I should call this George Washington's bike...

This is my 1970(?) Dawes Galaxy. It belonged to a friend's father who bought it new and used it to commute 10 miles to and from work. I bought it in late November 2009 after it had been stored in the rafters for about 30 years. The only original parts are the frame, the forks and the stem - everything else had to be replaced. The frame (531 Reynolds) was bead blasted and powder coated a metallic dark green (the original brown was nothing short of horrendous); the metallic shows more in the pictures than in real life. The mechanic at the LBS pinstriped all of the lugs. Both wheels were replaced with 700c so it would be easier to buy tubes and tires. Gearing was upgraded from 10 to 14 speed. The down tube shifters were replaced with bar-end shifters. The saddle is a honey-colored Brooks B17 and the bar tape is brown Velo Orange tape (we missed on matching it with the saddle, but I don't notice it when I'm riding). The original brown fenders were replaced with the aluminum units, seen here. I was going to replace the decals, but cannot find any that are period correct (the oldest I can find are late 70's/early 80's). I still have the original handlebars with the etching, but unfortunately they are a) cracked and b) too narrow for me, thus they are hanging in the garage.

YouÕll also notice that there is virtually no seat post showing. This bike is about 5cm too large for me, I reckon, so IÕm going with the "French" look.

The goal was not to restore the bike, but to repair and upgrade while retaining the classic look. I think we did a good job.

Chris Tolbert
Santa Clara, CA

theboatdude@yahoo.com