Saturday 8 July 2017

Dawes Ultra Galaxy 853; making more out of an ace bike, Pt 2 of 3...


So.... time to get a disc brake on the front, and not having the correct spoke lenghts needed (that would be 285mm) i handed the front rim and Deore hub into local bike shop  Mikes Bikes who soon had the wheel laced up in a couple of days...


Searching on eBay turned up an unused still boxed Avid BB7 Road Disc brake calliper and disc at a `Buy it Now` price that saved £25 on a new off the shelf item so i hit the Buy button!...

After being miss sold a non Dawes Disc fork with incorrect for a Dawes Galaxy steerer length and axle to crown length and weight that says it is cheap steel and not a Reynolds steel i have now returned for a refund.
As i should have originally done i ordered a Surly `Disc Trucker` fork that has the same axle to crown length as the Ultra Galaxy and which arrived in under 48 hours from SJS (St Johns Cycles)


Stripping the short Canti brake cable from the bars before removing the stock fork...


I then measured the stock Dawes steerer tube length to then cut the Surly fork steerer to same length...


And used my steerer cutter tube-home made by a friend!...


Steerer tube cut and smoothed with some M40 paper then i inserted and knocked in the star nut...



Lower headset race needed seating which a hand sliding tool made easy work of...

Surly fork on, and due to no spare steerer tube spacers i left the allen key locking Canti brake mount on as it also works as a lock to keep the headset secure...


Before fitting i stripped the Avid BB7 calliper and Copper Greased the adjuster and back of the break pads before refitting....




Back on and trued up and ready to go...

I had to fit a longer new front cable which required a bit fettling to route ...


How i do it is remove the pivotal plastic item that holds the cable and thread the cable through it and gently pull and if needed use a small flat bladed screwdriver to get it into place, grease on it holds the plastic end caps in place and it onto the brake cable nipple...


It`s a wee faff but this way is a bit easier!...


Using a Road Avid BB7 road brake calliper you have to fit the supplied cable adjuster...

Ready to roll...
With blue skies today and a mid afternoon high tide not ideal for beach riding on my Fatbike i took the Dawes for a short local loop of around 10 miles on local gravel roads...



Some new signs for the recent;y resurfaced tracks through Binning Woods...


Big sky! as i headed around Tyninghame and on to Seacliff...







Combines will be out in a couple of weeks to harvest the Barley that is nearly ready!...








Across some of Becky`s Strip byway before home via some of the John Muir Way...




Loads of stuff like this for riding a bike set up like this around here...


Part 3 of 3 will be finishing the project with fitting a rear disc brake once i source all the parts needed...
More soon...

2 comments:

  1. Was wondering where the had to be returned non Dawes fork came from? Looking at one on EBay claiming to be Dawes - Bankrupt bike Parts.
    I'm after a fork with low rider bosses and discs...

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    Replies
    1. Hi Simon, that was where i purchased the fork, Bankrupt bike Parts.
      The Surly Disc Trucker 700c fork i used has mid fork holes, what your looking for, and correct axle to crown height and a long steerer to cut to suit.

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