"SLIDING DAWES" in Cycling Plus, March 2021 (magazines get ahead of themselves) - an article by Rob Ainsley.
So, farewell Dawes Galaxy. Is the touring bike an endangered
species? Or will things go full cycle?
Scimitar Oryx; Candango Mouse; Aru Flying Fox; Dawes Galaxy…
going, going, gone. (The first three are extinct/near-extinct mammals, not
brand names. Though they do sound respectively like a gravel, folding and
triathlon bike.)
But yes. Dawes has discontinued the iconic tourer. No longer
viable. It has gone to meet its frame maker in Taiwan. That’s sad. It was a
nostalgic exemplar of the English-pattern steel touring bike, the sort you see
in chirpy 1950s films: drop bars, comfy upright position, mudguards, rack,
panniers. When ‘energy gel’ was the meat paste in sandwiches.
But self-supported long-distance journeying, like nostalgia,
isn’t what it was. Bikepackers cycle rackless now as they explore remote,
unmanaged places, such as the bottom of their saddlebag as they rummage in vain
for their gloves.
And modern, domestic multi-day travel is often super-light.
Why cart a tent when there’s a Premier Inn and Airbnb, or a boutique guest
house in that former youth hostel? Why carry bags if you’re doing the
End-to-End or North Coast 500 in an organised group with support van?
Unencumbered, you can do a 100 miles a day, get it over with quickly, return
home to watch your helmetcam video, see what it was like and decide if you
enjoyed it.
“The Dawes Galaxy tourer has outlasted five prime ministers
and proved rather more trustworthy”
Tastes are changing. I recently contributed to a book on
world cycle tours. Its ‘What to take?’ chapter suggested gravel, road or
mountain bikes – but not tourers. I was taken aback, but the publishers presumably
know their market. Ditto bike retailers, whose websites’ ‘touring’ sections are
virtually all road and gravel models ........................................................................................
Just an extract. Is this why we no longer belong to a Cycling Touring Club? Any other thoughts?
Hi Mike
ReplyDeleteI read this article and thought what a good idea for a 'stir up' article. Though it is rather a shame that our 'model T' tourer has gone nevertheless there are plenty of good tourers out there with rather better specs and just like with cars, things have improved!
I for one am glad that we belong to an all encompassing group not just for tourers but cycling in all its guises!
PS Good idea to do a bit of stirring 'though
PPS re modern tourers see https://www.cyclist.co.uk/buying-guides/4377/best-touring-bikes
Thanks Geoff for the link. Is the Ridgeback Voyage Ludo's trusty steed? Have discovered that I can read Cycling Plus online through Cumbria Library's web set up. Good to be out on the bike after the icy weather. Mind you, the cold was good for boggy terrain walking/jogging up the Caldew.
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