We recently got this late 1940s-early 1950s Dawes Courier in and I have been riding it as my commuter bicycle. It was previously owned by a shop friend that customized it with heavy duty 700c wheels(rather than the original 26" wheels) and modern brakes and rack. It was a bicycle courier so the bike was appropriate for him. It originally had amazing paint detailing, ghost of the designs are still visible, but lost to the ages. I'm not sure yet what I am going to do with it, but it is a nice riding bike, I think it deserves to be restored to it's original self.