Dawes ‘street smart’ Hybrid/Tourer

That’s a cracking picture by the canal!

How did you find carrying panniers on the Viscount? When I had mine on the Colorado I found my heels would sometimes clip the bags because I couldn’t get the bags any further back, I think the Colorado was advertised as a ‘tourer’ in the catalogues as well.
Love that front rack, what brand is it? The Velo Orange stuff is nice but a bit pricey.

Yes, that would be good next summer. I’m trying to coax my missus onto the Mixte but she hasn’t rode a bike for over 30 years!

Haha, all those Dawes names, I get them mixed up and I’ve looked at a few of them. The names are all a bit lame but decent bikes for longer distances.

Nice find Franco, and great photo Sooper8. After the touring season last year, I replaced some gear (tent, sleeping bag, some other stuff) and have not been able to use it since then. My Trek 520 sits collecting dust. My wife and I had been planning to do Le Petit Train du Nord trail in Quebec this year but COVID and a closed US/Canada border killed that idea. Really looking forward to vaccination and 2021!

Brian

I’d be interested to know the length of the rear stays on the Deore if you get chance to measure them Jem. The frame looks like my 400 model which I considered putting a rack on and might still do yet.

Brian - thanks and that’s a shame about the Quebec tour. Hopefully next year we’ll get back to something like normal.

Thanks Jem, looks like 16 3/4 inches looking at the spec sheet. I’ll have a measure tomorrow around a few of the bikes. 

When you think back, new bikes were expensive. Nearly every bike I owned was second hand. 
I think that’s part of the addiction now buying second hand bargains, the Dawes was £50 which is nothing really these days, you could easily spend that in a restaurant. 

Same here Brian, we rarely got new bikes when we were kids and envied some of the older lads on new Racers and then BMX’s. To find some of these bikes now in serviceable condition for £50 and sometimes less it’s hard to resist not buying them. 

I agree about condition and parts as well, in some cases it’s just a deep clean and lubrication, sometimes even the bearings don’t need regreasing or replacing.

The parts were really made to last, it amazes me that a forty year old freewheel can be in better condition than modern cassettes you see on five year old bikes now. Same with chainsets, the heron head crank on my Raleigh is sixty one years old and has no sign of wear! 

Back to the Dawes and some measurements;
The chain stays are 16 3/4 inches, same as my Viscount Aerospace Sport and 400, which has surprised me. All crank arms 175mm. The rear triangle almost looks identical, although the main triangle looks longer/more relaxed on the Dawes. 

The pannier pedal clearance appears to be more the position of the rack as seen here. On a side note the tyres have scrubbed up good, a bit dry on the walls but no urgency to change them at this point. 

51437B84-4B14-498C-B636-20C830CD8242 by Franco_AC, on Flickr

I am using 700Cx32 Schwalbe Marathon tires. There is probably at least 1.5cm of frame clearance horizontally and vertically on both front and rear. There is still plenty of clearance with the rear mudguard but very little (maybe 0.5cm) at the top of the front mudguard. That results from the mounting bracket built into it. I could probably slot out the mounting hole and raise it but have not had any problems.

BTW, I find the 32mm tires to be almost perfect width for loaded touring on pavement or hard packed gravel. Fully loaded I carry about 25 pounds including the panniers and top bag.

The gearing is 3x9, with a 32T largest rear cog and a 24T smallest front. I have only needed the lowest combination a couple of times.

Brian

After going out on this half a dozen times I’ve remembered how nice it is to have a triple on the front.
My initial thoughts were I don’t need all these gears, maybe that’s the effect of riding 3 and 12 speeds for the last year? But those low gears do make life easier and this is by no means a lightweight bike either.

Haha, yeah that damn fog! 

The mills are in Pleasley Vale which is tucked away between Mansfield Woodhouse and Pleasley, you wouldn’t know they were there from the surrounding main roads. It’s a nice stretch to ride but short and I’m struggling to link it up to some decent country lanes. 
There’s a few off road trails but again they don’t really link up with much and they are more dedicated to walkers.

I tried doing a loop going through Woodhouse to Shirebrook then back towards Pleasley through some villages, about 19 miles, but it means using the A60 and some busy B roads which weren’t pleasant at all. I don’t mind traffic in general but when you’ve got lorries going by you at 50 mph you get the feeling you don’t really belong on there. 

Totally with you on that. Some circuits I do from home require some roads that I'd rather not be on too long, and  at certain times of the day in particular 

I decided it’s a ‘keeper’ after a good performance in January, so upgraded the old tyres to Schwalbe Delta Cruisers. Went for cream because I don’t really like all black tyres, they will take some effort to keep clean but I think they compliment the bike nicely.

1A5AA22C-5051-4B48-A5CB-133EA2F4736D by Franco_AC, on Flickr