1980 Dawes Kingpin.

 I bought this May 1980 Dawes Kingpin recently on eBay for £18.00, complete with very much sort after front rack in nice condition. 

The colour is Burnt Cherry according to the brochure, and cost in 1980 approximately £120.00, significantly more than in 1970 at about £38.00. 

This particular bike is a bit weather beaten, but not a basket case, it needs a good clean, service and the gears need sorting out, they are stuck in one gear at the moment. 

Burnt Cherry Dawes Kingpin. 

The very sort after Dawes front rack with the D lamp holder. 

A bit of patina. 

Update:

I could not get the gears to work, they were seized solid, presumably with 44 year old congealed grease, I poured some degreaser down the axle where the indicator rod goes and that loosened the gears to change, the problem with that though is you need to replace the grease. 

There was nothing for it other than to dismantle the whole hub, service grease and lubricate, then  rebuild the gears. 

A very satisfying 3 hours or so taking it all apart cleaning and rebuilding, using RJ the Bike Guy's YouTube video for guidance.  LINK

Out for a test ride, gears working perfectly 

Another Update: 

I also gave the the chrome handlebars a clean, using a stainless steel wire pan scrubber and some Autosol metal polish. They cleaned up much better than expected.  Not longer after this I sold the bike to another collector.

The Raleigh 20 and 11 reasons why it's shit.

1960s Raleigh 20 Shopper

 The Raleigh Twenty, a copy of the original Dawes Kingpin. 

The Dawes Kingpin was on the market about two or three years before the Raleigh Twenty. Unlike the hand built Kingpin the Twenty was mass produced, and to a very tight budget, resulting in a very cheaply built machine. Raleigh used a lot of penny pinching cheap components, used their own in house bottom bracket which meant it was difficult to fix or upgrade, they used nylon bushes in the headset instead of steel ball bearings, and there where many other cheap components and short cuts. 

Raleigh being a much larger company than Dawes had the budget for mass marketing, and therefore the R20 became a much more successful bike. It was still shit though, the Dawes Kingpin in the opinion of this correspondent, is a much better, more refined, classier machine. 

An update on the Dawes Kingpin.

UPDATE February 2023.

 I finally got around to fitting the new old stock carrier on the Kingpin. I think the colour matches very well.  

DAWES KINGPIN FACEBOOK PAGE

Midland Supreme bike box

I was recently alerted to a Midland Supreme bike box that was on eBay. These are hard to find in good condition. This one was brand-new old stock still wrapped in its factory cellophane wrapper, complete with original label and a price tag for £5.95.

Quite frankly, I’ve never thought I’d ever see the like, it has taken me 12 years to find this one. 

I think this will match the Blue Dawes Kingpin bike perfectly.

When I get around to fitting it to the bike, I’ll post some pictures. In the meantime, here are some photos of the bag – case still in cellophane wrapper, complete with Midland case company label.

DAWES KINGPIN FACEBOOK PAGE

Blue Dawes Kingpin Update.

It’s been a while since I have written about the Kingpin that was the original subject of this blog. 

A quick update. 

Since last update the rear bag has been changed for an age appropriate one and a better colour match, plus today I fitted period and model correct blue handlebar grips, which I’m very please with, they’re very difficult to find. An acquaintance (thank you Marcus) on the Dawes Kingpin Facebook page given them to me, though I realised recent I could have had pair two years ago from another Kingpin that I bought for the Dynohub and subsequently sold.

At the time of writing I have owned this bike a little over 11 years now, and over this time, it’s had four donor bikes, for dynamo hubs and lights, wheels, chain guard, mudguards, head badge amongst other things. 

I have tried to get this as near as original as a new one I had in 1970, the only thing that’s changed is the saddle. The original white saddles are instruments of torture, so I installed a Brooks black B17 a few years ago. It’s a great saddle, very comfortable for all day rides. 

New bag, Brooks B17 saddle & Brooks Challenge saddle bag

Refurbished blue grips. 

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Dawes Kingpin Brochures , Catalogue and Publicity Materials.

The three catalogue scans above, from 1989, display the final Dawes Kingpin models. 

Back of Brochure featuring other Dawes bicycles. 

BELOW IS A LINK TO A 1975 CATALOGUE FROM THE VETRAN CYCLE CLUB SITE. 

1975 Dawes Catalogues from the VCC site

1968 Dawes Price List. 

1968 Dawes Brochure. 

A screenshot of  a 1960s Dawes Kingpin Brochure

Above and below, a catalogue scan from1983 Kingpins including a very rare “Daisy” version. A budget version of the Kingpin without a rack, side stand, and with painted mudguards. 

Price list dated 1983 with the prices of Kingpins at the top. Curiously no price for the Daisy.  

A scan from the 1960s brochure featuring the Dawes Kingpin with Sturmey Archer 3 speed gears. 

A scan from the 1960s brochure featuring the Dawes Kingpin luggage system. 

The gentleman in this photo is a Mr Dawes, grandson of the founder. 

This photo is from the a trade show stand at the launch of the Dawes Kingpin in 1965. 

Scan of Store Display Card

Dawes Kingpin, marketed as a unisex bike. 

Scam of Early Eighties Dawes Brochure

A scan of an article about the Kingpin from a bicycle book. I thing the book is called Let’s Go Cycling by Chris Faiclough. Please correct me if I’m wrong. 

Drawing of child riding a Dawes Kingpin on the front cover of a RoSPA Skilful Cycling book. 

Scan of 1970s Brochure showing the Dawes Zipper, (based on the Kingpin 18), Dawes’ attempt to cash in on the Raleigh Chopper craze. Well, why not, Raleigh stole the idea of the Shopper 20 from Dawes. 

Catalogue scans from the 1980's

Late 1970's KP 18 children's version of the Kingpin.

From the 1960's

Early 1970's

Newspaper Advert from Les Wilkins in Weston Super Mare

Dawes Cycles Price list from 1970.

 I wasn’t wrong when I remembered how much my original Kingpin cost. 

 

Weinmann Brake Calliper Spec sheet