james Haury

My 20 inch wheeled 7 speed yeah has been transformed into a single speed with a 56 inch gear.

robertsdvd

I'm working on a Raleigh Twenty... someday it might get done too, I just have to get the Dept of Education off my back... well I just have to do a lot of things...

RedDevil

Well I have just bought a Bright Red Brompton L3, what a bike, fantastic, superb, and changed my life forever Saves me 45min EACH way to work in London, so more time in the pub

spambait11

A folding bike section - nice!

I have a Bike Friday Pocket Nomad which I converted to a 56" gear single speed via Singulator (otherwise it won't fold), and just recently purchased a Brompton L6 which has basically turned into an L4 - I somehow lost the ability to switch into 2nd low or high gear for some reason. No matter though: I'm a fan of single speed anyway.

Here's some pics of the BF.

RedDevil

What type of people drive Fold Up Bikes? I am trying to find out what kind of personality you need to be seen on such a daft looking contraption

Well for me it was for saving time which is important, but I have now found that I LOVE the thing and look forward to cycling every day, in fact some days I do a couple of extra loops

I don't care what people say, it suits me and I feel THEY are loosing out. I ask the question as I have seen and heard school kids laughing at me cycling past, but then again perhaps they don't understand

Any ideas about keeping dry in a suite would be handy, I got soaked today

GradStudent

It's funny, but no one has ever commented about my bike looking different. Sad to say, I think most adults don't remember what a bike is supposed to look like!

ruchai

I have 2 Raleigh 20 that seldom been used since I bought them for my daughters 30 years ago. The wheels are heavy, the sturny-archer hubs are pains in the neck to maintain. After I saw Cheq pictures I am now planning to modify them. Thanks you cheq

robertsdvd

Heh, if you ever want to sell them... let me know

ruchai

If I did not see this pictures I would had give them away for free. But now I want to have fun improving the two bikes. I plan to change the wheels to aluminum and a single speed hub then see if my daughters will ride them. If not I shall spend more and try to make one to match a Bike Friday and ride it myself.

birdygirl

i have a Birdy Red. No pics but have a look at the pics from the Birdy annual day i attended. You'll see all kinds of Birdy's and some other odd looking folding bikes if you look closely.

https://www.birdyfoldingbikes.com/bir...4/FrameSet.htm

james Haury

My 7 speed Bike friday metro has been converted to friction shifting. I did it and so far it works well.

spambait11

Dope! How could I forget? I have a Birdy Silver waaaaay back from 1999... Now it's in storage in my attic because 18" tires are too hard to come by in the U.S. and I realize I don't like Al as much as I thought I would. I'll probably stick with CrMo from here on out. Nice pics, by the way - that day looked like fun.

Taz

I have been riding a Strida for the past 3 years.

james Haury

Taz . What do you use your strida for? Strictly the daily commute or to take the train and explore on weekends?

Taz

I use it during the week to ride from my house to the train. I them take it on the train so I can ride fro the train to my office. Then I do the reverse in the afternoon. Total ride a day is about four miles.
I also do ride it on some weekends around my the aera where I live with my kids.
All the kids in my aera think it's the coolest bike. I also get alot of questions from people on the train.

Guest

I'm definitely in the market for a second, cheap folding bike.... after Interbike, I saw options I never even thought to consider before, and I'll definitely make some kind of purchase at some point in the coming months. It would be nice to have a beater folder bike.

Koffee

LittlePixel

Cheg - I love your twenty! I saw it a few weeks ago on this site and thought mmm...... Then after looking at Sheldon Brown's fleet and finding the old twenty has quite a following I had to get one...

Just this weekend I got my own stock one (Via ebay of course!) with a view to modifying it and making it my daily rider. I'm currently thinking "Shimano inter-8" hub.... Rode it to work today in original condition - it's a bit ropey (sturmey gears slipping; sadle uncomfortable and right crank a bit bent), but it's nimble, solid and not as heavy as I feared. My work colleagues all concede it's very cute and await with baited breath to see it converted with alloy parts, black powder coat, slick tyres, skyway aero front hub, new raleigh decals etc etc...

Reasons for going folding? I think I want to be a non-conformist. If me and my girlfriend Jo get a VW camper van it can fit inside without adding to the wind resistance and I like the idea of turning an old thing into something new...

Question - Have any of you have any problems spreading the seat stays to fit wider rear hubs?

Anyway - here she is at present (not-so-great picture off the eBay listing)

cheg

I got mine on ebay last December. I'm keeping my eye open for another one locally at a garage sale, thrift store, etc. I have enough parts to make two now 8~)

I initially tried to be very careful and systematic about spreading the stays, following Sheldon Browns instructions: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html. I undershot the mark somewhat and had to force the 3x7 wheel in everytime. One day I got fed up and just grabbed both sides and pulled them apart, and then bent the dropout plates in a bit with a big crecent wrench to make them more parallel. Now the wheel goes in and out easily and I have not had any problems with handling or tire wear. The wheel alignment appears to be fine. HOWEVER, it is better to follow the process that Sheldon Brown describes.

The seatstays are tied together by the plate brake bridge, so when you spread the stays they only bend below the bridge. There is a slight curve to the seatstays (just like a Litespeed, heh heh).

You should know that on my bike the seatstays are too close to the hub to use the smallest rear sprocket. The chain hits the seatstay and jams when you try to shift to the outermost sprocket. It may be possible to change this by having a framebuilder cut off the old brake bridge, respread the stays, and replace the bridge. It may also be possible to grind off a bit of the seatstay to make room. My solution to this is to get a cassette with both an 11 and a 12 tooth sprockets and not use the 11. The current setup has only 6 speeds, but the range is good. I have a 58 tooth ring in the front now. With the 3x7 hub I had 18 speeds and ran a 52 in the front.

Of course, with an 8 speed internal gear hub, you only have one sprocket so shifting will not be an issue. The only thing I haven't tried yet is a front derailleur and double crank. Not sure how to route the cable and the chainline may be poor. I'll probably try it eventually anyway.

LittlePixel

We should probably start a Twenty "Appreciation and Tips" thread

Thanks for the info - Sheldon's site is like gold isn't it? - I look forward to spreading the stays with a lot less trepidation now....

I was wondering about a double ring on the front chainset... You said on your page there might not be room because of where the crossbar intersects the seat post (i guess this is partially dictated by the size of the outer ring), but I do like the idea of combining the inter-8 at the back and two at the front to give a very respectable 16; I live at the top of a big hill though and so will need lower gears but want a big ring to make her go fast on the flat! So this may not be possible...Hmm.

Also I've just sourced some 20" suspension forks and am feeling more than a little out of my depth with steerers, compatable stems, and - urgh! Headsets... Rome wasn't built in a day though eh?

Anyhow - thanks for the input - much appreciated; I plan to take some pix and get an 'ongoing progress' webpage going at some point soon....

cheg

Have fun.

bubbabear

I have a vintage restoration folding bike project. It's a Road Puppy made by Shimura in "occupied Japan". I don't know the year of manufacture, but it must be late 1940's-Early 1950's. It's now completely in pieces.

Raiyn

If I got a folding bike I would name it "Mappy", "Origami" or "Bad Poker Player"

shecky

I have a Raleigh Twenty. Almost completely stock, gets ridden nearly every day. It's fantastically reliable, fits me quite well, and with a milk crate basket bolted on the back, quite a utility bike. One of these days, I'll stick some aluminum rims on it, but it rains so little around here, I'm not terribly motivated.

LittlePixel

Just posting a running report on my Raleigh Twenty project and a couple of pix; Sourced pretty much all the parts I need (apart from front and rear reflectors which strangely seem pretty hard to get!) and am just waiting on delivery on a SRAM 7 hub, 1" kalloy quill stem, post-mounted rear rack and seatpost shim. Here she is in our cellar ('scuse the mess - My girlfriend Jo has labelled it my 'lair' of late!), mocked up a bit to look more like she will when she's finished... (Wrong stem, seat held in with blu-tak, no cables, no chain!) It's strange how the 70's metallic paint is growing on me!.. Comments welcome...

eff-J

Here's a cameraphone shot of my Dahon Speed P8, sitting next to my desk at work: