whoberman

Hello everyone,

I inherited my fathers old Dawes bicycle that he used to ride when he was 17 years old. I believe it is a 1970’s era bike. I am having the drivetrain inspected and rebuilt to be safe to ride again as it has been in storage for many years. I also purchased a new brooks saddle and leather bar tape for it to be more comfortable and period correct. I am looking for any information on how to gently clean this bike up and if needed replace parts while maintaining its old classic look. My goal is to make this bike look nice but also be functional for me to ride on a regular basis. If I have to replace parts that break, what are some good options to update the bicycle and keep a classic look? All help is appreciated! Cheers!

juvela

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if you have images of the machine you can upload them to your "member album" on your member page here at the forum, the link is on the right

it is not necessary to make a minimum number of posts to create your member album

forum members can visit the album and post the images into the thread

if the bicycle hails from the early 1970's the two most likely models are the Realmrider and the Galaxy

there is a "mid-'70's" catalogue posted here -

​​​​​​https://bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalo...70s_1.jpg.html

there is a Dawes catalogue archive here -

​​​​​​https://dawescycles.wordpress.com/catalogues/

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whoberman

Thanks for the reference materials. I think through the photos I’ve confirmed 1970’s.

whoberman

Bump***

John E

Pix, please -- see juvela's post, above.

I never owned one myself, but Dawes bikes were somewhat popular when I was a UCLA student (1968-78). I would be interested to see what model your father had.

whoberman

Pic

whoberman

I attempted to post pictures a couple times with no success.

I did however make a photo album on my profile. Hopefully you guys can see that one?

juvela

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​​​​​​https://bikeforums.net/g/picture/23279376

looks to be an early 1970's product; earliest possible year 1971

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bikemig 

Nice bike. It will ride better once you turn it right side up,

We can help you fix that bike up. You will need to overhaul it by replacing the ball bearings and fresh grease. The cottered crank will be a bit of a pain but there are ways of dealing with that.

The rear derailleur may well be fine and simplex made pretty good rear derailleurs but the front derailleur is quite possibly cracked and the shifters are not that great either. You will likely want to replace those. I'd swap the derailleurs and shifters out for suntour. You can find them in a bike co op if there is one near where you live or you can put up a WTB in the C&V for sale forum. Something will turn up at a reasonable price.

You will also want to replace the brake shoes, cables and cable housing, tires, etc.

A brooks saddle would be great for this bike. I ride my Dad's old bike as well (a '93 Bridgestone XO 2). I think you will get a lot of out of this project.

Chuckk

Yours looks very close to mine! Originally, mine had the Simplex derailleurs as well, but I replaced them.
Here's a link to my page, with a link to a Dawes history article Click Here

whoberman

That link didn’t seem to work for me. Do you have e another one by chance? Thanks.

whoberman

if i want to keep the original paint intact, can I wash it and clear the frame? not sure the best way to preserve the patina?

dedhed

​​​​​​Paint Revitalization?

​​​​​​'62' Raleigh: Polishing with Meguiars - experimenting with Fine Cut Cleaner #2

​​​​​​What to use to clean up frame?

Insidious C. 

My guess is you'll find a 71 date code on the rear derailleur inner cage. Beware the TD Cross headset with one million tiny ball bearings. I would clean the frame using above mention products, then apply a quality wax. Fun bike you have there!

Vintage Schwinn

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/cl...-paint.200259/

There is a cat named HARPO on the C.A.B.E. that is the best that I have ever seen at cleaning up bicycles. He has perfected methods of making the the original paint look almost like new. There are plenty of HARPO's resto-progress threads there of the his various bikes. He is glad to share his secrets and suggest possible ways. I am certain that the C.A.B.E. folks would like to see a highly pictured resto-progress thread post as well as here on bikeforums.
Those Dawes 10 speeds of the early seventies were beautiful bikes that really rode well, and the SIMPLEX derailleurs were the only items that were really subpar at that moment in time(1971). ...here comes the sunTour.......that was super popular song from Maeda. SIMPLEX 's song Building Junk from their album INFERIOR PRODUCTION failed to make the charts, and they were soon dropped by promoters and also by their record label.

whoberman

Thanks for all the information and reference materials. this will set me up with a solid foundation to see this project through. Cheers!

whoberman

Hi,
Quick question:
When replacing my saddle, do I need to use any locktite on the bolt, to ensure it doesn't back out? or is it just hand tightened?

Pcampeau

Hand tighten only at both the clamp that attaches the saddle rails and the clamp that affixes the seat post inside the seat tube. Be sure and put a bit of grease on the seat post where it goes into the seat tube. This will keep water out and ensure that the post and tube do not corrode together and become inseparable.

merziac

If you are talking about the bolt for the clamp on the rails, the answer is no. These clamps are problematic for slipping from not being able to get them tight enough but once you do, they won't slip.

That bolt/clamp setup is prone to galling, binding and sticking before it gets tight enough.

I use anti seize on the threads so I can get them tightened down all the way, the nuts are thin and often not a good fit for common wrenches, they may be Whitworth or British standard so that can factor into not getting it tight without a well fitting wrench and it can be difficult to lean on it for the effort and challenge of where its at under the seat.

oldbikenewbike

Thanks for the accolades! Actually, I'm (HARPO) on here also! I just use oldbikenewbike here on the Forums just for different moniker.

whoberman

Bump

whoberman

My dad pulled this original saddle from storage… thought it was pretty neat to see.

merziac

If you slather that original saddle up with something a little thinner than Proofide, it will slow down the cracking and live on as a display piece for a long time to come.

whoberman

Do you have any recommendations for brands of proofide that’ll be good for that little project?

merziac

I use Langlitz leather dressing from here in PDX, it has silicone which many here say not to use, it works great for me and I've been using it for 10yrs so....

Some use Obenhaufs, Saddle soap, Sno-seal, etc.

Your saddle just needs to be preserved as is so I don't think it matters much what you use, others may disagree and we need to ask @rhm to weigh in.

You can do a search to and see what you find, it has been debated ad nauseam many times.