mudhoney

Hi friends,

I finally got the decision to buy a 28" bike since my old 1992 MTB Bottecchia Wild Sand, chromoly 26", is slowly coming into the retirement phase (I never calculated but I guess it ran for at least 25k km during these years).
Well, I am Italian from the North West rice lands (town: Novara), 37yrs old, 190 x 85, love the touring on week ends for 200 km around for paths and roads, need a total commuter and touring bike most for every day use
Budget is around 600 euros and Italian manufacturers are very poor for the touring equipment as well for chromoly frames (I don't like aluminium for the CLONG sound it makes when you get down from the pavement....).
So I started searching, read this great think-tank forum (many thanks to the bikers whose suggestions and tips are very helpful) and found out probably the bike I need.
Check out this one: https://www.dawescycles.com/dawes/horizon.htm
It comes shipped to Italy with 550 euros.
What do you think about it?


Ciao

Carlo
Bottecchia WIld Sand 1992 (It goes everywhere)
https://www.provincia.novara.it/turis...vara/mappa.jpg

clayface

The Horizon is a nice bike for the money, but the only chromoly of the bike is in the fork. Dawes stopped building the Horizon in steel years ago and the only steel Dawes bikes are the Galaxy series.

DukeArcher 

Two people I have toured with have both used Horizons and they have tended to be the butt of jokes between us due to all the various small problems they had. Plenty of squeaks, bent spokes, derailleur issues, weak rims, you name it - but, they keep going. Both of these bikes are still being used at the moment. However, if I was going for a Dawes, I'd at least get a Galaxy for it's higher quality everything and steel frame.

onbike 1939

The bike offers great value for money and I've worked on a few by now. Be careful as the top tube tends to be a bit long for most which means buying a shorter stem.

elduderino12

I own one of these and used it for a 4000 mile tour. I have done about 5000 miles on it in total and I have had zero problems with it. No squeaks, no bent spokes, no weak rims and no derailleur issues.

I wouldn't hesitate to use it again for another tour of Europe and if you shop around you can pick them up fairly cheaply.

mudhoney

Thanks for the useful suggestion. I was reading about your adventures around Europe. Unbelievably nice, great pics and feeling! If you are planning a trip to Italy, be sure that I will be happy to support you with a free shower and a safe place for your bike.