Dawes Audax Century SE

This brand new version of the venerable Dawes Audax may have humble components but the Century SE gives everything you want from an audax bike.

Dawes know a thing or two about building long distance bikes and they're justly proud of their heritage. They've been going since 1926 - look, it says so on the chainstays. Go on any audax or CTC ride and you'll see more than a few, of varying vintages. Carbon may be more fashionable for the sportive crowd, but steel is still real and this retro-styled beauty will tackle anything from sportives to Paris-Brest-Paris.

There are actually two bikes in the 2011 range, the Century SE reviewed here and its cheaper brother the Clubman (Sora running gear, FSA chainset) which is based on the same frame, fork and wheels, but with a powder blue paint scheme and an £849 pricetag. Although you get two sets of bottle bosses, a rear rack will have to share a braze-on with the mudguards. It's not an ideal set-up, but this a fast audax machine, not a tourer.

Straight out of the box this is a very pretty bike. The battleship grey paintjob looks smart, the cartouches with the Dawes logo accentuate the slim tubing and the gold lining round the star shaped bottle bosses is a lovely detail. Previous versions have been known to stray into oversized tubing and odd profiles in an attempt to look modern (remember when aluminium was modern?) but the 2011 incarnation avoids such cheap temptations. If this bike was a meal it would be a steak and kidney pudding, or a plate of fish and chips. Classy, and with no need to pretend to be anything else (you must have some really good pie shops and chippies down your way - ed).

Happily the ride quality matches the good looks with the exact mix of comfort and pace that you want from an audax bike. The Reynolds 520 frame may be humble (it's only dear old cromoly after all) but it rides beautifully. It would take a more refined reviewer than me to fully unpick the subtle interplay between frame, tyres and thoroughly modern carbon fork but I can confidently assert that this is a very smooth bike. It almost glides along, ironing out road buzz and keeping you fresh for those epic long-haul randones. What's more, it's positively eager. There's nothing stodgy or dull about the ride, this is a bike that likes to be pushed and rewards you with a surprising turn of speed.

The rest of the bike is built around equally modest kit. Shimano Tiagra takes care of the 9spd drivetrain, from rear mech to shifters. Tiagra may be near the bottom of the Shimano road hierarchy, but it's far from bog standard and I was impressed by the level of performance it offers. The star of the show is the chainset, which may look boot ugly but more than makes up for it in stiffness and efficiency. The 50/39/30 triple matched to a 12-25 rear block gives an ideal range of gears, even in hilly Devon. In fact, the bike overall climbs far better than it has any right to. I took it out on the Dunkery Dash audax, which is a proper leg-burner, and it performed superbly, even up beasts like Cothelstone Hill and Elworthy Hill (Google them and whimper!)

Wheels are based around Tiagra hubs and Alex 450 rims. Again, it's not flashy but, despite the rear wheel being 1mm out of alignment they performed well with no brake rub, even on the most taxing of hills. Tyres are Vittoria Rubino, in their 25c flavour. They roll well with a narrow profile and a firm casing that should be hard wearing. Although I got on well with them I'd be inclined to go for something slightly more plush, say 25c Gatorskins, when they wear out. Overall the wheels impressed, although the cup and cone bearings on the hubs will need regular love to keep them happy.

Finishing kit sticks to the basic but good theme - the own-brand stem, saddle and seatpost are perfectly ok (although the saddle was a bit of an unyielding plank after five hours or more) and the FSA Wing Compact bars are excellent, although the 40cm version featured here can be a little harsh on the drops and will make fitting a bar-bag (should you want one) even more of a nuisance than it normally is on STI equipped bikes.

It might seem that £1099 is a tad steep for a 520 framed bike kitted up with Tiagra, and I'd be inclined to agree. Mind you, bike prices have been increasing sharply for the last few years (not so long ago you'd be looking at 631 and Shimano 105 for the same price) so it's not such a great surprise. What is odd is that Dawes have priced this versatile, does-almost-everything cracker at £99 over the Cyclescheme limit, so you'll need a friendly bike shop and a flexible scheme manager if you want to lay your hands on one that way. However, there is some good news, because if you shop around you can find it (and the cheaper Clubman) substantially discounted. Spa Cycles will be selling it for £879 but if you move fast they have it at an introductory price of £715 which makes it a positive bargain.

Verdict

A real corker - versatile, fast, comfortable and if you shop around, a bargain.