WP Addicts Anonymous

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Glad to see that you are back Raleigh. How's Australia for you?

There's something strange about that short film. It is almost as if they are held up with string or something...

I see Raleigh's fallen off the wagon

Welcome back, fellow cat lover!

^ I used to have a Trek BMX , it was the raddest bike I ever owned , I could never do it justice

I missed the BMX craze when they arrived in Britain in the warly to mid 1980's. They were way to expensive even secondhand. My parents bought me a 12 speed Falcon (Most bikes were 10 speed in those days) and it was great. I went miles on that until I finally grew out of the seatposts length... I sold it along with another three bikes and a roadworthy MOT'd moped I had and with an extra £60 saved on top, on december 1st 1989 I bought my Dawes Galaxy touring bike. I still have it today. It is one of the few bikes that I have kept, and it rides just as well as it did back then. It is basically the same except every single part bar the frame and forks has been changed over the years... It looks the same apart from the replacement rear carrier provided under warranty when the origional one broke about a month into owning the bike... I once did around 5 to 6 thousand miles a year on it or thereabouts. I have made subtle little upgrades but kept the bikes origional character and ride qualities.

Good to see you again, Raleigh. So good to read the lightning exchange of wit again I admire from afar.

This reminds me of why I left Nevada

It has to be as it has been ridden and ridden and ridden. I nearly went to sell it once and I am really glad I didn't, as the newer versions they make today (They still make them) are not quite as good. They are not bad... But to me the 1989 version was the best to have. 1988 and before they were made for the 27" wheel size. They did have nice curly lugs though. 1987 and before they had centre pull brakes and not cantilevers. I believe they also had a double chainset rather then a triple on this year or before. Slightly earlier then that (About 1985 and before at a guess) they had steel wheels and were not full 531.
1990 onwards they had vertical dropouts. Around 1993 onwards they had more durable paintwork. However, as the years approached to the millenium they dropped the 531 frames in favour of 631 and then started altering the much proven geometry... Still nice bikes but I preferred them as they were as when they followed rhe modern trends of dropping the top tube with a smaller frame and altered geometry to increase seated pedalling efficiency, the ability to get a dropped gear range effect by standing on the pedals was lost (The old standing on the pedals technique enabled riders to ride tall gears up steep hills. Todays bikes need the lower gears because their geometry works against standing on pedal riding techniques... Yes it can be done, but modern bikes are not as great, so one may as well eep to the saddle!)
So in conclusion, 1989 was the very best year to get a Dawes Galaxy. The last of the horizontal dropout machines which also had the newer 700c wheels. The bery best of all worlds!

I had zillions of miles on one of these:


I'm looking for another, not an easy thing to find. Ebay failed me today.

_________________
"Standing on a well-chilled cinder, we see the fading of the suns, and try to recall the vanished brilliance of the origin of the worlds."
-Georges Lemaitre
"I fly through hyperspace, in my green computer interface"
-Gem Tos