Folding Bikes - "New" Raleigh Twenty

The moderators are cowards.

What is the current thought on replacement forks? Has a reliable source been found for a fork, perhaps a suspension unit, with a sufficiently long steerer?


I will be using the RST Capa T8 (20 inch) for my Twenty. The steerer is available in a 265mm (threadless) length which should be easily long enough for a Twenty. I could not source this fork in Australia so I purchased mine from bikeparts.com (http://www.bikeparts.com/index.asp) - check for RST.

Mind you I have not actually fitted it yet, still need to collect more parts! This could be expensive!

Good to see you chose to go with the R-20... They seem to be like a drug so beware...

RST is a great choice. The steerers are purchases separate wich is nice for us Twenty owners. Im not sure where you are (in the world), but they are at Gaerlan too... http://www.gaerlan.com/bikeparts/frame/forks/fork.html
PS. I catually made a fork setup using parts I bought from Gaerlan. You can see it on my blog... (below)

R-20's : 4 outa 5 doctors recomend it... :)

come check the progress...
http://web.mac.com/phatatude/Green_Space/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog.html

The moderators are cowards.

Not sure why that would happen... (created in iweb)
Here is the specific page with the steerer setup if you want to just try this page... http://web.mac.com/phatatude/Green_Space/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog/Entries/2008/3/26_Steering_Tube....html

R-20's : If it were easy, they wouldnt be so cool...

come check the progress...
http://web.mac.com/phatatude/Green_Space/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog.html

Not sure why that would happen... (created in iweb)
Here is the specific page with the steerer setup if you want to just try this page... http://web.mac.com/phatatude/Green_Space/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog/Entries/2008/3/26_Steering_Tube....html

R-20's : If it were easy, they wouldnt be so cool...

come check the progress...
http://web.mac.com/phatatude/Green_Space/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog.html

The moderators are cowards.

Here's one I almost bought for my R20- it was the right price. I ended up going for a 180mm steerer tube suspension fork from EBay, tho.

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=01-103574&type=store&category=fork-20_inch

180mm steerer length seems to be fairly standard. I cut the top of the head tube down- it doesn't sacrifice any strength- and installed a threaded headset.

I really wanted canti brake posts - the R20's original brakes are anemic, and a good front brake is important to me :D

CPU usage will be because iWeb uses mainly PNG image files and as such browsers like IE choke on it trying to render the images. Try it in Firefox and it will likely work. Phatatude's site even chugs on my Mac running Safari - but it's always worth waiting for the page to load... :)

Toronto is loaded with r20s, and I see a lot of modded ones downtown. I'm sure if you strike up a conversation with any of these rider's they would give you a lot of info (folder riders by nature are rather friendly, at least that's what I've found). Last summer I had a random conversation with a fully modded r20, shocks on fork (not sure if it was the RSTs)... he was telling me about the rebuild process for the r20, but I forgot where he got his parts (I believed most of it was ebayed).

I don't have an r20 and do not know the condition of the bike, but if it is vintage... then start inspecting the bearings for BB, hubs, and headset and work from there... if they are intact... consider yourself very luck...

Good luck and post some pics when you are finished...

Well, I managed to copy the page, close it, open Word and paste it, before my CPU melted. Phew. Before I opened it, my memory usage was at 439 megs. I Closed it as it passed 800!

The content looks good - thanks a lot.

John

Hey, it also "melts" my CPU, it kicks in the fan at full speed. I can't believe a website can do that.
No firefox for me, but I'll install Safari instead.

yeah phatatudes site is slow loading on my PC.
Im on AOL..so use there software on windows XP.

But theres no problem when its loaded

I had no idea fellas... Everything opens fine on my end (5 diff macs I have running safari and firefox OS 10 - 10.4.10). I'll have to see if there is anything I can do to better the performance. Im terribly sorry.

R-20's : Make em' Drool... :)

come check the progress... (if you have the time for it to load... sorry)
http://web.mac.com/phatatude/Green_Space/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog/Raleigh_Twenty_Blog.html

The moderators are cowards.

Strange to see Microsoft have an issue.
Haha - are you kidding! :) IE is known as the king of the incompatible browsers. But that ain't no excuse for the code that iWeb pushes out either... My Twenty site was also done with iWeb but it was 1.0 and seemingly a bit less heavy graphically.

The R20 is such a good simple bulletproof design, and with all the goofy folders around, and popular as they are, why isn't someone just making a real new R20, with updated parts?

What about a new updated British paratrooper bike? I had one of these once, a long time ago. I paid $20 for it.

http://www.combatreform.com/britishparabikeunfolded.jpg
]

why isn't someone just making a real new R20, with updated parts?

Raleigh re-launched the non-folding 'shopper' (http://www.raleigh.co.uk/bikedetails.aspx?ID=1857) about 18 months ago. I say relaunched - it's more like a new Beetle or Mini in that it's an all-new design in Aluminium and really just a new utility bike based on the same geometry.
But it is basically what you say, bar the folding ability...


http://www.raleigh.co.uk/media/bikes/large/SHOP07S.jpg

thought a 20 was A utility bike.

Havent seen lance armstrong on one.

The moderators are cowards.

I havent seen Lance Armstrong for a while.
But I listen to radio stations that play Sheryl Crow records.....

I have racers and mountain bikes. But think the 20 is a good bike.
I like to use bikes for a purpose.
Mostly journeys to place to get something.
geuss thats a utility


Big mig on a folder!!! did he fold his legs

The Twenty is not a Tour de France racing bike.

Somehow I think the guy who finds spare 20s in his garden has a firm concept of what a 20 is! Plus, I think he's done a little tinkering with them. Just a little.:)

Raleigh re-launched the non-folding 'shopper' (http://www.raleigh.co.uk/bikedetails.aspx?ID=1857) about 18 months ago. I say relaunched - it's more like a new Beetle or Mini in that it's an all-new design in Aluminium and really just a new utility bike based on the same geometry.
But it is basically what you say, bar the folding ability...


http://www.raleigh.co.uk/media/bikes/large/SHOP07S.jpg I'd buy that for a dollar or a reasonable price at my LBS.

Wonder if the front end from them can be ordered as spares.

Have to look through there catalogue or phone them.
But they are notorious for poor service, even though my shop gets lots of bikes from them.

I'd buy that for a dollar or a reasonable price at my LBS.

I ran it through a currency converter and I get $296.25 which isn't bad compared to some of the prices for originals on E-bay. I must admit I don't have too much love for aluminum frames for a commuter/utility bike (Too easy to cross thread and strip out fittings) but daaamn it IS pretty. I am tempted as it isn't any more than an Ipod classic or a Wallyworld bike.

Raleigh re-launched the non-folding 'shopper' (http://www.raleigh.co.uk/bikedetails.aspx?ID=1857) about 18 months ago. I say relaunched - it's more like a new Beetle or Mini in that it's an all-new design in Aluminium and really just a new utility bike based on the same geometry.
But it is basically what you say, bar the folding ability...


http://www.raleigh.co.uk/media/bikes/large/SHOP07S.jpg

I respectfully disagree. It's more of an execution of the same design in aluminum. Aluminum requires fatter tubes so the design could be simplified by the use of a single bottom bracket stay instead of two on a steel frame.

True - but plenty of other details are also different - v-brakes, different proportions on the head-tube, use of oval 'aero' tubing, (and the single bottom-bracket stay as you note, welded-on 'basket-bosses', lack of quick-releases on the seat and stem to make for a compact side profile, as well as the classic diamond-shaped rear dropouts. So it is a Twenty - of sorts - but they've missed out some of the soul is what I think I'm saying... :)
Still - it's probably a good basis for a conversion - though I hear it's fairly heavy...

Still - it's probably a good basis for a conversion - though I hear it's fairly heavy...
I'm willing to bet that the frame is significantly lighter than a R20's... nothing beats that 5kg I remember seeing... remember that the frame is a smallish portion of total weight, so if it's heavy, it ain't the frame's fault. :)

does anyone here have one of these? what do you think of it?