off-the-peg Kogas. Time will tell… Not used Jones bars. I think I’m now too wedded to the butterfly ones. 🙂

We have the world traveller e-bikes. Bought in the summer . I was disappointed in not being able to have the butterfly bars but they couldn’t be changed due to the electrical components. Ring and talk to Dave at Cyclesense. Ask if he can offer a discount and mention my name. It may help. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say

I may make a trip over there soon… I’ll be sure to mention you! 🙂

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The Dawes bicycle brand offers you the unique blend of British heritage and outstanding performance. It all started in 1906 when Charles Dawes went into business in a partnership known as Humphries & Dawes with the Humphries side of the business making motor cycles.  By 1926 Dawes Cycles Limited had been formed in its own right and the business hasn’t looked back since. The Dawes factory made bikes for the armed services during the war and has supported a whole host of British racing cyclists over the years both on and off-road.

Always operating from the Birmingham area, the company still has a limitless passion for quality, service and cycling. The comprehensive range of bicycles delivers the highest quality, from its core of experienced, knowledgeable staff and excellent network of independent retailers.

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Best touring bikes 2024: tourers for adventures on two wheels

Although there are many bikes capable of cycle trips, the best touring bikes remain the optimal tool for longer journeys

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Our pick of the best touring bikes

What to look for in a touring bike.

The allure of the open road is one of cycling’s enduring themes. Touring by bicycle allows for this on a grand scale, travelling for several days, often in far-flung places with all your kit strapped to the bike. Of course, micro-adventures closer to home can be just as much fun and still keep the spirit of adventure alive.

Whether you’re planning an expedition abroad or fancy exploring more local roads in far greater detail, a touring bike is the ideal tool for the job. Designed for cycling long distances in comfort, the bikes should be both stable and reliable in their handling, as well as providing all the mounts you need for pannier racks and bags and mudguards . Self-sufficiency is one of the tenets of cycling touring, so the bikes are usually designed with ease of maintenance in mind, too.

The good news for touring cyclists is that the range of bikes available to cater for their needs has grown substantially in the last few years.

In this guide, we've rounded up the more traditional options. If you're thinking of going off-road, perhaps investigate gravel orientated options in our buying guide here , and if you plan to go quick and travel light, see endurance road bikes here .

There's more on what to look for in a touring bike below - but first, here are our top picks of the best touring bikes.

Genesis Tour de Fer 30 touring bike

Specifications, reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

This is a bike that's been created exclusively to provide a comfortable and practical ride for a touring cyclist. The Reynolds 725 Heat-Treated Chromoly frame promises a springy ride and an incredibly strong base.

The 160mm rotor mechanical disc brakes are a more modern introduction with a nod to practicality, especially in the wet. Although we’ve found mechanical TRP Spyre brake calipers aren’t quite as powerful or as easy to modulate as a hydraulic brakeset, they are easy to adjust and highly reliable – perfect for a long-distance tour.

A 10-speed Shimano Tiagra drivetrain is about right for a bike at this price point, but in our experience, a 50/39/30 crankset provides gears that are just a bit too big for cycle touring – particularly over hilly terrain. 

But you can always swap this out for a smaller ringed option down the line. We find that with a cassette of 11-34t, going for a granny ring of 26t is generally a good bet.

We’ve always found Schwalbe’s Marathon tyres to be highly puncture resistant and with a good wear rate. In 35c, these are capable of traversing broken roads and tamer gravel, but if you’re planning on spending a large amount of time off road you would want something a bit plumper.

Handily, this bike come with many of the accessories we think are a must. Firstly, mudguards, but also dynamo powered front and rear lights, bottle cages and the Tubus pannier racks front and rear.

Surly Disc Trucker

A spin-off of Surly's much-revered Long Haul Trucker, the Disc Trucker keeps many of the much-loved versatility and can-do attitude, but this time with the addition of mechanical disc brakes and thru-axles – unlike the Genesis Tour de Fer 30 which has disc brakes and QR axles.

Opinion is a little split on thru-axles for touring – if you have any catastrophic issues with your hubs in more remote countries, you're unlikely to be able to find a replacement locally. That said, those kind of hub issues are quite rare and if it does happen you can always get a replacement sent out. For the improved alignment between the rotor and the caliper, we think the benefits outweigh the negatives.

A multitude of braze-on mount means the Disc Trucker is capable of running front and rear bags, full-coverage fenders, two water bottles, a spare spoke and even a pump peg. However, in not coming with these accessories, you will have to factor these into the cost, making the value for money a little less than the Genesis Tour de Fer 30 or the Kona Sutra.

With both 26" and 700c wheel build options available, the Disc Trucker can be as adventurous as you choose. The 26" (in sizes 42-58cm) is capable of taking up to 2.1" tires, while the 700c version (in sizes 56-64cm) has room for up to 42mm tires — both with fenders.

Although touring bikes generally do have a more relaxed position than a typical road bike, designed as they are for comfortably covering long distances, the Disc Trucker does have a particularly high front end. This isn't necessarily a problem, but if you are coming from a road cycling background, you may find just such an elevated position a little uncomfortable 

Made from a CroMoly Steel, the Disc Trucker comes equipped with a Shimano Alivio/Sora drivetrain, with the 48/36/26 triple Alivio crankset and 11-34 9-speed Shimano cassette provides a gearing range we find to be a great balance between top-end speed and low-end winching – particularly if you’re planning on maxing out the rider and kit weight limit of 161kg (355lb).

Kona Sutra All Road touring bike

The gloss black Sutra is made from Kona 's Cromoly steel frame and is kitted out with smooth-rolling Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 700x40c tires on WTB STi23 rims, which are now tubeless-compatible.

The current model has replaced the previous Shimano Deore 3x10 drivetrain with 2x10 chainset from Shimano's GRX gravel range. It's a move that's unlikely to please the touring purists. The 46/30t chainrings are matched with a 11-36t cassette, which sees the bike's gearing range reduced. It should still see you up the steep climbs, just perhaps not in as much comfort as before.

Gone too are the bar-end shifters, replaced with Shimano 10-speed Tiagra road shifters. Again it's quite the change, moving the Sutra from a traditional tourer into a far more modern interpretation. It reduces some of the bike's previous mechanical simplicity, which is appealing if your tours are long and overseas. That said the move to STI levers will appeal if you're used to riding a regular bike.

Another nod to modernity are the TRP disc brakes, which are blend of mechanical and hydraulic, and the frame's thru-axles.

With a Brooks B17 leather saddle, mudguards and a front pannier rack finishing off this tourer, this good-looking bike oozes style.

The leather Brooks saddle does require a bit more care than what you might be used to – it need to be kept covered from heavy rain and needs a semi regular application of cream to keep the leather supple. But by functioning essentially as a hammock, it is exceptionally comfortable and only gets better over time as it moulds to your shape – it wears in, rather than out..

Ridgeback Voyage

Classic styling never goes out of date - and the vintage-looking Voyage has got it by the bucket load, though a redesign means that modern tech has not been overlooked.

The Ridgeback Voyage uses Reynolds 520 tubing for the frame, with a CroMoly steel fork. A rack and full mudguards (fenders) come as standard. 

The Shimano 48/36/26t triple chainset paired with an 11-34 cassette offers a good range of gearing although with relatively large jumps between the gears due to having just nine gears at the rear. 

We don’t find this to be too much of an issue when taking it steady on a cycle tour but would prefer something a little tighter if multiple very high mileage days are planned.

Shifting and braking is taken care of by Shimano's reliable Sora levers and Tektro cantilever rim brakes. The latter certainly help make the Voyage a maintenance-friendly machine - easy to maintain and find replaces for, even in remote locations - although disc brakes may be a preferred choice for all-weather tourers.

Alex rims with a high spoke count are pretty dependable, even if not the flashiest and fitted with 32c Continental Contact tyres, they can handle a little off road, but are best suited to the tarmac.  

Trek 520 disc touring bike

Constructed from Trek's CroMoly steel, the frame has been designed around disc brakes and fitted with a rack and fenders mounts.

The Bontrager Affinity rims are tubeless-ready, which might be worth setting up if you want a bit of a faster ride when commuting. But for long-term touring it’s generally best to stick with inner tubes so as to avoid the added complication of sealant drying out. Bontrager’s 38c H1 hard-case Ultimate tyres offer good puncture resistance themselves.

The drivetrain is a mixture of Shimano parts with Sora shifters. The crankset is a triple, with 48/36/26 tooth chainrings, and the cassette is an 11-36 so you'll have ample gears when the road goes up. TRP Spyre C 2.0 mechanical disc mechanical discs look after stopping.

However, with only nine sprockets on the cassette, the jumps between the gears are a little large, as with the Ridgeback Voyage. But if this does cause you an issue, and if you find yourself not using all of the gears, you could fit a tighter range cassette for smaller jumps.

Like the Genesis Tour de Fer 30, the wheel axles are QR, which can make getting the rotor and caliper aligned properly a little more difficult than with a thru-axle system

The overall weight comes in at 14.26 kg / 31.4 lbs in a size 57, which is lighter than some of the more traditional options.

Cube Travel Pro Trapeze touring bike

Cube offers its Travel Pro tourer in both a traditional crossbar and step-through frame design, with the latter making mounting and dismounting this robust, aluminum bike easy and convenient.

The convenience theme is carried through much of the bike. It's equipped with a Shimano Nexus internal hub gear system and a Gates CDN Belt Drive system which offers super low maintenance compared with a more traditional chain and derailleur system.

With this eight-speed hub, the jumps between the gears is a little larger and the overall range a little lower than you can get with a derailleur system, and it's not quite as efficient. But that said, if you're planning on taking it steady on your cycle tour, those points are pretty immaterial compared to the benefit of much lower maintenance.  

There's plenty of clearance for extra-wide tires and the wheels are currently wrapped in Schwalbe's Marathon Almotion 29x2.15in rubber.

Finishing off this functional tourer are full-length fenders, an adjustable CUBE stand Pro kickstand, a Knog Oi bell, lights (front and rear), and a semi-integrated carrier for pannier bags; these features will have you covered for any adventure.

Salsa Marrakesh

The Marrakesh is designed to take you touring wherever you wish — including a trip around the world if necessary. The frame is built from 4130 CroMoly tubing and has a serious array of mounts. There's room for up to five bottle cages thanks to extra fork mounts plus it comes fitted with front and rear racks. There's even a mount to carry a spare spoke.

Elsewhere there are bar-end shifters and a 3x9-speed Shimano Alivio groupset. The gearing range is designed to get you up the steep stuff even when fully loaded thanks to 48/36/36 triple chainring paired with an 11-36t cassette. The shifters also make roadside maintenance a little easier.

Its world-touring credentials are further aided by its generous tire clearance - 700 x 40mm even with mudguards (fenders), and comes stock with Maxxis Roamer 42mm tires. This means you should eat up the miles in comfort even when the road gets rough.

It's difficult to lay out specific criteria when it comes to choosing a touring bike because the beauty of touring is that it can be whatever you want it to be – there is no single best touring bike for everyone, what is best for you depends on the type of tours you want to go on. However, there are key elements to consider when selecting your two-wheeled riding buddy, which will enable you to get the best touring bike for you.

Touring bike frame

If you're planning a longer trip, and intend the bike to be used primarily for such adventures, then the resilience and comfort of steel is a sensible choice. As such, most of the best touring bikes will feature this metal. The amount you're willing to invest will dictate the weight, strength and character of the steel you end up with.

When looking at steel touring bikes, expect to see the word 'Chromoly' a lot. This is a form of low alloy steel that is used when strength is particularly important. It takes its name from two of the primary alloying (mixing of metals) elements used: “chromium” and “molybdenum”.

If you're planning on using the bike for touring and other duties: club runs, commutes, shorter rides where speed might be more in your interest, consider aluminum or carbon .

Bikes suitable for touring will have a relaxed geometry: a shorter top tube and taller stack to put the rider in a more relaxed position. The wheelbase will be longer, to create a feeling of stability. You'll also notice that the chainstays are longer - this means panniers can be mounted without a chance of clipping your heels and it allows for better distribution when panniers are full.

Touring bike wheels

Elsewhere in the cycling world, we talk about low weight and aerodynamics when it comes to bicycle wheels. And sure, if you're aiming to break a world record on your cycle tour then those are probably still very important areas to consider.

However, if you mainly want to get to somewhere rather far away, and you'd like to arrive there with a wheel that's still true and contains the same number of spokes you left with, then a strong wheel is what you desire. Look for a higher spoke count that you might opt for on a speedy road bike.

The best touring bikes will generally have at least 36 spokes per wheel, tandem touring bike can even go as high as 48. 

Touring bike tyres

It's incredible how much difference a set of tyres can make to a bike. The frame can be designed with comfort top of the agenda, but put on some narrow rubber shoes and pump them up to the wrong tyre pressure and you'll be bumping about all over the road.

Most touring cyclists will want to go for wider tyres - 28mm+, when compared with their road racing cousins. The further off the beaten track you want to go, the wider they should be. If you plan on tackling some light trails, look for 32mm+.

Touring bike brakes

Traditionally, touring bikes had rim brakes and these will certainly do the job for most road-based tours. However, disc brakes do provide far superior stopping power, especially in the wet, and they are now more common than rim brake on the best touring bikes

Since disc brakes don't rely upon the rim to bring the bike to a halt, they also reduce the risk of the rims becoming worn through debris building up on the pads.

Add in that many touring cyclists are carrying luggage, therefore adding to the overall load, powerful brakes that work in all weathers do seem like a sensible addition. However, not everyone likes the appearance of disc brakes on a traditional steel machine and the pads are a tiny bit harder to replace and set up, which is worth considering if you're maintaining your bike on the road.

Luggage and Lights on a touring bike

A purpose-built touring bike will come with pannier racks fitted, as well as fenders and perhaps even built-in lights. These all add to the overall weight, but if the intended purpose requires them, it's no bother.

If you plan to use the bike for other purposes, like group rides, then you may want to look for a bike that comes with eyelets for guards and racks, so that you can remove and fit them as and when.

There's a lot of clever luggage solutions around these days, such as frame bags and oversized saddlebags , that allow you to do away with panniers if you'd rather distribute weight differently.

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Dawes Gran Tour 725 2016 v Ridgeback Panorama 2017

Post by LucyP » 22 May 2017, 8:24pm

Re: Dawes Gran Tour 725 2016 v Ridgeback Panorama 2017

Post by pwa » 23 May 2017, 8:40am

Post by bogmyrtle » 23 May 2017, 7:23pm

Post by pwa » 23 May 2017, 7:37pm

Post by LucyP » 24 May 2017, 8:03pm

Post by honesty » 24 May 2017, 9:13pm

Post by pwa » 24 May 2017, 9:27pm

honesty wrote: They're both very good. Basically ride both of them and pick the one you like best. Wheel size is the obvious difference ( and the benefits and down sides of each type have consumed many pages of arguments...) and the spec of the gran tour is slightly higher as well. I have a thorn audax. I've fitted 32mm tyres which do make for a comfy ride, but can't have mudguards with them (well you probably could fit 45mm guards with a bit of cutting around the brakes, there seems to be enough room in the frame). I've toured on it for the last few years and it is good for light loads.

Post by honesty » 24 May 2017, 9:42pm

pwa wrote: honesty wrote: They're both very good. Basically ride both of them and pick the one you like best. Wheel size is the obvious difference ( and the benefits and down sides of each type have consumed many pages of arguments...) and the spec of the gran tour is slightly higher as well. I have a thorn audax. I've fitted 32mm tyres which do make for a comfy ride, but can't have mudguards with them (well you probably could fit 45mm guards with a bit of cutting around the brakes, there seems to be enough room in the frame). I've toured on it for the last few years and it is good for light loads.

Post by pwa » 24 May 2017, 10:27pm

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Dawes frame sizes - or forget Dawes?!

• Thread starter peterpotter
• Start date 24 Feb 2010

peterpotter

• 24 Feb 2010

[SIZE=-1]Hi, I''m 5'6" ish (159 cm) with 29" (74cm) inside leg. I'd like to buy a Galaxy, but the smallest frame size seems to be 54cm, which on paper is much too big. Does anyone out there, my size, ride a Galaxy? Or should I consider a different bike (road touring + gentle off-road) [/SIZE]  

Deleted member 1258

accountantpete

It took some searching - but here you go (the site also states that they do a 52cm Galaxy) http://www.dawescycles.com/t-sizingguide.aspx From the looks a 52cm will be a touch too big.  

Dawes frame... Thanks to both Acountantpete and Dave R, not to mention earlier posters: I had looked at the Dawes sizing site, and also spoke to two Dawes dealers, and received conflicting advice as to whether the standard 54cm frame would suit me. Apparently Dawes are bringing out a 51cm frame for the Galaxy on March 1st. Given Dave R's comment, the 54 frame might be ok, but best option is to jump on and try (no local delaers have one in stock). And any advice from a Bob Marley fan has to be good advice.....  

Legendary Member

• 25 Feb 2010

Are we talking about the new "sloping top-tube" welded Galaxy? The old style 531 lugged framed ones, the 21" would be OK for you, but depending on torso length you might want a shorter stem than standard. My son rides one - he's only 11 y.o. and 5'4" so it really really is too big for him but he's happy enough. However I don't think the sizing can be "read-across" to the newer ones at all because the geometry is very different.  

porkypete said: Are we talking about the new "sloping top-tube" welded Galaxy? The old style 531 lugged framed ones, the 21" would be OK for you, but depending on torso length you might want a shorter stem than standard. My son rides one - he's only 11 y.o. and 5'4" so it really really is too big for him but he's happy enough. However I don't think the sizing can be "read-across" to the newer ones at all because the geometry is very different. Click to expand...

Quite dreadful

Welcome peterpotter. I'm no expert at all, but I wanted to buy a completely different Dawes last year, and thought I could save some money by buying it on-line. I went through the same thing of getting advice about the right frame size. My advice is this....get down to your local bike shop and try out different sizes. Then buy it there. After-sales service is zero from on-line stores, and worth a huge amount. Good luck. Yes, you may have to travel to a LBS, but the journey will be shorter than the one to a web store.  

Headgardener

Armchair cyclist.

Hello PeterPotter I am 5'7" tall and also have a 29" inside leg so a Galaxy would have been to big for me. So I went for a 48cm Dawes Horizion which also goes down to 43cm. Although I bought mine on Ebay my LBS has always been helpful with any problems. P.S The Horizion was also about £400 cheaper than the basic Galaxy.  

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Dawes Announce An Evening With… 2023 Tour

by Alli Patton October 20, 2022, 12:36 pm

Indie folk rockers Dawes will be hitting the road , bringing fans across the U.S. on their An Evening With… Tour in support of their eighth studio album Misadventures of Doomscroller .

Videos by American Songwriter

“We’re back to the Evening With format,” the band detailed on their Instagram . The format excludes an opening act and sees the band perform two to three hours worth of career-spanning hits. “2 sets. Just us. Long nights. Full hearts. Buy tickets. Come early. We’ll all have to break out the catalog master lists and bingo cards as we try to get to every song we’ve got.”

See a full list of shows, below.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dawes (@dawestheband)

Dawes released Misadventures of Doomscroller in July of this year. Touring the album will take them across the country, kicking off in Birmingham, Alabama, with stops in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Seattle, before concluding with a hometown show in Los Angeles, California on May 5.

General on-sale begins Friday (Oct. 21) at 10:00 a.m. local time.

March 2 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City March 3 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern March 4 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium March 5 – Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall March 7 – Bloomington, IN – Bluebird March 8 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre March 10 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall March 11 – Harrisburg, PA – XL Live March 12 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre March 14 – Ridgefield, CT – Ridgefield Playhouse March 16 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia March 17 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner March 18 – New York, NY – Beacon Theatre April 6 – Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum April 7 – Houston, TX – The Heights April 8 – Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater April 11 – Fayetteville, AR – JJ’s Live April 12 – St Louis, MO – The Pageant April 14 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre-WI April 15 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre April 16 – Lawrence, KS – Liberty Hall April 18 – Wichita, KS – Wave April 19 – Denver, CO – Ogden Theatre April 20 – South Salt Lake, UT – The Commonwealth Room April 22 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre April 23 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall April 26 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore April 27 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern April 28 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern May 5 – Los Angeles, CA – The Theatre at Ace Hotel

Photo by Harrison Haake / American Songwriter

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