cudak888 

"But...it just followed me home!"



Alternative title: "I like my LBS."



It's been a stressful month, so I'm thankful that fate threw these little gems my way. The Twenty is a late-'71 or early '72 - Sturmey hub is a 71-11. I'm calling it a '72.

Found this badge on it, but haven't even had time to try and read it:



-Kurt

cb400bill

They look like such fun little bikes.

squirtdad

happy happy joy joy

cudak888 

They may handle weird to some, and the 406 tires on the US models are nothing special...but it doesn't really seem to matter with these. They are, indeed, just fun.

This is the first one I've had with this handlebar variant (I've had a chance to experience the BMX-style U-bars and the one-piece units), and I'm surprised how well it transfers the North Road feel of the full-size models too.

-Kurt

gna

Someone found a Twenty at an estate sale, bought it, and gave it to me "because I know you like old junk." Thanks!
Parked in front of my Twenty:


Hub is 12 69. First US models appeared in 1970, so that's what I'm going with. Love the groovy bag.

cudak888 

That's a looker. Really like the blue and matching fenders. Can't say I'm that enthused about the green of my new one, but hey - I'm not complaining. Walked into the LBS and there it was.

Surprisingly enough, the Altenburger rear caliper seems to be more responsive than the Weinmann 1080 usually fitted to these. Haven't given it a close look to see if it's actually stiffer, or just flopping around enough to create more friction.

-Kurt

3speedslow

Ditto on the FUN! Kurt, that’s a great one to tag along home with. When I found mine I was soo happy I did not care what colour it was. Love grows with the ride!

Had a nice neighborhood ride on mine last night. Quiet, stress free and filled with the sights of childhood remembrances. Kids chasing the ice cream truck, folks walking and kids riding everywhere are still there. Even rode by the house my family stayed in while my Dad was in Nam. I just glided along taking it all in, shifting effortlessly as I went on my Twenty.

cudak888 

Quick update on both Twenties. As you know, I use my brown one for shooting Bike to School events, and I rushed to get the green one ready for one of my coworkers for National Bike to School Day today. Yanked some period-looking grips off a wheelchair and tuned it up last night:







That’s what true everyday riding is all about. Folks seem to forget that a trip in the car isn’t the same.

-Kurt

cudak888 

Tried to add this to the previous post, but having trouble on the phone - anyway, what I didn’t expect was this:

At one of the intersections our (police led) ride went through, a group of drivers turning left began to get impatient, as our group was given priority to turn left in front of them, at the same intersection. To supplement the motorcycle officer on hand, I corked said left turn lane.

I was there for about 2 minutes...then WHAM! I thought that I had been punted by the lead Toyota (I’d half expected the driver to try it, given their impatience). I looked up to find myself lying on the ‘70 Twenty, with a child and their bike over me. They had that cut the turn sharp, brushing past the left of the car and straight into me - they never saw me over the blind spot created by the SUV.

Naturally, the child blamed me and rode off without a scratch . Hey, the child wasn’t hurt, and that’s all that matters.

Once I got on the Twenty though, it was a different story. Raleigh’s notoriously soft crankarms came to bite me in the butt. Drive side crank was smashed in, and I noticed it the moment it bent the chain guard into a pretzel. Being the guy on video, I didn’t have a choice - I threw it in third and sped off like one of those Alanax (or whatever they’re called) stepper bikes.

Here’s the damage. Now ISO a left crankarm and pre-1973 Twenty chainguard in Coffee.

wrk101

I bought a cheap used kids bikes with alloy rims to upgrade my Raleigh 20. Nice upgrade if you can score the rims cheap.

Needed new spokes, but reused what was there for convenience.

Someone on the forum updated to a modern 3 piece crankset. That would be a nice upgrade. Caution, super long BB shell on these bikes!

gna

I bought some 20" aluminum wheels at the bike recycler for main Twenty (root beer). I reused the old spokes, though I had to grind some of them down. That and Koolstops greatly improved the braking. I also put a slightly larger cog in back, 17T IIRC.

cudak888 

The frame in front of the other two is the eventual camera bike replacement to the ‘70, so it can be retired from the target practice that is Bike to School Day. That one has already had its BB filled with brass, tapped to 68tpi and faced to 70mm. Also have a pair of 451’s for it. I’ve set it up with half of a Cook Brothers crank, which will probably crack on its first outing

-Kurt

USAZorro

Kurt,

What crank length (and how many teeth on the sprocket on the other side)?

cudak888 

I think these are 165 or 160, with a 44t ring. They have a curved profile that isn’t found on the Sports.

EDIT: 165mm, 44t confirmed. Marked "44" on the back of the ring.

I only need the drive side - bike went down on that side. Non-drive side is OK.

EDIT #2 : Could also use a front fender stay and rear Pletscher rack. Looks as if the child ran into the left rack stay and bent it in; there are no other witness or tire marks.

-Kurt

USAZorro

So much for that idea. I have 165mm - even one or two with 44 teeth - but they are from Sports models.

Random Tandem

I have a crankset from my 1974 Raleigh 20 Folder that I kept when I swapped the cottered crankset for an aluminum (perhaps I should say "aluminium" for a Raliegh from Nottingham) ST crankset. I do not expect I will need it, but I am a little far from you for practicality (I could ship it from Bellingham WA if that is helpful to you). If you do not find another source let me know.

-Will

cudak888 

44t Sports crankset with the squared off profile? I'm not against the idea if it'll clear a Twenty's chainguard. I'll go for it if Will's crankset doesn't pan out.

I'll cover shipping. Send me a PM.

-Kurt

3speedslow

I hope the brown Twenty heals quick! Have to ask, was the kid texting while riding?

Random Tandem

As I mentioned in my PM: mine turns out to be 46T 165mm:

Let me know by PM if you want it sent your way.

-Will

cudak888 

It'll heal quick

It's a controlled ride; the kids are having too much fun to bother with cellphones. I took a look at the rear GoPro footage to get a better idea of what happened. Apparently, the young rider (who had just merged into the rightmost through lane) abruptly darted into the left through lane, continuing a line to cut the apex. I'm assuming that with all the motion visible behind me, an almost static (I had just mounted up and had travelled about 1') didn't register, and boom.

Wouldn't dwell on this, really. Kids see and process things differently than an adult. Some of them need more on-bike training, but you can't scrutinize every child beforehand and make Bike to School Day an exclusionary event. The important thing is that the kids and the school see that there is a benefit in having kids ride daily. This makes it one more event that can chip away at the bias that adults have against protected bike lanes, protected intersections, and safe bicycle infrastructure. Its hard to demonize this infra when you've been an administrator, parent, or city government official participating in one of these events.


Looks like a Sports crankset, but it has the curved profile of a Twenty's crankarm. Unless the chainguard braze-on was moved up in later years, it looks as if 44t is the largest ring that'll clear the chainguard tab on the '70. Either that, or mine is bent more than I realize.

-Kurt

3speedslow

Sorry, I meant the texting thing as a joke....

cudak888 

No worries, it's all good.

Too bad a hi-vis joke doesn't fit here

-Kurt

cudak888 

Thanks to USAZorro, the Twenty is now wearing a replacement Raleigh crankset and its Sports-esque squared off crankarms.

I installed the crankset last night and tested it this morning. Feels good. Somehow, I was able to save and re-use the crank cotters too. They haven't loosened up...yet.








I also straightened out the chainguard as a temporary fix, and also so I could verify that I cold set the chainguard tab on the frame correctly. The guard has always been rough on this Twenty, so it's not really much to fret over, but it really looks like its seen better days now.





The guard still has a twist to it that I can't get out of it, and the metal is so soft around the chainguard tab hole that it's really difficult to make it stay in position. Can't wait to replace it - if and when a pre-'73 guard shows up in the right color.





Looking nice and square, for once.





Considering what the guard looked like after Bike to School Day, it straightened out really well.





The extra beef of John's replacement might come in handy if I get punted down to the ground again





I've test ridden it since, but it's still not 100% functional - I didn't notice until a few days ago that the fall bent the indicator chain and tore one of the links from its rivet. I've ordered one of those in the meantime. Then I can officially call this one done...

-Kurt

3speedslow

Such a dark brown frame colour, looks nice! Glad it healed. Have you done anything to the green one that “followed” you home?

cudak888 

I did - gave it a tune up, swapped out that BMX front tire for a blackwall that shares the same tread pattern as the whitewalls on the brown Twenty, and shoved on some wheelchair grips that look just like period Dare grips (but they don't stay as well - I went as far as to do the clearcoat trick, and they STILL twist a bit).

Should be visible in all the previous pics except the first batch. Would really like to swap those wheelchair grips out for proper Dare units. Also have to pull the rear wheel and put spacers back on the rear fender; it doesn't sit right.

-Kurt