This is a 1994 Dawes Sterling in British Racing Green Metallic with White decals. It is a 19.5″ / 50cm / Medium (center of bottom bracket to top of seat tube) Reynolds 500 Cro-Mo lugged Steel frame with a Cro-Mo steel fork. The stand over height is 29.5″ directly in front of the saddle. 

There are 18 speeds available through the Shimano Altus three ring  chainset with 170mm alloy crank arms and the Shimano 6 gear freewheel. The black pedals have Christophe black plastic cages without straps.

The rear derailleur is a Shimano Altus and the front is also a Shimano Altus. Shifting is through Shimano Downtube mounted Indexed Shifters.

 

Both wheels are Rigida alloy rims drilled for Presta valves laced to quick release Shimano Altus alloy hubs. Both wheels have brand new 700x32c black wall tires. 

Braking is handled by Shimano Altus front and rear cantilevers. The alloy brake levers have white hoods. The non drive side outside hood shows wear.

The black Iscaselle saddle is mounted to a chrome seat post that moves freely in the seat tube. 

SR alloy handlebars are mounted to an alloy stem. The stem is not frozen in the steering tube.

There is a bottle cage on the down tube. There are eyelets for front and rear fenders, braze ons for a rear rack and attachment points on the forks for paniers.

The bicycle rides, turns, stops and shifts through all of the gears and rings as it should.

Before Dawes was the house brand for Bikes Direct, they were a long established independent British Bicycle manufacturer. The Sterling was Dawes touring bicycle for those whose ‘idea of cycle touring is a day out around the highways and byways, rather than a circumnavigation of the globe complete with kitchen sink…’. You probably could cary the kitchen sink if you wanted to as there are all of the attachment points for carrying cargo that a dedicated tourer should have.

For less than the price of a generic Bike Shaped Object that anyone might buy online or from a store that sells bicycles in the Toy Department, you could be riding this vintage bicycle with quality components. The fact that it is still rolling down the road is a testament to how well it was built.

Please examine the photographs and ask any questions you may have about this bicycle or let us know if you need any other photos by emailing us at info@rode-bike.com

 

If any of the terms used in the description are unfamiliar, please check out the Bicycle Jargon page for definitions of common bicycle terms.