Mine is fairly stock. I used a Dimension mounting plate, which fits over the stock fenders. If I had it to do over I would braze the brake mounts and I still might do that. The Dimension mounting plate will only work for the front brake, but it does the bulk of the stopping.

I will keep an eye out for one... had I seen this post just a little sooner I would have been able to send you a spare that we had kicking around the co-op.

More a resurrection than a restoration...

I picked up a bare 1960s Raleigh Sports women's frame & fenders at ABCE last fall and have just finished building up as a campus bike for my daughter:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/frankenbike/completed.jpg

Now we just need all that snow to melt.

Ahhh...too bad. Please let me know if you have a spare one around. Thanks Sixty Fiver!!!

sixty fiver, I'll ask Ryan the local framebuilder what he would charge me to braze bosses on. Maybe he'd even be willing to teach me. I guess I'm willing to ruin the paint job.

As I said, I took the bike on the train, and the conductor asked me to fold it. Any tips on making it easy to carry once folded? As we know, the Twenty isn't great at folding.

I rode the heck out of my Rudge today. It was a big shakedown ride. I hauled over 100 pounds of groceries in my trailer with it. And we have hills here. My back hurt afterward. I'm amazed I managed to do it all. I really must gear it lower. It's nutty that they geared these bikes so high. I'm very pleased with this bike. The three Kool Stop brake pads work great. This bike's brakes work very well. I'd say they're better than Weinmann centerpulls. And these 50 year old cables are awesome. I don't think anyone makes them this thick any more.

Tom,

I use a small bungie cord, the kind with the balls on the end, to hold the bike together when I am carrying it. A velcro strap would probably work better. The Twenty doesn't lend itself well to folding and carrying, more for compact storage. Which is why I am shopping for a Brompton now.

Aaron :)

Late to the party...
 

Not the best rez, but here's my 1968 Raleigh Sports out for its first Spring ride.

(Took a file and roughed up the surfaces of the brake pads: "John Bull" in the front and orange "Weinmann" in the rear -- vast improvement!)

[IMG]http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5100/...447ea0c2_z.jpg March 2011 by w1gfh, on Flickr[/IMG]

Modern 20" folding bikes have a hinge incorporated into the handlebar stem, offset from the headset at a 45 degree angle. With that, the first step to folding the bike is to release the lock on that, and flop the handlebar down. It comes to a rest parallel to the frame tubes, on account of that 45 degree angle. Then you fold the frame, sandwiching the handlebar and "handlepost" between the frame halves. This might possibly work on a Twenty.

Other than that, I recommend folding pedals. Get the cheapest ones you can; they're all crap, so there's no benefit to 'better' ones.

But really, if you want a folding bike, get a folding bike. As much as I love vintage bikes, I won't mess around with vintage folding bikes.

Here is my wife's sport!
Even for a woman's frame Im in love too.


http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...r/IMG_9111.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...r/IMG_9118.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...r/IMG_9117.jpg

^^^ I LOVE it! I want a white one now!

Wow, that cream-coloured step-through is nice. I can't wait to see how the silver step-through I've got on the stand will look like when it is finished. Waiting on 5/32" balls and brake pads so I can put it all together. Nothing like not being able to put the fork on to stall a project.

Nice looking bike! It makes me nostalgic as I used to have a Sports that was a little bit older than yours but had the same decal on the downtube. Unfortunately, even with the seat all the way down, it was still a bit too tall for me, so I sold it to someone taller who will hopefully get more enjoyment out of it. But not before taking it on the 3-speed tour! Hope you enjoy your bike! :)

http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/7...7681014490.jpg

Anyone know of a stock 25" step through? Maybe an older Pashley or R. Tourist?

Never heard of anything like it.

Longer seat post on the biggest frame size you can find. By the time you add a Brooks you add an extra inch or more with the springs anyhow. With a step-through what does it matter if you have a really long seatpost? Almost all the old Raleigh/English 3-speeds have a 25.4mm seatpost which is the same as many/most older BMX bikes if I recall. You can buy them CHEAP on Amazon. They made a lot of good strong long-ash seatposts for BMX bikes. Some even have a curve to them so you can get back further from the bars if that is what you want.

Just a weird, strange question. What should I do if the fork lock got powder coated over and not able turn anymore? Should I just leave it as is or is there any kinds of chemical or solution which I can clean it off and save the fork lock? I apologize for these kind of weird stuff. :)

Recently I picked up a new seatpost for my Superbe and I can confirm its a 25.4mm/1" seatpost.

Gasket remover. Do a google search on it, you'll see a few how-to's on it.

The long seat would require a long stem or some up-swept bars to maintian a proper upright poition. Besides all things into account, sprung saddle and all, I ride a 25" fame. I'm thinking about using the bike for work and errands so a good fit is important and so is a loop or step through frame, IGH and full chaincase. My 23" Sports is a bit small, just thinking maybe some pre-war model might be larger.

I think you are going to have a darn hard time finding any step-through in 25" this side of the Atlantic. In the States most men are esceered of riding a "girls bike" as it will make their nobules schrivel up and fall off or something. There just aren't that many women who would want a stepthrough that large. Most of the tall girls who are seriously into bicycling will just take the path of least resistance and go with a large diamond-frame. They might be out there in some odd brands that you could swap parts out to.

Another idea is throwing 29's on the biggest E3S as an upgrade. That would give you another inch and alloy wheels, better tire choices, and much better braking to boot. Don't forget that there are a ton of options for long stems that fit the E3S's

Glad to know I am not the only one with that problem...

I suspect there may be some Dutch built/market bikes that will work, they are among the tallest people in the world.

Aaron :)

Hmmm...maybe creep around ebay.uk for a bit. Pashley also build special needs bikes and this is my special need, then of course I'd especially need some $$.


Good point but I recall from a trip to the circus and the tall guy had a tiny bike!!

This is a circa 30's "The Planet" with a big 10" head tube but the seat tube is only 20". It's a 22.2 seatpost to boot.

PM if you're interested in the frame and fork, BB and headset. I'll gather better pics and info.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/__...00/Planet1.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/__...00/Planet2.jpg

That looks suspiciously like the Lake Pepin overlook on the Wisconsin side...

I will have a shop to build up two wheels for my Raleigh in the next month or so, and I am just wondering what kind of spokes should I get for them? I am getting the Sun CR-18 alloy rims, 36h.