Autumnal Twenty

I couldn't help it...  This is an incredibly rare orange Raleigh Twenty that I came across a couple years back.  It is completely stock, practically New-Old Stock.  The tires and tubes are original Raleigh whitewalls, the pump is alloy and works, even the mattress saddle (Brooks) is in near perfect condition.  Just thought it looked nice with pumpkins and fall flowers...

This bike is one of a mated pair.  The other one is white.  They came from a gentleman in Seattle, WA, USA.  These were his parents bikes.  They were purchased in 1974 in Seattle and used only for the proverbial "Sunday Ride."  His parents traveled to Vancouver, BC a few times and the bikes served them well spinning around Stanley Park.  They were put into storage about a year later, dry, warm basement, completely covered in sheets.  They sat there until 2014.

My seller had the unenviable job of going through his parents things after they had passed.  These bikes were among the things he needed to move on.  He was very reticent about selling them, but I was able to convince him that they would be going to a very good home.  I have preserved these bikes as-is and have not changed a single thing on them.  My wife and I continue the tradition of riding them in the summer around Alki Beach here in Seattle.  After the ride, they are lubed, cleaned and put away for the winter in dry, warm storage.  They are special ones, and I hope I honor them well.

Raleigh Twenty Roadie

When you live in the Pacific Northwest, there are many great opportunities for organized road rides in the summer.  The grand-daddy of them is the Cascade Bicycle Club's Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic held each year in July.  It's been going on for over 30 years.  Last year was the first time I rode this epic 200 miler.  I did it, like many, in two-days completing my first century on the first day and camping out on the grounds of a community college in Centralia, Washington.  Rolling into Portland the next day was a real thrill as the thunder pounded overhead and a light rain greeted our overheated and sore bodies.  We locked up our bikes, headed straight to the beer garden and drank a well earned cold one in a light mist and 80 degrees.  Stunning.

The bike I used for this ride was a 1974 Schwinn World Voyageur.  And interesting story in it's own right, it is a traditional steel-framed touring bike that I had set up with a new drivetrain and wheels.  It was trusty and speedy.

But somewhere around the 150 mile mark near Castle Rock, WA (was it hypoxia? dehydration?) I started having visions… visions of doing this ride, yes, you guessed it, on a Raleigh Twenty!

This fall I set to work on a bare R-20 frame I had laying around drawing much inspiration from one of the fantastic rebuilds done by davepalk on the Raleigh Twenty website.  I have neither the experience of davepalk, nor the funds to do the kind of fantastic modifications he undertakes.  With that in mind, I present The Lazy/Poorman's Raleigh Twenty Rebuild:

First, I replaced the 20" 406 wheel set that was original to this bike with a set of original, steel-rimmed 20" 451 wheels I had on another bike.  This is just temporary.  I have a new set of Sun M13 II 451 rims that I will be building up on a set of vintage Sturmey Archer hubs I have already re-built.  Schwalbe Durano's will complete the wheels.  Sure, I could have gone with newer hubs, but that would necessitate cold-setting the forks and rear drop outs.  I just don't want to deal with that (lazy). And this way I can brag to my roadie/spandex friends… "yeah, but I did it ON A VINTAGE 3-SPEED!"

A large part of the lazy/poorman's modifications rely on another bike I picked up in a junk bin at BikeWorks in Seattle… for FREE!  It was a ladies Raleigh Sprite 27 in white.  Out comes the hacksaw!

The original crank length on this USA Raleigh Twenty with 406 wheels was a paltry 145mm.  It felt like I was riding a bike in the circus.  The Sprite 27 had 165mm cranks which, while not ideal (I usually ride 175mm), were passable.  The drive side spindle on the Sprite had two chainrings.  I removed the larger one and kept the 40T smaller one.  I filed off the bolt guides on the spindle (they line up the two rings) and re-attached the smaller ring with stainless steel bolts and lock washers.  Nice and tight.  I miss the heron chainring, but this is at least ridable.  A new 1/8" chain and 17T cog on the hub rounds out the drive train.  This combination of 40T chainring and 17T cog on 451 wheels gives me a top speed of around 19mph on the flats with a cadence of around 100 in the third gear.  Plenty for my style of riding.  I may put a 15T cog on as the year wears on and I get stronger.  This drive train means I never need to walk up hills! The lazy/poorman's approach says keep the bottom bracket as is and just add longer cranks from a cannabilized bike..

The Sprite 27 also donated it's down tube as a seatpost extender.  I was going to paint it, but after getting it on, it just looked way too good as it was!  This 1 1/8 inch tube slides right inside the R-20 seat tube.  It goes a LONG way down there.  Lots of steel contact.  Same thing with the 1" steel seat post.  It's nearly double thickness steel from the saddle to the cranks!  No flex whatsoever.  I'm 150lbs though and with heavier riders you may need to install a "palk strut."  I felt I could get away without it…  we'll see.  But now, I get all the leg extension I need to ride strong and comfortable.

The cockpit sports a steel mountain bike handlebar and bolt on 1" stem to a set of road bars.  The 7/8" part of the bar goes a long way down the fork tube and is clamped with a bolt that replaces the stock handle adjuster.  I tried an alloy bar first, but it was just too flexible.  Steel mountain bike bars are cheap.  Again, I picked up most of these parts for free from the junk pile.  The Sturmey Archer three-speed shift lever will not fit on road bars.  You can see it on the 7/8" section of the stem.  This is taking a bit to get used to, but I'm getting it.  You push it toward the bar to get low gear, pull it away to move toward high gear.  It is backwards from traditional downtube shifters...

Part of the reason this frame was sitting around was that it was missing its frame hinge bolt.  I finally figured out how to make a replacement that keeps the frame rock solid.  Get a standard 2" stainless steel bolt with the same diameter and thread pattern from the hardware store.  Grind off the threads just under the bolt head the same distance as the bare section on the original frame bolt.  This works perfectly now.  If you leave all the thread on the new bolt, the upper section and lower section of the frame will not seat properly and it will wobble.  Grind the bolt and it cinches them right up together.

Today, December 6 2014, I took this bike out for a 20 miler around Mercer Island, WA.  It had rained all morning, but dried out enough in the afternoon.  Average speed, 14 mph.  This is my average on any road bike I ride!  Overall I'm very happy with how this bike turned out.  Once the new wheels are built and on, I'll post an update.

Phillips Twenty: GOLD

Here's the second bike I picked up on a trip down to Portland...  a gold Phillips Twenty!

This bike was pretty much in original condition, but on the rough side.  It was missing the seat post and saddle, along with the seat post clamp lever.  The bike had the hi-rise bars on it.  The chain was just a rusty lump of grease and dirt.  Ditto the S-A AW hub and the wheel rims were pretty rusty too...  the fenders are in pretty sad shape.  I'm planning on putting the nice chrome ones from my spare green Twenty on this one.  Silver and gold...

Here are some more pictures in original condition...

Needless to say, this is still a work in progress to get it cleaned up and running again.

Luckily, I have an extra front wheel in real nice shape.  I have worked out a deal with a co-member of the http://raleightwenty.webs.com site for a replacement rear wheel in decent shape, so that should take care of the wheels.  I had an extra seat post and passable saddle.  It's coming back together nicely.

As soon as I get some updated pics, I'll add them in.

So, what does all this mean?  I think I have ALL the colors of Raleigh (branded) Twenty's: Carmine, Blue, Green, Brown , White and Orange.  And with this one, a Phillips branded Gold one.  Seven Twenty's!





UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
This Gold Twenty is now done.  The rear wheel arrived from my pal grumpyoldsquid on the Raleigh Twenty site.  It was in decent shape, but since I had it out of the bike, I used it as my first Sturmey Archer teardown wheel.  See the guts HERE.  Once I got it all back together, it looks pretty sharp.  Rides pretty well too!  The paint is still pretty rough and there is some rust on the cranks that wouldn't come off, but overall, and particularly from a distance, it looks pretty stunning in Gold and Silver...  Here are some pictures of the final product.

Here is the overall bike now.  The new wheels really make a huge difference.  Thanks GrumpyOldSquid!!  Originally, it had the high rise handlebars.  I'm not really a fan of these, so I put on a spare low-rise one I had laying around.  The original gold fenders were practically see through in many places.  Unfortunate, because they had the Phillips decal and these silver one sport the Raleigh decal.  But the silver really looks fantastic...

Here is the freshly re-built hub and Grumpy's wheel.  New 1/8" chain too... clean!

Like I said, the frame itself is pretty rough.  Here is the remnant of a sticker near the hinge.  I just left it for "cred."

charles

Raleigh Twenty: Carmine Red

I've added a couple new bikes to my Raleigh Twenty collection, the first being this carmine red example.

This was how I got it from the gentleman I picked it up from in Lake Oswego, OR...

As you can see from the "before" image, there had been plenty done to this bike over it's life.  It's wheels were aftermarket BMX single speed coaster brakes.  The rack was also a cheap add-on.The seat post was so long, it practically touched the bottom bracket spindle! The headset, forks and handlebars were all not original either.  Basically, just the frame and possibly the chain guard were original.  The frame showed it's age - a few scratches and chips, but the joints were still solid and there were no major damage.  Decals were acceptable.  Many of the original "bling" parts like chromed steel adjusting levers and Heron lamp bracket were gone...  So, it required a lot of work to bring it back...

Luckily, I had this bike kicking around:

This is a very nice green Twenty that my youngest son was riding, up to very recently.  He's in middle school now and was starting to think these bikes weren't all that cool anymore (go figure!)  So I was just about to sell this one.  It has 451-sized rims and Schwalbe Durano tires on it.  I basically stripped this one down to the bottom bracket and transferred ALL the parts to the red one, except the fenders - I put them on the gold bike I got... :-)

The fork on the original bike was actually a Raleigh threaded fork, but probably from a Sport.  It had been cut to a length that allowed a quill stem to be added.  Luckily I had a spare brown fork laying around and a rattle can of red that was almost an exact match for the red of the bike.  The chain guard was also in pretty rough shape, so I sprayed it out too.

The finished product looks fantastic and riding on those 451 rims makes this bike very responsive and fun.

My oldest son is going to take the remaining husk of a green frame and do something "rad" with it.  I can't wait to see that...

charles

Quadrophenia!

Remember this?

This image (courtesy of bringthenoiseuk.com) is from The Who's movie Quadrophenia.  I remember how amazed I was at the sub-culture of punks in England at the time who pimped out their scooters like this.  Since I had a Vespa at the time, I could kind of relate.  I also had a trench coat and my girlfriend had electric blue hair.  I loved it!

Well, look at the Raleigh Twenty I found on Criagslist yesterday!

Coincidence? I think NOT!  Just look at it.  The start of a glory ride...

I MUST stop looking at craigslist.  This is the kind of thing that happens.  Last night I was sitting on the computer scanning through the listings for "Raleigh" and came across a "Raleigh Folding Bike."  I clicked in and saw this bike.  The first thing I noticed was the front rack.  I had seen a rack like this on a bike recently found in Ireland.

I think this idea of a "randonneur" Twenty would be kind of fun.  The hunt began for front racks with short stays... nada.

Until yesterday.  And in my own back yard!

It turns out this bike sat all day at a garage sale with no interested parties.  The grandson of the woman who lived in the house posted a few remaining items on craigslist and that is how the bike got there.  I called, but he was already gone, headed back home to Everett, WA.  I asked if it was OK to go over and see it, possibly to buy and he indicated his grandmother would be there.  "Twenty" minutes later, after a stop to the cash machine, I was there.  But she wasn't.  I waited, knocked, waited, walked up and down the street, tried again.  I probably looked like someone casing the place.  Thirty minutes passed and I called the guy listed in the ad.  "Just head on back behind the house.  It's under a blue tarp.  If you like it, just leave the money in the mailbox."  We talked price a bit, and without giving it away, I picked this bike up for sub-$100.  Very sub-$100! They needed to clear the decks.  It was a win-win.

Once I got it home and into the light of my garage, I could tell this bike has seen almost no riding.  Very dusty.  Good, not mud.  No rust.  It had been stored inside all these years, probably a basement corner or back of a garage.  There was a real tacky sheepskin cover on the original Brooks mattress saddle... in PERFECT condition!  These saddles are notoriously delicate and usually rip out.  Not this one.  Low miles and a sheepskin cover saved it. No rust on the springs and even the underside is pure white.

Look close... a headlight! Battery powered, to go with the TWO pop-bottle generator driven lights on the front.  All three work (after freshening the batteries) And, yes, that is a chrome air pump too. 

There are only two things wrong with this bike.  First, it is missing the chain guard.  Not that big of a deal, they come around often enough.  I think I might even have a brown one in the shed...  Second, and of a little more concern is that the Sturmey Archer AW hub (dated 5-75) was free wheeling in both directions. I added a dab of oil, and spun it.  No good.  Shot some Tri-Flow down the hole and now I can get second and third gear.  After patching the flat, I tinkered with the adjustments, but I cannot seem to get first.

Plans?  Clean her up and get the hub working.  This might just be a nicer root beer brown bike that the one I currently have.  I may swap out a few parts, build this one up to be my keeper and sell the other.  It's still pretty dusty, but I can tell the decals are nice and it doesn't have many, if any scratches on it.

Now to find a few other Mods to hang out with...

Ride at Alki

Heading to Seattle's Alki Beach today for a ride with my wife and youngest son. An "All Twenty" ride.  We started right where the West Seattle Bridge ends on Admiral Way... near Bike University.  Parked the van and started out.

I sprung for some tension bars that create a false top tube.  This makes getting the R-20 MUCH easier to mount on a traditional tail hitch rack.

My wife rode the pristine orange Twenty we have.  If you look hard in the distance, it matches the color of the top of the 50th Anniversary Space Needle!  My 11 year old loves this view of Seattle.

There are a ton of waterfront parks along the basically flat 5 mile or so route.  Fun to stop and smell the salt water!  Also, much of the route has dedicated "wheels" path, meaning bikes only have to content with skateboarders and roller skaters.

No ride to Alki would be complete without a stop at Pegasus Pizza, my vote for best pizza in Seattle!!

My Current Ride

This is a modified Raleigh Twenty I picked up in Vancouver BC recently. Very sweet bike and an excellent price. Considering making this my main ride now.

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...

Modified Raleigh Twenty: Alloy wheels (new Schwalbe tires),
Seat Post, Pedals and Handlebar.  Fully updated brake system

I added lights (2 front and two rear), odometer,
bell and Carradice with home-made support and
Brooks B-17 Saddle

Looking for a nice set of narrow chime fenders....

Announcing... the Electric Twenty!

OK, so I lied a bit... I WAS working on some bike related stuff during the last couple of months of silence.

Here is my first prototype of an electrified Raleigh Twenty!

As any reader of this blog knows, back in July 2010, I picked up a blue R-20 with a single speed coaster-braked rear hub from a young lady in Redmond.  The bike had some serious condition problems, so I stripped it down and made it a single speed street machine.  I painted it out in black metallic Rustoleum, installed a paired wheel-set from a Specialized kids dirt-cross bike (also single speed and coaster-braked - needed to file out the front drops to get the wheel in, but the rear fit perfect) and cut the frame according to Sixty Fiver's instructions on the Raleigh Twenties web forum to install a threadless headset.  New Brooks B-66, Challenge bag and leather disc grips make up the bling!

So this bike was fun to put around on, but I had visions of it being an electric scooter someday.

My oldest son needed to do a culminating project for senior year of high school so he and I researched available electric hub motors.  There are quite a few out there.  Here were my criteria:

-I didn't care about speed.  I wanted a bike that could go on its own at a respectable speed, but would basically be a rider, a bike that I could pedal for real and "boost" from time to time.
-I wanted an electric bike that didn't LOOK/SMELL/TASTE or FEEL like an electric bike.  My dad had an electric conversion of a mountain bike back in the 80's and frankly, it was a clunker.  It was under powered and the battery weighed a ton.  It looked goofy and you'd never pedal the thing...

After a bit of research, we came across the Clean Republic systems.  These are 250 watt brushless front hub motors with your choice of sealed lead acid (SLA) or LithIon battery systems.  We purchased it at EBikes NW in Seattle.  We opted for the LithIon system which was more expensive, but claimed a 20 mile range (versus 10 for the SLA system) and a longer overall battery life of 4 years (versus a 1 year life for the SLA).

We had to have EBike NW staff (Thanks DJ!) help us with a couple items that were beyond our technical expertise:
- We needed to have the hub laced into the 20" rim that already existed on the bike.  I really want to learn how to lace wheels, but I wasn't up for the challenge yet.
- We needed to have the fork cold-spread to accommodate the wider hub.  This was a bit of a trick.  The fork couldn't just be spread because the fork drops would be too angled to thread the wheel onto.  It had to be spread then bent back perpendicular to the ground.  Basically this was done by spreading the forks first, putting in a block just above the point where the top of the hub would sit and compressing the fork ends back to vertical.  I didn't see this happen, but would have liked to witness the process so I could attempt it myself.

Here is my son at EBikes NW inspecting the newly bent fork...

Once we took possession of the bike and the battery/cables/hub-wheel, we did the final install and cable tying.  It was pretty easy.  Below are close up photos of the front wheel, now with an electric motor hub.  It looks like a slightly larger version of the Sturmey Archer Dynohub!!

The cable system is a Y-configuration setup.  There is a larger metal connector that fastens to the battery/controller unit.  It then splits into one line that has the throttle switch and the other connects to the hub.  Super simple to install with zip ties.  I only had three black zip ties in my shop, so I used them on the frame and, seriously, black wires against black frame with black zip ties... the cabeling is basically invisible!!  I still have a few more white zip ties to replace (you can see one on the fork).  Once I've replaced them all, you'd hardly know there is cable running on the bike.  You need to leave some slack around the area where the head tube attached to the down tube so the handlebars can swivel.  I also opted to make the cable tight at the folding joint (which essentially makes the bike into a non-folder now).

The actuation switch is mounted to the left handle bar.  It's just a red button.  Push it and go.  It comes with a velcro attachment that, frankly, was a fail from the start.  It kept slipping.  Eventually, I wrapped the bar in a bit of old inner tube and zip tied the switch over it.  Perfect.  It doesn't move at all.

So, how does it run, you ask? Amazing!  Here are my initial impressions:

- Press the button and go.  It's that simple.  There is a switch on the battery/controller unit that must be in the "on" position before the thumb switch will work.  This is a nice safety feature.  The thumb switch is pretty sensitive and you wouldn't want the wheel to go accidentally.  I'm getting in the habit of turning the battery off after using it.
-There is a bit of hesitancy from when you push the button and the wheel goes.  Not bad, but it isn't an instantaneous power add. You need to think ahead just a fraction of time before when you need the juice.
- The wheel motor is 250 watts.  DJ at EBike NW put it this way: "A person on flat ground riding generates about 100 watts.  This motor adds 2.5 additional people to your riding."  And it feels about right. Two and a half additional people that only weigh about 12 extra pounds (motor is 6 lbs and battery is 6 lbs).
- When laced to a 26" wheel, the Clean Republic site claims a 15 mile per hour top speed.  Some people using the kit on 26" say they get 17mph. The smaller wheel means not as much distance traveled per revolution, thus a slower top speed.  I do not have a speedometer on this bike, but I'm estimating it tops out around 11-12mph.  Based on this chart (its in green about halfway down the page), you multiply the 26" wheel speed by 0.769 to get the max 20" wheel speed.  15 x 0.769 = 11.5mph.  17 x 0.769 = 13mph.  These seem about right.
- My only complaint is that there is something rattling around in the battery storage case, which is made of ballistic nylon.  The straps are tight, so I'm not sure what is making the noise.  I'd like to remove the battery/controller from the case, but the switch is integral to it (see below) and I'd need to break it.  I'm going to someday, but I'm not ready to yet.

FUTURE PLANS
My son and I plan to create a custom battery/controller case (probably in a steampunk style!) to hide the battery.  The case will be firmly mounted to the Pletscher rack on the bike and weatherized.  The case is going to be made out of 1/4" marine grade plywood and varnished.  I'm planning on attaching some pannier mounts so I can add grocery-getter baskets of some kind.

I already have an extra set of fenders from another brown Twenty.  I just finished painting them out in metallic black.  They will mount onto the bike as the rain (inevitably) starts...

This has been a really fun project and the bike is a hoot to ride.  Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions!

~charles

Vacation sighting!

Just a quick update from my phone... The family and I are in Manzanita, Oregon on a quick vacation after the Fourth of July celebrations. Manzanita is a very quaint coastal village that I could see myself living in someday. I've already scoped out local real estate for my dreamed of bike rental business... Another story...

On my way to the bakery this morning for mmmmmmmm cinnamon rolls, we walked past this non-descript seaside building...




Wait, what is that I see under the porch?? Let's take a close look...




That's what I thought!!! A Raleigh Twenty!! In a nice sunny orange. I'm not sure who owns it but I think they must have a kid.




Check out this nice child seat rack replacement they crafted and installed, complete with foot guards and a pink helmet. I'm watching for this one riding around town over the next couple days...

Charles

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Ridge Rd,Nehalem,United States

Swimming in the deep end...

For those of you that read this blog, you will know what I mean by going off the deep end...  This picture should sum it all up...

Now for the back story..  There is ALWAYS a back story, isn't there?

I have recently been searching the interwebs daily looking for a very specific bicycle.  I would love to get my hands on a Raleigh Lenton Reg Harris from the mid 50's  I've set up auto-search and RSS on "Lenton" and  "Raleigh Bicycle" in the local and regional Craigslists and eBay looking for this hard-to-find bike.  I'm not sure why, I just love the idea of setting up a three-speed touring/road bicycle.  I'm getting sick of derailleurs and shifting 12-21 speeds...  I find I only use three of them anyway.

But I digress.  Yesterday, I came across a post in the local Seattle Craigslist for "a pair of Raleigh Twenty's."  I usually have pretty good will power NOT to look at these ads, because, well, they are just TOO tempting.  Not sure what prompted me to take a peek, but once I saw the pictures, I knew I was doomed to have a lighter wallet..

I knew there were white Twenty's, but I had no idea there were ORANGE ones!!  Does anyone know the complete color palette of these bikes in the US?

Pair the unique colors (and I had neither one in my current herd) with the fact that these bikes were IMMACULATE in terms of condition, and I was hooked.  Both bikes have pristine aluminum air pumps.  The decals are like new and the paint shows no signs of chalking.  Sure there are a few small blemishes and a tad of yellowing of the decals on the white one...  but hey, when I was that age, I had worse scars.

Here are a couple more shots just to give you an idea of how nice these bikes are.  There isn't even a speckle of black grease or dirty oil on the hub.  And in terms of wear, look at the pedals.  The rubber is perfect.

I purchased these bikes for $150 each from a very nice guy named Doug.  According to Doug, these bikes were his late parents and were purchased by them in the early seventies at a local Seattle bike shop - Gregg's Greenlake Cycle - it's still there.  "They just tootled around a bit... we took them to Stanley Park in BC once or twice... and then they ended up in the garage with a sheet over them for 40 years.."

In addition to the bicycles, I also got some other stuff.  A couple throw-away baskets for the front. But the most impressive thing was the original "Assembly Instructions...." and a set of Raleigh-specific "spanners.".

So that is about it... I gotta run to some graduation party now... but my mind will be elsewhere :-)

~charles