In the early 1990′s, there weren’t nearly as many available touring bike models as there are today. It was during this time that mountain bikes were becoming mainstream and the image of the rough and tough off-road rider was attracting first-time cyclists to the sport/activity in a way that had never occurred before.

At the time, the touring bicycle was at the opposite end of the cycling spectrum and hidden in the shadow of the mountain bike. The touring bike, therefore, was a minority purchase.

For British cyclists in the 1990′s, there were two main touring bikes to choose from:  The Raleigh Randonneur and the Dawes Galaxy. Both were iconic touring bicycles with steel frames and forks, Brooks leather saddles, Continental tires, and paint jobs that would never go out of fashion. But here we are in the 21^st century: The Raleigh Randonneur is no longer and Dawes now sells three different models of the Galaxy touring bike.

The question is… What makes the Dawes Galaxy such a popular seller? How does its design compliment the long-distance cyclist? Does the Galaxy truly live up to its reputation? And most importantly, should you purchase one for yourself?

What Makes The Dawes Galaxy Ideal For Bicycle Touring?

The Dawes Galaxy family, which today includes the Galaxy, Super Galaxy, and Ultra Galaxy, is a range of off-the-peg touring bikes that are ready to use straight off the showroom floor. Manufactured in the far east, but sold mainly in the UK, they come equipped with rear carriers (also known as “racks”), mudguards (“fenders”), bottle cages and are fitted with a group set that, even at the lowest price point, is capable of handling any terrain. After purchasing a Galaxy for yourself, just add a set of panniers and you’re ready to hit the road!

Similar to most touring bike models, Dawes uses steel framesets (frames) on their bicycles; Reynolds 631 butted tubing on the Galaxy and Super Galaxy, and Reynolds 853 butted tubing on the Ultra Galaxy. Steel is a good choice for touring bike models because it gives riders a comfortable yet responsive ride with the bonus that running repairs are a possibility if the worst were to happen and your frame were to crack or break. ‘Butted’ simply means that the frame tubes are thicker at the ends where they are welded together (which makes the weld stronger) and thinner in the middle (which saves weight). If you tap a butted tube with your finger, for example, the sound changes as you move from thick to thin tubing.

Every frameset in the Galaxy range has braze-on mountings for front and rear carriers, mudguards and water bottle cages. These ready-made fixing points offer a secure home for heavily laden carriers and almost anything else you might like to bolt on. All models have two bottle cage fittings, with an option for another below the down tube – a handy place to put the fuel for your cooking stove.

A Tubus carrier is fitted on the rear of each bicycle. These are super high-quality racks normally only seen as an aftermarket purchase, but come included with each Galaxy model.

The Galaxy’s chromoly front fork is ready to accept a front carrier if necessary (but a front rack is not included with each bike). That said, anyone contemplating a self-supported tour would be wise to consider fitting front carriers as they not only they let you carry more gear, but they make the bike more stable, and therefore easier to ride.

Finally, a pair of SKS full-length mudguards help to keep you and the bicycle clean.

The wheels, brakes and drive train on the Dawes Galaxy are also designed with the long haul in mind. After a good quality frame, all bikes benefit from a good pair of wheels. With touring bikes, reliability is the overall aim of the wheel builder as the fatigue that heavy loads and rough roads bring to these components is the touring cyclist’s greatest problem. Even the basic Galaxy has Shimano hubs, stainless steel spokes and double wall alloy rims. In an effort to make the ride more comfortable, and to offer a little insurance to the wheels, the bicycle’s tires are wider than what you find on a traditional road bike, which helps the bike to carry your extra weight and absorb bumps in the road. Finally, all three Galaxy models are equipped with 700×32 Schwalbe Marathon tires. The Schwalbe Marathon is a popular choice among long-distance riders because of their reliability and low wear rate.

The basic Galaxy has a Deore rear derailleur married to a pair of Dura Ace bar end shifters, whilst both the Super Galaxy and the Ultra Galaxy have Tiagra STI gear levers and upgraded front and rear derailleurs. The gear shifters mounted on the bars are great for first time cyclo-tourists because you can still control the bike while changing gear. One of the first surprises that newcomers get is how unwieldy a fully laden bike feels; leaving go of the handlebars is initially a very daunting maneuver.

All three Galaxy models have Shimano cantilever brakes and wide ratio chain sets. Cantilever brakes derived from mountain bikes are the ideal choice for a heavy bike, and naturally a wide range of gear ratios are welcome too. The Shimano chain sets used on the Galaxy and Super Galaxy have ratios of 48/36/26 and the nine speeds rear cog is 11-32, giving a low gear of 21.5”, which should get you up any gradient. The Ultra Galaxy has an upgraded Sugino chain set with slightly higher ratios.

Does The Galaxy Really Come Tour Ready?

While any bike can usually fulfill a number of roles, the Galaxy has the potential to take on most tasks. Okay, it isn’t brilliant as a mountain bike, but as a commuting bike it excels; comfortable, weatherproof, it can carry all your shopping or clothes or laptop, and its not that slow either.

The Galaxy touring bikes do come ready to ride. You won’t have to buy pedals, a rear rack, bottle cages or mudguards. But keep in mind that there are three different models in the range and that the higher up in the range you go, the better these extra add-ons become. The Ultra Galaxy, for example, has the highest quality frame and the best components/equipment.

In order for the Galaxy to truly be tour ready you will need to buy panniers and a handlebar bag or a trailer. A set of lights would be a smart addition as well.

How Can You Purchase A Dawes Galaxy?

Apart from the USA, where there is a brand of the same name, Dawes has distributors in most countries. If there isn’t one where you live, FreeFlow Bikes in Glasgow is the company’s main exporter.

Dawes also has a number of specialist touring bike dealers throughout Great Britain who are able to help you. There is nothing like actually sitting on the bike to see how it fits, but if you know what size bike you normally ride that will be a help. Most professional shops will ask a whole bunch of questions to ensure that you buy the right size bike if you can’t be there in person.

Do You Recommend The Dawes Galaxy?

Yes. The Dawes Galaxy, Super Galaxy and Ultra Galaxy are dependable bicycles that can be used for commuting, touring and more. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, I’d rate the Galaxy line a solid 8. I own two Galaxy bikes myself, my son has one, and I would buy another in the future if I had to.

Arthur Lamy is a tour guide in Jersey, in the British Channel Islands, who specializes in cycling and walking tours. Among the people he has shown around the cycle-friendly island is five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault. He also writes articles, books and cycling/walking guides, in addition to writing a cycling blog for the local newspaper. For 30 years he ran a well-known local bike store.

If you already own a bicycle (a road or mountain bicycle perhaps), but you are unsure as to whether or not that bicycle is capable of handling the demands of the specific type of bicycle touring you wish to conduct, please leave a comment below describing your situation.

In your comment, please tell me:

• What type of bicycle you currently have (Make, model, year and condition).
• What type of bicycle tour you are planning to conduct (There are 5 major types of bicycle tours. See this article for more information).
• Where in the world you are planning to go on your bicycle tour.
• How much gear you plan to carry on your travels.
• Whether or not you plan to camp or cook your own food while you are on tour.
• And what type of road conditions you will be covering on your bike tour (For example: paved roads, gravel fire roads, rocky single-track trails, etc.)

After leaving your comment below, I will reply at my earliest possible convenience with an opinion as to whether or not the bicycle you currently have can be used on your upcoming bicycle tour or whether you need to purchase a touring-specific bicycle that is better designed for the type of bicycle tour that you have in mind.

For additional assistance, please see: The Essential Guide To Touring Bicycles

There is an certain amount of risk any time you decide to venture from the safety of your own home. By participating in a bicycle tour (whether it be a short bike ride near your house or a trip that takes you to a foreign land on the other side of the world), you are going to expose yourself to several potential dangers.

Some of these dangers include:

• Vehicle traffic and the chance that you might be involved in an accident.
• People who wish to do you harm (robbers, perverts, etc).
• Wild animals.
• Pesky insects.
• Exposure to the elements (rain, snow, heat, etc).

These dangers, however, are usually easy to avoid with proper education, planning and preparation.

In fact, these external dangers are minimal in comparison to the mental challenges that you, as a long-distance cyclist, will need to overcome in order to complete your two-wheeled adventure.

While car traffic, wild animals, and axe-murders are the things we, as human beings, tend to fear the most, the true dangers of bicycle touring are the mental blocks that we carry around with us all the time.

These mental blocks include, for example:

• Not being able to mentally handle the demands of riding a bicycle for days on end.
• The fear of the unknown.
• The fear of being alone.
• The fear of other people.
• Not knowing how to manage your time.
• Not knowing how to manage your money.

The question, therefore, shouldn’t be, “Is bicycle touring dangerous?” But instead, “Is bicycle touring any more dangerous than taking a short spin by bike around your home city?”

In most cases, the answer to that question is “no.”

Bicycle touring (whether it be in your home country or in a nation on the other side of the world) is a relatively safe means of travel. And like so may other things in life, your safety when traveling by bike is going to depend upon:

• Where exactly you choose to go.
• The time of year in which you plan to travel.
• Your ability to interact with other people.
• Whether you decide to travel alone or with others.
• Your capabilities as a cyclist.
• Your navigational skills (or lack thereof).
• How well you spend your time and money.
• Your mental ability to solve problems and overcome challenges.
• And, of course, simple common sense.

Outside of the inherent pain that comes with riding a bicycle over long distances, your safety as a bicycle traveler is largely up to you. And for those few potential dangers that exist outside yourself (like traffic, scary people, wild animals, and bad weather), there are things you can do, steps you can take, and lessons you can learn, that will enable you to tackle any of these obstacles should you encounter them on your travels.

Photo by Paul Krueger

Dennis Koomen and his partner, Marijcke, spent fourteen days traveling around Southern Iceland on their bicycles. The video above offers a fantastic glimpse at what cycle touring in Iceland is all about.

This video is of special interest to me at this point in time because I am currently planning my own bicycle touring adventure in Iceland, and watching videos like this one enables me to see what the roads, weather, terrain and lodging options might be like once I arrive in Iceland later this year.

To learn more about Dennis and Marijcke’s Iceland cycling trip, head on over to their website at: www.toko-op-fietsvakantie.nl

Have you ever cycled in Iceland? If so, what was it like? What route did you take? And do you have any tips or pieces of advice for people like myself who are planing trips to the island in the near future? Leave a comment below and let me know what you have to say.

Danish bicycle traveler, Dennis Koomen, created a beautiful twenty-three minute video about his cycle touring exploits in the American Southwest. In the video, Dennis and his female companion travel from Las Vegas, Nevada and make a circle around the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley and a number of other famous Nevada, Arizona and Utah desert landmarks. Watch the full video above and enjoy!