Palmer

I've owned a Dawes Double Blue since about 1980 - 81. I bought the frame after crashing a Raleigh Record. I've always loved the ride, but the build quality is somewhat questionable. One of the rear dropouts broke sometime in the mid-eighties. The frame was warranted for life, so I took the frame back to the importer who, at the time, was headquartered in Connecticut. The fellow there was very nice about giving me a replacement frame. In retrospect, it was probably the last Double Blue frame brought into the US. I remember that there was a gorgeous red frame sitting on a stand, and the fellow told me that it had been built by the Dawes workers as a special project in the "skunk works". I've always wondered what happened to that frame. A few years ago I decided to refurbish my frame, so I stripped off the paint. When the paint came off, I discovered that the brazing was the sloppiest I've ever seen! Globs of brass in some spots, gaps in others. I'm actually kinda surprised the bike stays together. I'll never part with my Double Blue, and I still love the ride, but I'll never buy another Dawes.