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Any ideas for this “half restoration” Raleigh Twenty?

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Any ideas for this “half restoration” Raleigh Twenty?

Old 08-05-21, 01:48 PM
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stormy_ll
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Any ideas for this “half restoration” Raleigh Twenty?

Hello everyone,

So my family was given this Raleigh Twenty from my next door neighbour who became too old to use it. Of course it was left out in all conditions to get a bit ratty and now it’s in its current condition. Fast forward to today my girlfriend (who doesn’t actually own a bike) took interest in it and thought it was pretty comfy/ a good size for her.

The brakes are seized along with a bunch of other stuff and it needs a big strip down which I have started to do, in the aim of getting it back in working order to pootle about on alongside a kona nunu I can pass on to her.

The issue is I cannot tell if it’s past the point of “leave the current paintwork and it’ll look alright” and I was hoping somebody else could give their opinion. I have never done a “half restoration” like this before. Once I have taken to the shop to have blasted/painted and another I have sanded and painted. I’d like to keep this bike as original as possible and I believe the chain cover, pump, seat etc are all original too. This included the paintwork in my mind.

Does anybody have any idea on where I should take this? I can see the paint still has a little shine in it but are the rust spots too big? Would you leave it as is? I doubt it will get a ton of use so probably no point sinking all the money in for a blast/paint. Would I put a clear coat all over it to protect the parts that are already rusted through the paint?










Thank you all for reading!
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Old 08-05-21, 05:52 PM
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Strip it, soak all steel bits in properly diluted Oxalic acid, clean it and touch it up. Polish to finish the job. It's not worth doing a full Monty on such a bike.
You've got the rather rare and maybe desirable, white crappy Raleigh pedals. Try to get some grease and/or oil in the axles. They have bushings, not bearings.
Dare I ask how the rims are doing?
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Old 08-05-21, 06:20 PM
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That is one of the non-folding R20’s. Give it enough to stop the rust and get it back on the road. They are great minimal bikes. You Brits had(have) some great ideas about what people need to ride on.

Lots of us on this side of the pond have restored, modified those frames. Look through the BF threads on it. I LOVE mine!


1979 model mostly original.
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Old 08-05-21, 07:23 PM
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Originally Posted by clubman
Strip it, soak all steel bits in properly diluted Oxalic acid, clean it and touch it up. Polish to finish the job. It's not worth doing a full Monty on such a bike.
You've got the rather rare and maybe desirable, white crappy Raleigh pedals. Try to get some grease and/or oil in the axles. They have bushings, not bearings.
Dare I ask how the rims are doing?
Originally Posted by 3speedslow
That is one of the non-folding R20’s. Give it enough to stop the rust and get it back on the road. They are great minimal bikes. You Brits had(have) some great ideas about what people need to ride on.

Lots of us on this side of the pond have restored, modified those frames. Look through the BF threads on it. I LOVE mine!


1979 model mostly original.
I agree with these gents. Clean/service it and ride. I would say yours is bordering on the tipping point of restoration. If it had huge sentimental value, sure, restore it. If this is just for ambling down lanes - clean, service, ride.
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Old 08-05-21, 08:53 PM
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I probably wouldn't do the whole oxalic treatment myself. Instead, I'd knock off (wire wheel/brush, fine sand paper, etc.) any active or dust bubbling, then do a few coats of boiled linseed oil to provide some protection. For the chrome parts, I usually ball up some aluminum foil, add some oil, & buff out the rust.

Here's my Twenty that I've done almost nothing to (I got lucky, but I also don't mind a little"patina"):

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Old 08-05-21, 10:18 PM
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I am kind of fond of the Raleigh 20's. They are a halfway decent bike. Now doubt worth half a decent restoration. There are some parts that you would want to upgrade. If the head bearings are plain plastic bearings, upgrade them to a ball bearing headset and look for a set of better pedals. These don't have to be expensive. I like the plastic pedals for an application like this. Many enthusiast don't like plastic pedals, but the good ones work well and take a beating without issues.

Good tires are always helpful. Perhaps someone here has recommendations for good 20" tires. If the rims are too rusty to save, you might be able to get a pair from an unwanted BMX bike. The good ones have 36 spokes which I think should match what you have on the Twenty. Then switch them over to the original hubs.

Looking forward to before and later pictures. Bike projects are never done, but keep the pictures coming as the bike progresses.

Sheldon Brown had a Raleigh Twenty with hardly an original part on it. It shows you how far you can take these bikes. Sheldon Brown's Raleigh Twenty
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Old 08-06-21, 05:57 AM
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Originally Posted by clubman
Strip it, soak all steel bits in properly diluted Oxalic acid, clean it and touch it up. Polish to finish the job. It's not worth doing a full Monty on such a bike.
You've got the rather rare and maybe desirable, white crappy Raleigh pedals. Try to get some grease and/or oil in the axles. They have bushings, not bearings.
Dare I ask how the rims are doing?
They’re doing rather alright considering what they’ve through in my opinion. All the spokes seem okay and with a bit of elbow grease I think they’ll come out quite nicely.
Going to replace the tyres with the same totally white style to go along with new brake line covers. They have the original ribbed cream colour ones at the minute but there’s about a 10cm break in it where the spring stuff is exposed so I’ll see if I can get more of that first.
Here they are:



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Old 08-06-21, 06:03 AM
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Originally Posted by 3speedslow
That is one of the non-folding R20’s. Give it enough to stop the rust and get it back on the road. They are great minimal bikes.
Originally Posted by RustyJames
I agree with these gents. Clean/service it and ride. I would say yours is bordering on the tipping point of restoration. If it had huge sentimental value, sure, restore it. If this is just for ambling down lanes - clean, service, ride.
Thank you guys, I’ve taken all the metal bits apart and am leaving them to soak for a little while in deox C. I think I’ve misplaced the rust converter which id have used for dabbing on the frame but there is some liquid something or other I’ll have to have a look at in the garage.

One thing I wanted to ask you more experienced guys was how do I get the crank shafts off? I can’t figure out what sort of attachment it has. I’ve tried a little to bash the bolt through with a mallet but that’s not worked so I stopped in case anything else happened. Can’t tell if it’s just seized or that’s the wrong way to go about it
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Old 08-06-21, 06:08 AM
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Originally Posted by thorstein
Here's my Twenty that I've done almost nothing to (I got lucky, but I also don't mind a little"patina"):
Wow I love the green one this one it’s quite moody and understated yet I think it could still be a head turner. Thank you for the oil recommendation though I think that sounds like a good idea for some coverage

Originally Posted by Velo Mule
There are some parts that you would want to upgrade. If the head bearings are plain plastic bearings, upgrade them to a ball bearing headset and look for a set of better pedals. These don't have to be expensive. I like the plastic pedals for an application like this. Many enthusiast don't like plastic pedals, but the good ones work well and take a beating without issues.
Arghh on one hand I totally agree that the pedals need replacing, I tried riding flats recently as I usually use clip less and my feet were slipping all about and it felt totally insecure. I do love their style though and the white fits with the pump/cables/handlebar accessory but just by looking at them my feet are starting to slip lol.
I’ll definitely replace the headset bearings though that’s a good shout - should be some in a box somewhere that can get donated
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Old 08-06-21, 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by onyerleft
You're on the right track but I would do a full-on resto for such a great bike. Plus it's brown, a most under-appreciated, relatively rare and really great color that sadly is out of fashion now. Just sayin'.
Although I wish I could restore it to how it looked new, I have just spent some money on my first pair of spd sl shoes and pedals. I don’t really have enough in the bike money pot to spend on more bikes! I’d have to strip and paint it myself but that’s a lot of effort.
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Old 08-06-21, 08:02 AM
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Check before you go tyre shopping. The 2 standards for rim size are 451 which English versions came with or 406 which exports generally got.

BMX uses 406, plenty of tyre choices. 451 not so much.
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Old 08-06-21, 03:22 PM
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@stormyII

You are referring to the cotter pins which hold the crankset on the BB? Lots of good vids to watch and learn how. Too long to post a written explanation. Best to see it done!
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Old 08-07-21, 07:12 AM
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/RaleighTwenty
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Old 08-07-21, 10:03 AM
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^^^ Thanks for the link! Been meaning to visit that page. Just spent some nice rainy day weather time cruising through it.
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Old 08-07-21, 10:20 AM
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Originally Posted by 3speedslow
@stormyII

You are referring to the cotter pins which hold the crankset on the BB? Lots of good vids to watch and learn how. Too long to post a written explanation. Best to see it done!
Yeah those are the ones causing me some trouble! I had a look online to see if I could figure it out but I don’t want to kill the thing so have passed it on to my
old man to do for me at the minute he explained it briefly but when it didn’t work for me I assumed i misheard him and left it lol
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Old 08-07-21, 10:59 AM
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Never hit it with a hammer

When I work on cottered cranks and they feel rough, I pour a little motor oil down the seatpost and spin the crank around while leaning the bike to both sides. Messy but will give you time to work out how you will remove the pins.

cotter press tool is best

8” C clamp and socket will do the job as well. Make sure to keep the pin centered on the clamping points.

Continue to search for vids on this job.


I say 8” cause a 6 will bend slightly.

Last edited by 3speedslow; 08-07-21 at 11:05 AM.
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Old 08-08-21, 04:56 AM
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If they are tight they'll need more than a C-clamp.

I just had a right-side crank for which there just wasn't enough clearance for a cotterpress - the nose hit the chainring and the throat wasn't deep enough to get at it sideways. Fortunately the fixed cup was not so tight that I could'nt get it off, so I did the non-drive side and pulled that side of the bearings. It was a bit of a signal, that side was quite tight. Then what was left of the assembly came off the drive side. put in in the vice with a socket placed just as the above, and started squeezing. It's a good big vice but I've broken them before and I had to crank it down enough that it was starting to worry me, then there was a almighty bang and the pin shot out of the hole into the socket.
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Old 08-08-21, 09:28 AM
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+1 had to do that as well on a Rudge! You ain’t kidding about the bang! Even more so I was doing it at the LBS( local bike store).
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Old 08-18-21, 02:25 PM
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Thanks for the tip on the c clamp idea.
I just picked up this Raleigh twenty at a car show and swap meet for $35.
Tearing into it now similar condition from years of neglect.

Added to collection 8-14-2021
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Old 08-18-21, 05:06 PM
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@tjfastback66.

sweet folder and mostly complete. Check the hub for a date. Probably before 72-73

Looks like you are close enough to do the Lake Pepin 3 speed ride. You would fit right in!
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Old 08-18-21, 05:07 PM
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Also, post your bike on the R20 thread.
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Old 08-18-21, 09:33 PM
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Originally Posted by 3speedslow
@tjfastback66.

sweet folder and mostly complete. Check the hub for a date. Probably before 72-73
Yeah looks like from the stamping from the Hub that it is a 1970 - January to be specific. (I think).
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Old 08-18-21, 09:34 PM
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Originally Posted by 3speedslow
Also, post your bike on the R20 thread.
Would that be under Classics and Vintage?
If you have a link that would be great.
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