There is a story to this bike (of course)... The girl who listed it on craigslist for a C$75 price mentioned when I picked it up... "my ex-boyfriend wasn't too happy I sold it for that." No doubt! I think the wheels/tires alone would've cost me a couple hundred!
This bike rides real quick and agile. The headset has been modified in some way too (although it looks original). It is much more responsive than any other Twenty I have. I haven't taken it apart to see what was done.
I took it out the other day on a 6 mile ride and it felt identical to the road bikes I have been riding recently. The only difference is the handlebar. I'm not into putting ram-horns on a bike like this (i've seen others do it) but there just are not the number of available hand positions in this configuration.
There is a slight rattle in the SA hub too I need to look into. I thought it was the dust cover behind the sprocket at first, so I took it off and slathered grease in there... nope. Still rattles. It is a funny rattle - only occurs when I don't have active pedal pressure on the chain i.e. coasting along. Not sure what is going on but it is definitely in the hub.
Anybody? Thoughts?
More to come. I'm resurrecting this blog again using Blogger on my iPhone. This is just a test for now...
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| Modified Raleigh Twenty: Alloy wheels (new Schwalbe tires), Seat Post, Pedals and Handlebar. Fully updated brake system |
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| I added lights (2 front and two rear), odometer, bell and Carradice with home-made support and Brooks B-17 Saddle |
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| Looking for a nice set of narrow chime fenders.... |
A loose pawl will rattle. Got any close up pictures of the headset?
ReplyDeleteI was out riding my Twenty at the coast(East) early this morning before it got waay too hot.
Aaron
Edit: By loose pawl I mean one where the spring has gotten weak and won't keep it fully engaged.
ReplyDeleteAaron
Hey Aaron, great to hear from you again. Hope your summer has been a good one!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on the pawl. Honestly, there are very few people out here I know of that rip into SA hubs. I saw a really nice "howto" on Chester Cycling (when it was MCRcycling) dis-assembling an SA hub and re-habbing it. This might be the first hub I dive into. How hard is it to get replacements for the R-spring??
charles
There are a couple of really good videos on YouTube showing a tear down. You should be able to get the springs from just about any vintage friendly bike shop. Aaron's Bike Repair in Seattle is very IGH and vintage friendly. There is also an IGH group on yahoo that has a huge amount of information available.
ReplyDeleteAaron
Nice bicycle.Looking so beautiful
ReplyDeleteThanks wheel repairing! I still have this bike, but I have moved over to the "dark side" of Brompton now. I have a M6L-X that I'm putting miles on now.
ReplyDeleteDanielle was right, I wasn't too happy that she sold it for just 75 bucks!!
ReplyDeleteI am glad though that the bike has a new home and is in good use. Hope it is still riding well! If you got any questions about it, let me know. I also have some pictures of it during its transition from beater to refurbished. I can also tell you about the other Raleigh 20s I've fixed up. Give me a shout!
- Richard
ps: As far as the rattling, I have no idea what it could be. I put the bike together in 2007 sans rattle and didn't see it again until 2011. That last time it did rattle, but I didn't really have time to check it out. Did you figure out what it was? I hope it wasn't the SA.
Whoa, Richard, great to hear from you. I'm not sure how your comment slipped past me. For some reason I've not been getting emails when comments come through.
ReplyDeleteI know it's been almost a year since you posted. That bike traveled the desert SW of USA and was a great time. I ended up passing it on to a friend of mine who also put some pretty decent miles on it. I think he may have sold it now too. That bike was awesome and your efforts on it were much appreciated.
If you happen to read this… all the best! - charles