ChrisM

Does anyone know if a Raleigh Folder is the same as a Raleigh Twenty?

cheg

Raleigh made a 16" wheel folder called the RSW before the Twenty came out. Then they made a "Twenty", a "Shopper", a "Stowaway", a "Compact", and a "Safari". I thing Raleigh Folder is just a generic name of all of thoses models.

LittlePixel

Some Twenties are folders, some not; same seems to go for Stowaways and Shoppers so you have to look for the hinge to be sure;

This may be of extreme interest to you twenty fans out there (Cheg!)... I was browsing eBay just moments ago and found this wee beauty... A Twenty Tandem!!!



https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...120319777&rd=1

Not strictly a folder but a Twenty (or should that be forty) all the same...
I'm guessing these are pretty rare... Anyone else ever heard of (or owned, ridden one of them?)

Interested to see how much it goes for. I'd love to think I'd buy it but not this time I don't think...

ChrisM

Interesting!

This is the bike that got me thinking about this.
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWA:IT
It just says 'Raleigh Folder' on the chainguard and 'Raleigh' on the down/top tube. It looks like it has 20" wheels, but I can't tell for sure.

cheg

That's a Raleigh Twenty, pretty much identical to mine but in much better shape. All original like that, could go for as much as $250. Remarkably rust free.

cheg

That is too cool. A three speed tandem with 20" wheels and no suspension would be a bit limited, though. If I was in the UK I'd consider buying it though.

pinerider

From Sheldon Brown's Retro Raleighs site it looks like Raleigh started calling the "Twenty" the "Folder" at some point. A Folder is just a newer Twenty! See here (a page from the 1976 catalogue)
I have a RSW16 that doesn't fold and a Twenty that does.

ChrisM

I hadn't noticed that before. Thanks for the tip. I've never seen an RSW 16, can you post a picture?

pinerider

Sure, here'a my 1966 RSW 16:

broomhandle

A folder and a Twenty are the same. i have a 1970 twenty and a 1975 folder and they are exactly the same, except different metal flake green.

Brian Grey

Dear Pinerider,

I've got one of those "RSW"s. Can you tell me their full name and origin? It looks close to mint condition. Picture attached. Are they worth selling or should I just extract the generator hub and dump it?

This should tickle: I was told it was built for the British Royal Navy - designed to pack into a standard naval torpedo casing so that it could be deployed by SAS frogmen driving those modified WW2 torpedoes. Not a bad tale; someone must have made it up to explain the hub name!

Any information welcome.

Regards,

Brian Grey

pinerider

I'd keep it Brian. Yours looks like a newer one from the chainguard styling - check the rear hub, it should have a year stamped on it. I saw a 1965 model for sale on the internet for $600, don't know if it sold or what they got for it.

Check this thread for a short discussion on the topic.

The Navy story sounds romantic, but I think they were designed to compete with Moulton bikes in the early 60's. The hub name refers to "dynamo" or generator.

AstronUSA

Ok Ok you got twentys you got folders and you got the 16inch rsws.... But have you seen one of these. I was impressed with the Tandem but I couldn't see a hinge..... Anyway Anybody Know when this was made.
Not a folder

randya

Raleigh made both 16" folders and rigid frame bikes from the mid to late 60's, see advert and history below. Basically, Raleigh couldn't reach a licensing agreement with Moulton to produce folders so they designed and built their own, the RSW16. It was intended as a city utility bike, mine came with the original green plaid shopping basket - it has a spring clip to attach it to the rack. Raleigh Chopper collectors use the RSW16s for parts bikes, they don't have much value in England, but they're relatively rare in the US. I'm keeping mine.
https://retroraleighs.com/rsw.html
https://homepage.ntlworld.com/catfoo...y/history1.html

LittlePixel

Regarding that lovely yellow Raleigh Eighteen... Interesting!

The Geometry looks pretty much identical to a Twenty apart from the absence of the strengthening brackets from the bottom bracket to the main tube... Perhaps as it's an '18' its one of the smaller childrens sized bikes? My girlfriend remembers having something like that in the late '70s

Actually - around the height of the Grifter/Action-Man period in the UK they did a boys one called the Commando that had chunkier tires, 18" wheels and army camo paintwork... (does quick google to find pics)

Aha - I found some pictures. You have to love the extended Chopper-style seat... There are other cool Raleigh images on this site as well... (btw - How do you insert these as thumbnail images?)

rybowen

I just bought a non-folding Raleigh twenty on ebay for my wife to replace her much-loved but worn out folding twenty. The money people get for those things....

Anyway, it has 451 wheels and steel brakes, not 406 wheels and Weinmann brakes.

Mattbowns

As regards the Eighteen, I also have one, mid way through restoration. It was made sometime in the sixties (the only time the twist shift was used) I haven't been able to find out much more, nobody seems to acknowledge their existence. Yours seems in better condition than mine, i plan to respray mine and give it a good polish. I'm sorry i can't help you more

james Haury

Was the Safari similiar to the commando star?

Dave 20

Doesn't everyone have an 18?
Mine is a BSA18 (a Badge-Engineered Raleigh18), metallic blue-green, dated 1975 on the hub. Scaled-down version of my Raleigh 20 (451) of the same year, same colour. Have seen a few BSA20 s around here (Australia ) as well. Yet to see a folding BSA version, but I do own a Triumph -badged Raleigh 20 folder.
Dave.

jaypee

Hey all.. I'm just visiting from the single-speed forum. I was recently researching the Raleigh folders as a friend of mine had one in at the shop he owns. I was considering picking it up and converting it to a fixed-gear like Sheldon Brown has done with a Raleigh 20 but decided that I have enough projects as it is. Anyway, someone may be interested as he recently placed it on E-Bay.

Out of curiosity, are there any frame-related issues with these things? I'm assuming that the folding joint has strength issues, am I wrong?

rybowen

Nah, they're really sturdy.

LittlePixel

i concurr. Pretty bombproof. You just have to make sure the folding bolt is all nice and tigh and it feels well sturdy.

chambo

there was also the badge engineered Triumph 20 "traffic master folder built in the late 70's like mine.

Steve...Chesterfield,England

Burnarda88

IT'S BACK! Once again on eBay, a Tandem version of my all time favourite bicycle. The eBay link in the UK as of 13/April/06...

https://cgi.ebay.ca/RALEIGH-SHOPPER-T...QQcmdZViewItem

LittlePixel

See my other current post - I think this is a Raleigh RSW 16 not a Twenty as the wheels are smaller and the geometry lacks the twin tubes running up from the BB to the top tube. It's cute though. If I had the bdget I'd love to 'pimp it' as Rafael put it...