Dawes Galaxy Rebuild - Wrong answers only please

A few weeks ago, after many years and alot of cycling/touring, and a final few hundred quid, I felt like I had finally finished my cross-check. So much so I decided to build a single speed as it was too good for the real world every day... and then the cross-check got stolen.

Which left me with this dawes galaxy single speed (which is now striped for some rust treatment in the mean time) I've since bought a second hand pinnacle for the good condition Shimano 105 R7000 groupset on it (why is it easier to buy an entire bike than buying groupsets?!)

So far I'm leaning towards getting it professionally repainted, and rebuilding with the 11speed 105 groupset. Am I crazy? is worth it? any better ideas? is this frame worth the investiment?

Dont tell me to make it a 3x7, after riding this 2x11, I will never go back... and I destroyed the crankset getting it off :)

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I think you should go 3x7

Or get disc mounts and go full Di2 hydro discs

And build it up with steel rims for the wheels

Am I crazy? is worth it? any better ideas? is this frame worth the investiment?

no yes no I don't know

I deserved that.

Those are good enough odds for me!

So far I'm leaning towards getting it professionally repainted

I wouldn't bother, but if you do, then sick fluo fadez please. Or that splatter style GT did in the early 90s.

and rebuilding with the 11speed 105 groupset.

Fair enough.

Am I crazy?

You should check with a medical professional about these things

is worth it? any better ideas? is this frame worth the investiment?

Yes. Custom titanium. Yes (small investment only).

Neo retro forever. 11s drivetrain, square taper cranks, silver parts everywhere. Paint it BONE WHITE with BLOOD RED decals.

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https://bikepacking.com/news/readers-rig-jonathans-dawes-super-galaxy/

rim brake version of this, do it king :non_problematic_version_of_the_ok_hand_emoji:

Do it, I love these frames. Be aware the headset is probably JIS which means if you want to replace it with an ISO headset you'll need to dremel 0.2mm out of the headtube and cut down the crown race seat on the fork - it's a 5 minute job for a framebuilder.

Nice one thanks. I did end up stripping the headset apart this morning, I had decided against it after the nightmate of the crank and BB removal, but figured it couldnt get worse than those! Any ideas of a good frame builder in london? I'm also looking out for a frame building course/workshop

Winston Vaz (Varonha Frameworks) SE13.

Yep Winston is the bee's knees if you can get to Hither Green. He did exactly this for me a few years ago. And his brother Mario will paint the frame for you next door. If you're not in SE and decide against paint then the forum can probably find you someone more local.

How about move the bosses for 650b rims? Cushy tyres on a Galaxy would be great.

I have Shimano SL-BS50 bar end shifters that came off a Galaxy, I guess a newer model? 3x7 though... :)
+1 for 650B.

I've been considering this for a while on mine. The bb is pretty low. I guess that's fine if the tyre width makes up for it, but there isn't much clearance front or back on these 90s frames.

Presuming you've already cold set the rear spacing?

I have an old Galaxy that I've gradually upgraded over many years and it's brilliant. It really comes into it's own when it's fully-loaded: It's totally solid and on rails.

Nothing wrong with R7000 although you might need easier gearing than 50/34t for fully-loaded touring. You can replace the R7000 chainset with GRX to sort that out. I think you need to replace the front mech as well (?) but everything else should work. I run an old Deore triple on mine and am always using the 28 x 32 granny gear. There are loads of other options for easier gearing if that doesn't suit.

I'd get dynamo lights as well : )

+1 for Winston if you need extra braze-ons (headset faff / 650b / dynamo routing etc), and Mario Vaz for the paint.

seem to remember using one of these on my Dawes horizon tourer which had the same JIS issue

https://winstanleysbikes.co.uk/m-part-elite-threaded-headset?gclid=Cj0KCQiAlsv_BRDtARIsAHMGVSZIZ_O2_ngGMn36HtPkgg3Y8tv1l0kd9aeocGDkdftsqniX9WFlIoUaAksVEALw_wcB#black-1-

Am I crazy? is worth it? any better ideas? is this frame worth the investiment?

Were you riding it SS before? If so, do you like the way it rides? If not convert it back to SS and ride it first. If you do like it, then proceed.

In almost every case no frame is ever worth respraying. With this sort of frame it will add a tenner at most. Clean it, polish up with T-Cut, and wax.

First thing to check before spending any money is the brakes you have work with your wheels. My Dawes CX of a similar vintage has narrowly spaced canti bosses that makes it hard to find canti's that work. The rear is bodgeable. The front was a fucking nightmare and I switched the forks.

Scrapping the 7 speed is understandable as you have a narrower choice of parts. But anything 8 speed and up works well and has a good range. 9 speed Shimano is more or less cross compatible across mtb and road.

Pretty sure my Galaxy takes normal ISO headsets... I've had 105, Campag and Chris King on there with no issues.

I'd just build it up as is with a combination of nice-but-cheap second hand parts (seat post, stem, handlebars, brooks, pedals, brakes, cranks), and then buy new all the consumables and silver 105 groupset parts you need. Shouldn't cost too much and then you can ride it for the next year before deciding if you like it and whether you should splash out on new paint, frame alterations, 650b wheels down the line.

I'm not sure what period they did JIS but it can't have been long. My frame & stickers looked near identical to this and it was JIS. I think it's early/mid 90s although I might be wrong. Easiest way to check the standard is to remove the crown race from the fork and measure the diameter of the fork crown "seat". Or try bang an old ISO race on it - it won't go.

If it is JIS there's nothing wrong with just keeping your headset, or buying another JIS one. Going ISO would give more options & might be cheaper.

Subbed! I just got one of these too (1997 flavour in green). Planning on doing much the same thing as you with it.

Awesome! Currently decided for a bath-tub rust treatment and a can of spray paint as a cheap option. Will see how it looks and decide on powdercoating after that!

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I've bought the same bike/frame, a few month back, in its original setting I believe. Love it.
Do you know from what year (of the 1990s) it is? Couldn't find out.

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