Over the past 2 weeks or so, I've added another 3 bikes and 2 framesets to the collection.
Amongst them is a "Dawes Dorado" frameset.
It looks about mid 1960's, its weight suggests it might be 3 tubes straight gauge 531 at best or alternatively a reasonable high carbon steel throughout. Seatpost size seems to be an easy 26.2mm or a tight 26.4mm.
Predminently a blue gray colour, the headtube is white, with usual "Dawes Cycles Ltd Birmingham" badge attached (one rivett is missing and has be replaced with a screw).
"Dawes" is in a white script on the downtube, "Dorado in a similar although much smaller script is on both sides of the forward part of the top tube, and a foil type decal, with thin blue and wider white bands surround the Olympic 5 rings on the seat tube.
Lugs are quite intricate with head tube lug cutouts being filled with red, and yellow lug lining also on the headtube.
The bottom bracket has an oiler, and braze ons are as follows:
*Brake outer cable stops incoperating pump pegs under the top tube. As the stops are offset to the right, the pump pegs curve back to the left in order to centre the pump.
*Rear derailleur braze ons only, including downtube boss, 1 downtube cable stop and 2 right chainstay cable stops.
*Lamp boss on the rhs of the front forks
Rear dropouts have no deraileur boss and have a slight resemblemce to earlier Cyclo's in that there is a small locating 'tang' forward of the dropout entry.
Serial # on the lhs rear dropout appears to be JS 3766, although the 'S' is very indistinct and could possibly be an '8' or '3' or similar.
I've checked the Dawes catalog (1964?) on Mark B's site, and although several bikes have some similarities, a Dorado model is not apparent. I've also checked CR Archives and Googled and got nothing.
Can anybody help?
Peter Tutty Londonderry NSW Australia.
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