Man, you guys are putting the pressure on! LOL

I just inspected the bike looking gor a clue as to it's vintage. I found this stamped on the bottom of the BB. Could it be the date of manufacture? If so, could it be a 1969 model?

I'm working on a 1980 Fuji Gran Tourer SE. It's a mutt, with many of the original parts missing. The plan is to make it into a 1 X 7 gravel bike, hopefully bettering my bike mechanic skills along the way, and getting to test out some vintage equipment I haven't ever had the pleasure of using before.

I was looking my new prize over this weekend and the wheels are Sunshine 5345 wide flange hubs with alloy rims.

I think those are probably decent enough wheels. Any markings for the rims?

If early 70s, that predates the SunTour stuff I referenced above but it wouldn’t look out of place anyhow.

There is a very light Sugino Maxy 3 bolt crank that is really cool but unusual to find (usually not that expensive).

You could also probably update the bottom bracket to a Shimano cartridge and have worry free maintenance! They come in tons of widths and are bombproof.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/25536137230...UAAOSwodhh90hD

https://www.ebay.com/itm/31386703028...AAAOSws9diAepS

https://www.ebay.com/itm/25515786942...MAAOSwORFhViKo

Thanx!

You're welcome. The Super Maxy is the one I was talking about above...three bolt

I don't think there is way to figure it out based on serial number as I hear all the records were lost when the factory burned down. I haven't come across anyone saying they can tell from the serial number (but I sure would be interested if anyone can). Also mine is a 1970 and it doesn't have "70" anywhere in its serial number.

I don't consider the markings pictured to be a serial number since they weren't marking serial numbers on the BB until '78 or so, according to this source: https://dawescycles.wordpress.com/po...mber-location/
In fact, the numbers in my pic are pretty crudely stamped and a couple of them actually dented the BB housing. I've perused what few catalogs and spec sheets there are on the Galaxy and according to the color and hardware, my bike could be anywhere from a mid-60's ( or whenever Simplex started making the infamous Prestige from Delrin) to a 1974. Since they are/were so popular in England, I was hoping someone across the pond could shed some light.

I guess I'm forever destined to refer to it as an "early 70's model".

Is that remnants of a Reynolds 531 sticker at the top of the seat tube? If so, those can give clues as to age, e.g., before Ti Investments purchased Reynolds and put their name on the decal.

I'm sure those guys know more about Dawes than I do, but according to that my serial number (and yours) ought to be on the non drive side drop out. It's not there on mine (mine's on the bb). So it would appear what they're saying isn't really definitive.

This is my phones home screen, my Galaxy with the basic upgrades of the day. It already had the Suntour derailleurs and I did the Maxi cranks installed with an old MTB bb. I also did a repaint of the black and blues, including the white and gold details.

Rides better than it looks


I was able to date mine with the stamping on the saddle frame to 1969

It's likely the RD is original to the bike. There should be a date code stamped on the inner cage.

good to know. I'll check it and see.

And the drop-outs are of course ready for bolts to attach those full fenders. A bike I'm riding a lot these days has a British frame built in 1961; this too has drop-outs ready for bolts for attaching fenders. However, they're not for any metric bolts. (My uneducated guess would be that they're for BSC.) I don't know when the change to metric threads took place (and presume that it took several years). I imagine that others here will know a lot more than I do.

Likely Whitworth threads.
Options are find the correct fasteners, drill out and tap UNC, drill out and run a bolt & nut.

https://www.jrcengineering.com/techn...itish-threads/

Drilling out would probably be my best option. Although Ive had a number of 60s British cars and motorcycles, I doubt I have anything left of that era in my 20 year box.

i finally got out to the barn to check on this. what looks like a year, "72", is stamped on the backside of the Simplex derailleur. Given the bike's history, i have no reason to believe its not original to the bike. 1972 seems to jive with the build of the bike. And then there's this

remnants of what looks like a pre-TI Reynolds sticker?

Lovely vintage details on the forks

That’s going to be a really nice build no matter how you go about it.

Yeah, I'm not crazy for the yellow, and its poor condition might be a good excuse for a respray. But i think I should make it rideable first.

Shamelessly posting a pic of the Huret Challenger RD for reference, but at least I'm using my own Dawes thread for it eh.

Thinking abou upgrading to a Shimano set thats available, and moving the Huret to the RH Lenton Sports project.

Here's the Dawes to date. Huret Challenger set replaced the Simplex Prestige set. Sunrace shifters have replaced the broken Simplex since the pic. Might be just a temporary measure til I decide either downtube or bar-end shifters. Meanwhile, the bars remain unwrapped pending that decision. Still riding it and debugging. Considering swapping the 42T ring with a 40T from my "parts" Raleigh GP. And the fenders I bought are still in the box. Not sure I'll install or just leave it as a demi-course.