Raleigh Twenty

A few weeks ago, when I was deciding if I should buy a folding bike or not, I found a cheap Raleigh Twenty not too far from where I lived.

I was intrigued by it - this bike was literally constructed in the 1970’s and still in remarkably good condition!

I did a bit of research, and inevitably stumbled across the late Sheldon Brown’s Raleigh Twenty. It looked like a decent enough bike, so I picked it up.

Since I ended up buying a Brompton though, I ended up not needing this bike for myself. I did some minor refits on it to get it to be road worthy again:

• Added some modern LED lights (it has its original Dynamo light and it still works, but is a bit of a pain)
• Tuned up the brakes to be nice and tight
• Had to have the saddle shaft bolt completely replaced, as the old one was stripped
• Replaced the pedals with something with a bit more grip
• Removed the chain cover, as it was clinking against the new pedals.

The now road-worthy bike made a nice gift for my girlfriend, and now we both have folding bikes!

But wait, there’s more!

I’ve found Sheldon Brown’s website remarkably helpful in getting oriented in the world of bicycle maintenance. Somewhat as an homage to him, and somewhat as a practical project to gain more experience in bicycle repair and maintenance, I’ve decided to continue my refit of the Raleigh Twenty to match his specification as close as possible.

I’m starting by replacing the Sturmey-Archery 3 speed hub with a Sturmey-Archer X-RF8. This hub is a fair bit more complicated and probably won’t have the same longevity, but the gearing gains are much more similar to what I have on the Brompton - and of course are what Sheldon decided to use. My girlfriend’s main complaint about the bike is the limited gear range and low gear gain, so replacing the hub is a logical first step.

Of course, replacing the hub will mean that I need to rebuild the wheels. That change will probably be a significant improvement as well:

• The current rims are showing visible signs of rust
• The current rims are quite heavy
• The tires are a bit worn, but also much fatter than they need to be

My plan is to get some light BMX rims (The Raleigh Twenty use 20” rims, the same as a BMX), and Schwalbe Marathon tires - the same as on the Brompton. These tires should be much more narrow, meaning they’ll have less friction against the road. And of course, the Marathon tires have a reputation of being almost impossible to puncture, so the reliability is an added bonus.

The combination of the increased gear range, lighter rims, and more narrow tires should see this good old Raleigh Twenty flying once more.

Of course, once all this is done pretty much the only original parts will be the frame, fork, and saddle. The only upgrade I might consider after this is the fork. Sheldon suggests that Brompton forks are a good option. Perhaps this Raleigh will end up turning into a sort of “budget Brompton” when all is said and done…