Dawes Cycles
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| Private | |
| Industry | Bicycle manufacture and accessories |
| Predecessor | Humphries and Dawes Company Ltd |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Founder | Charles F. Dawes |
| Headquarters | Castle Bromwich, West Midlands, England |
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Number of locations
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Castle Bromwich (Head Office) Far East/Asia (Production) Brigg, North Lincolnshire (Assembly) |
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Area served
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United Kingdom |
| Products | Dawes brand including Galaxy and Super Galaxy; Barrosa and Dirty brands |
| Owner | Tandem Group plc |
| Website | www |
Dawes Cycles is a bicycle manufacturer based in Castle Bromwich, England. Dawes produces a range of bikes including road, mountain bikes and tandems, but is best known for touring bikes, specifically the Galaxy and the Super Galaxy model lines.
In 1906 Major Ernest Humphries and Charles F. Dawes set up the "Humphries and Dawes Company" in Birmingham, England. At first, they produced motorcycles and a few bicycles. But after twenty years, the two partners split up, with Major Humphries setting up a motorcycle manufacturer.
Charles F. Dawes set up Dawes Cycles Ltd in Wharf Dale, Tyseley in 1926, with the company building to become a significant brand in the United Kingdom. Charles left the business around 1930, leaving the running to his son Wilfred P. Dawes, a former estate agent, who died in 1993. He had passed control of the business over to his son Richard Dawes in the 1970s.
Primarily marketing itself a racing cycle manufacturer, Dawes made its money and impact through a combination of noted customer service (it would even undertake repairs at the factory), and a broader range of bicycles calculated to meet real working, commuting and leisure needs. The company built good frames with fine paintwork (though usually without rococo lugs), and by making many of their own components (brakes, pedals, mudguards, etc.), ensured that all the components of the finished bicycle were of high quality. Some vintage Dawes cycles have a distinctive curved seat tube that parallels the rear wheel closely, in order to reduce the wheelbase length.
Dawes presented the "Courier" for the 1951 Festival of Britain, which incorporated a number of hints of the future direction for the company's bikes. Hand-built around a lightweight frame with a long wheelbase (comfortable for long-distance touring), it was equipped with a state-of-the-art ten-gear derailleur system, and was fitted with toecaps and saddlebag. This was followed into production with the more specialist "Windrush", a specific-designed touring bicycle and a direct fore-runner of the later "Galaxy". The company's response to the 1960s passion for small bikes was the step-framed "Kingpin", with a three-speed Sturmey-Archer enclosed hub gearing system. In 1971, Dawes first "Galaxy" model appeared, fitted with wide-ratio gears and Reynolds 531 tubing. The Galaxy became the benchmark in the English touring bicycle market.
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Wikipedia