browngw 

It looks like this one is a perfect candidate for a nail polish touchup! My wife says I have more colors than she does. Reds are the easiest to match. I even was able to mix a deep purple and a dark gold metallic to match the Raleigh coffee (root beer) Looks like a fine rider!

jackbombay

So good, especially the bold parts!

jackbombay

But I love spinning.

BigChief 

These bikes are all about comfort. I think the B66/B67 saddle is a excellent choice for upright riding. Once you have the riding position where you like it, I think you'll find this bike nicer to ride than even the more expensive "townies" as they call them these days. If you do get around to swapping rims, the Sunlite CR-18 590mm alloys seem to be the most popular. For steel rims, I think there's a bit of advantage in using the more expensive Kool Stop Continental brake pads. Then, you also have the option of customizing the overall gearing to your preference with different size cogs on the AW.

Iron Horse

Good morning GNA, located outside of Wichita, but willing to travel some if need be. We make yearly trips to the Hays and Lawrence for events, so maybe....? I looked on epay as well and was also astounded at the asking prices. Charge what the market will bear, must be the motto?

Thumpism,
Thank you for the offer, but her inseam is just 24" (I just had her check...Ha!). I told her that if leg extensions were as easy as hair extensions, we'd have gotten them years ago! She gave me "that look...."

Iron Horse

Honestly, your rust doesn't look all that bad. I had an all chrome fender that looked like it was ready for the trash or at least a media blaster. Took some 0 steel wool to it just to see, and quite a bit of the rust was just on the surface! So I dug out an old pocket knife that has no edge to it at all, and very lightly scraped the rust mostly off. Then finished by polishing with 0000 steel wool dry. There was definitely some pitting in the chrome, but the fender ended up looking very sharp when I got done, much to my suprise! I keep kicking myself for not taking "before" pictures, as the usual response is "that must not have been that bad." grrr. Just don't forget to put a good wax on it after you are done, or you will be amazed at how fast it will re-patina!

Murray Missile 

Thanks for the input guys. On the touchup I think a mix of Testors Metalflake red and Candy Apple Red will work well for the Raleigh "Carmine", I get better coverage on red metallics with Testors than I do with nail polish, otherwise nail polish is my go to for colors other than white or black. I'm tempted to replace the decals like the Heron on the rear fender and then "age" them slightly. We'll see, I wish they were all as good as the chain guard decal. I don't want them to look new but it would be nice if there was enough left you could tell what they were LOL.

I'm a fan of the CR-18 rims and already have them on my Ebay watch list, I'm pretty sure that's what I'll end up doing but the ones that are on it still function and it needs other things first. Any recommendations for gum wall tires? I'm not afraid to spend money on tires, I've had too many issues with cheap ones. Then again I've an issue or two with "good" ones........

I'm going to go through the parts stash today to see what I have I might use on this one. I'm tempted to do a drop bar conversion, I usually ride the tops or hoods on my drop bar bikes and I have a MTB with drop bars that I absolutely love. The drop bars would give me some of the forward reach I need with the smaller frame, I normally ride a 25". I have a set of Randonneur bars I really like that are looking for a new bike and I think this may just be the bike. I would mount the shifter next to the stem and even though they aren't "cool" I'd run Turkey Levers since I ride the tops most often. With good cables and pads I've found they can be very effective, even on steel rims. I have a steel rim Schwinn Varsity Deluxe with them and even with my 230 Lbs. and it's 45 Lbs. the Turkey Levers can bring it to a very quick stop from 20 MPH. Think Weinmann 999 center pull calipers would clear the fenders? I have a couple sets, one is NOS. I have sidepulls that will work but I saw a picture of a 50's Rudge with them and they looked good on it but he had ditched the fenders. Possibly because of the brakes but I think it was because they were in such bad shape.

I wasn't digging the massive rear refelector but then the idea hit me that there may be room inside it to convert it to an LED tail light. I'd make an opening in the reflector for the red light lens and put the switch on the side.

Lots of ideas, lots of spare parts and lots of time. Should be lots of fun!

Murray Missile 

Oh I'll definitely give cleaning them up a shot, I have lots of white vinegar, aluminum foil, etc. and even more time. When I get it all off I'll go over the bad spots with clear fingernail polish to seal them then wax them. I have a Schwinn Varsity that had spots that bad on the original wheels, when I got the rust cleaned off one rims had actually rusted all the way through, hopefully that's not the case here. It will probably still get CR-18 rims laced to the original hubs eventually but it needs other things first.

BigChief 

Not all Twentys are folders. There's a plain frame version. There must be something about these that make them so popular. They have an enthusiastic following around here, although they do tend to get modified.

3speedslow

They are the VW bug of the bike world! R20 when not a folder is the shopper model.

Murray Missile 

I bet my wife would love one of those! Great, now I "need" another bike LOL.

BigChief 

Sheldon Brown's Twenty page

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh-twenty.html

sykerocker 

Do an oxalic acid bath in a window box planter style of tray. Dip the wheel, let it sit and every day turn it to take care of the next undipped length of rim. It'll probably take 5-6 days to do one wheel. You'll be amazed how the oxalic acid solution takes away that rust. I've done wheels way worse than what you're showing and have used the original chrome.

sykerocker 

I'll admit I'm curious, what kind of folder?

The reason I ask is that, back in the day, the Twenty was probably the only folder on the market that you could actually use as a real bicycle in day to day use. Incredibly better than those flexy U-frame designs that were so common back in the day. The design is still competitive with most everything made today, other than factoring in weight. Yes, they are a bit heavy, but certainly not fifty pounds. I still ride mine fairly regularly and find it competes with my Tourist and Sprite very nicely talking distances of five miles or under.

Back in the 70's, I actually sold off my ivory Sports and replaced it with a coffee Twenty because I got tired of carrying the bike up to my third floor attic (second floor apartment) every night for storage. With the Twenty, I could put it away in the closet at the top of the stairs. Only weakness I had was with a 32" inseam, I had to ride with the seat post about 1/2" above the maximum line.

gster

Interesting colour.

Murray Missile 

I have Oxalic Acid but have been reluctant to use it on assembled wheels as I wasn't sure what it would do to the plating on the spokes because most chrome wheels I've seen use Zinc plated spokes. It won't harm the Zinc plating? I had planned to use CLR, fortunatelt the large patches of rust on my rims are isolated to small sections not the entire rim.

Iron Horse

I went out this morning, and the folder is far enough back, and blocked enough, and I am lazy enough to not want to move a bunch of bikes in the heat, that I can't tell you which model, but her folding bike is a Dahon. She picked it up a few years ago from craigslist. I am saving up for a Tern Verge S8I. More gears than I need, but has everything else for a quick load-up into her Blazer when we can't take the truck and more traditional style bikes.

gna

Nope,sold. They have a boy's model.

I weighed my daughter's, with rack and bottle cage, and it comes out at 32 pounds. No idea how accurate that scale is, though.

BigChief 

That's a respectable folder. I guess a Twenty isn't for her. Maybe she would like a classic 3 speed roadster. The ladies Colt has 26" wheels but a compact 18" frame. A Brooks saddle and Carradice wold make one of these a proper adult roadster.

sykerocker 

I've never had a problem with oxalic acid and spokes, other than the pain in the ass of cleaning the residue off after the soaking.

sykerocker 

I've got a first generation Dahon, single speed coaster brake, which actually gets used more often than my Twenty because of how small you can fold it down. I take that bike with me on certain reenactment trips, St. Augustine especially, because once I'm set up in our camp area and have all my kit unloaded, I can park the van and use the bike for the mile and a half ride into the center of town where my favorite bars are located. It's nice not to have to worry about parking the van, or risking a DUI if I make the evening a bit longer than originally planned.

That said, that Dahon is definitely a "mile and a half to two mile" bike. I can't see using it in my normal "if it's under five miles, you bike" attitude for errand running like any of my three Raleighs (including the Twenty). I never cease to be amazed at how good a folder the Twenty was back in the day (the one I owned back in 73-75 was a 3x3 conversion due to AR Adams Cycle new site being on the hills of the south of Erie), it's only weaknesses being weight and limitations on how small you can get it folded. Seeing we're talking a 50 year old design, however, that's still damned impressive.

Ballenxj

I've heard of folks getting a DUI while riding a bicycle. Admittedly not very often, but still, be careful out there.

gster

I quite like St. Augustine.
I've been there several times and hope to
return.

Murray Missile 

Thanks, I unearthed a rusty old Roadmaster wheel a couple days ago under a pile of stuff, I'll try it first. No loss if it gets trashed, it was going to get painted for a yard art bike anyway.

Murray Missile 

This guy not only got a DUI on his bike but the cops had it TOWED!!!

F-Bomb WARNING:

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