New Dawes 26"

[bretonbikes]

Please forgive if this has been mentioned before but... at last... we have a major manufacturer offering 26" expedition style touring bikes again - http://dawescycles.com/product/coast-2-coast-26/. At Breton Bikes we went all 26" 23 years ago and I have had to source bikes specially made for us from Orbit (at times when they are trading...). Now there is an alternative.

I know there are many who will disagree but with millions of miles of touring on all sorts of paths and roads the 26" wheel should be the 'standard' for anyone doing serious touring - there's one of my usual long-winded articles here - http://www.bretonbikes.com/generalartic ... 6inch.html - which explains my experience and reasoning.

I've been nagging Dawes (who supply our tandems) for years over this and even forwarded my article - and I like to think I may have had some influence - but even if not I couldn't be more pleased. All they need to do is produce a butterfly-bar model as well and all our needs could be met by an off-the-peg bike. Brilliant;-)

[rollinbone]

One alternative was always Koga Signature. I bought one in 2008 - its still going
26" wheels and they do butterfly bars as well - the point of the 'Signature' is you can pick stuff to put on the frame via website.
(I believe Mark Beaumont cycled round the world on a bigger framed version with 700 wheels)
The frame also has fixing points for both types of brakes
I got mine delivered to 'Cyclesense' (Tadcaster, Yorks)

[honesty]

Had not seen that. Combination of Alivio and sora parts but no worse for it I think. Looks really nice actually. I may wait for the end of the year and pick one up cheap! Theres also a Gran tour 26" for 1800 quid if you wanted something higher spec. I see they've also brought back their Ti galaxy as well.

Actually looking at the dawes range, they've shuffled their names again. This years super galaxy is last years ultra galaxy, but with rim brakes again (so back to 2012?). Last years super galaxy has disappeared, but the Gran Tour seems closest. The Galaxy classic is a retro modern thing with a quill stem, and the galaxy plus looks to be this years Galaxy. actually looks like theyve dropped disc brakes from their "road" tourers as the ultra galaxy Ti doesnt have them either.

[simonhill]

Why o why have they got drops. Most people after a bike like this want straight bars. Heading for another flop I guess.

[stuartg]

Looks very similar to my recently renovated Sardar!

[largeallan]

" 26" wheel should be the 'standard' for anyone doing serious touring"..WHAAAT?....So anyone who doesn't happen to pedal on the bike YOU prefer, isn't a serious tourer?!!

[pwa]

I like 26" on my Thorn tandem, but for touring on lanes and cycle tracks I much prefer 700c wheels with 36 spokes and 32mm tyres. They roll better. 26" is good where extra strength is needed.

[22camels]

Is the Gran Tour really worth 800 more than the Coast2Coast? From p8 of their 2015 brochure:

"Upgrades over Coast2Coast520 >Reynolds725doublebuttedchromolytouring frame>Reynoldschromoly fork
>ShimanoDeoreXT30speedgears>ShimanoDeoreLXchainset>ShimanoSPDpedals>NVOstem
>BrooksCambiumsaddle>Tubus rearcarrier>Mavic rimswithShimanoDeorehubs"

Better drivetrain and better wheels maybe, but not sure I need the rest..

[honesty]

The better grade steel would a few hundred quid I think, so yeh I'd guess its about right. The whole range is over priced in my opinion, but then again no one pays full RRP for Dawes do they? You can get massive discount son them usually. I mean the halo model is very nice but not worth 2.8k...

[promeneur]

The only good thing about 26" wheels is you can find spares rims,spokes or tyres in most remote place.
For me,700 and drop bar is much more fun...
But for one year in south america ,the dawes 26" really looks a great choice.nice bike and not so expensive.

[bretonbikes]

" 26" wheel should be the 'standard' for anyone doing serious touring"..WHAAAT?....So anyone who doesn't happen to pedal on the bike YOU prefer, isn't a serious tourer?!!

Not at all and I think you're taking deliberate slight there - it's just if you're doing serious loaded touring then I believe that 26" should be the 'standard' with people needing reasons 'why not' rather than the current situation which is 700c as the 'standard' and 26" being both rare and only available as very expensive models - even the £1000 for the Dawes is not pocket money. It's my opinion based on my experience (which I believe is unique - though not uniquely valid of course) - tens of thousands of cycletourists and most manufacturers disagree - doesn't make me wrong though;-)

[Heltor Chasca]

Why o why have they got drops. Most people after a bike like this want straight bars. Heading for another flop I guess.

My last bike had straight bars. My Surly DT has got drop bars. Can't imagine having anything else now. In my opinion, Surly haven't got it wrong and I'm pretty sure this Dawes will fly off the shelves. I like it...hc

[pwa]

I think we need to let people know why drops are preferred by many: the fact that they put your hands in a more ergonomically acceptable position (over the brakes) than straight bars, reducing wrist problems on long rides. Straight bars require bar ends to give a similar position, but they take your hands away from the brakes. I would hate to do a long tour with straight bars.

[foxyrider]

I think we need to let people know why drops are preferred by many: the fact that they put your hands in a more ergonomically acceptable position (over the brakes) than straight bars, reducing wrist problems on long rides. Straight bars require bar ends to give a similar position, but they take your hands away from the brakes. I would hate to do a long tour with straight bars.

It doesn't end there either, the whole issue of body ergonomics is regularly overlooked, for the best comfort for extended time in the saddle our upper body needs to be as relaxed as possible whilst giving us control and performance as we need it. Ask yourself a couple of basic questions about your upper body:

where, alignment wise, do my hands like to be?
what position are my neck, chest, upper arm muscle groups most relaxed?

This isn't where you think they should be but where they want to be if you stand and relax with your arms at your sides.

Done that? I'd be surprised if less than 99% of you don't get the same result:

hands flat to your thighs
arms hang straight down from the shoulders

This is your default comfort position. Lift your arms and strangely your hands are ready to drop onto the brake hoods of a drop bar set up, measure your relaxed shoulder width - the range from narrow to broad shouldered is only about 10cm but even 2cm will make a difference to comfort - this size eg 42cm, is your bar width. Its not rocket science but it is well proven. Of course this is only a part of the story, reach, saddle height etc all contribute but get this bit wrong and all the rest are pretty meaningless!

Ergon bars, bar ends, even butterfly bars (most are far too wide) are all, at the end of the day poor compromises and attempts to give comfort from a system never intended for extended riding. Yes I know plenty of people do all sorts of stuff on straight bar machines that doesn't mean they couldn't be more comfortable with a different set up.

[bretonbikes]

I think we need to let people know why drops are preferred by many: the fact that they put your hands in a more ergonomically acceptable position (over the brakes) than straight bars, reducing wrist problems on long rides. Straight bars require bar ends to give a similar position, but they take your hands away from the brakes. I would hate to do a long tour with straight bars.

It's another example of the 'standard' being wrong. The vast majority of people you see touring will do so on flat (or variants) bars - only a small minority benefit from the advantages of drop bars. That said the range of positions on some bars like 'butterfly' is far more than 'flat' - it's just that none I've seen allow the wrist to roll into the natural position with the relaxed thumb being in line with the fore arm.