Folding Bikes - Folding Twenty BMX project!!

That got your attention!!? Well it's my aim, and i've finally gotten around to getting on here and posting about it.

I guess it's fairly self explanatory, but to refine that, i have a folding R-20 and i'm hoping to make 80's BMX ish. LOL. To start out it will be mag wheeled, single speed, and with nice BMX cranks and pedals, oh and also i cool layback seat post.
I did email littlepixel via his site some time ago in the summer now, and he was very helpful! Now with some funds coming in i can actually do a few things. This is going to be a slow project, i'll be up front about that straight away, i'm no money bags, plus i have other projects and other interests that take my time.
Anyhow, i'm taking a very small step towards customizing now, i want some new pedals!! By new i mean new to the bike though. :D
What i need to know though is what dimensions they need to be, to fit in the original cranks? Does anyone out there know this? I've had trouble finding it by googlin'.
I'm looking at items on ebay so it's not always easy to get exactly what you need. I don't currently have a way to accurately measure these dimensions so, can YOU help??!

I've got my eye on a few ebay items so i need to know asap. LOL.

Thanks for your time, and remember, this is just the beginning! :lol:

pics or it never happened


insert funky lookin schmily here

This thread is completely irrelevant without pictures.

Nice welcome guys! If I were doing such a [great sounding] project I imagine I'd do something like this;
With a folding frame obviously.

Cranks - erm I think all pedals have the same threading though someone is welcome to challenge me on this fact...
LP

^ I'm sure the pedal threads for a one-piece crank are smaller than (road/mountain alloy cranks). 1/2" vs 9/16" if I remember correctly.

Wow, that frame as it is would be the beginnings of a neat folder! :)

@Pocko - Ahem - it already is a neat folder - the 1968 Raleigh Twenty....

My mockup was with a non-folding one (they did these also) as it was an image I already have from a stripped frame I have in my garage.

^ Wow! That red one (it's a real beaut!)... is that a new release, or an early vintage that you did-up?

It is my imagination or is that Sheldon Brown's hot-rod fixed folder?

It is Sheldon's - an inspiration to us all. If you're interested in Twenty's it pretty much started with him and John Allen.
<<Read more here>> (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/raleigh-twenty.html)

Also - There's a link to my own Twenty i (http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2007/july/2/HuwGwilliam.htm)n my sig if anyone here hasn't seen it.

The pedals you need are 9/16" not 1/2". Good luck! My Twenty is stock except for the Sun Rhyno Lyte rims and the 100psi tires. If you keep the front fork, you'll have a hard time fitting anything larger than a 1.75 up front. I had to cut off the side knobbies on a 1.8 tire I had.

My BMX folder (detatchable) project. Work in progres. He has got a red sister also. Not sure if the red one is going to be IGH.

cool front rack! any links to it?

cool front rack! any links to it?

Sorry, no-name pickup from local BS, but I`we seen something similar on the net just a day or to ago.
It is made as a base for a front basket so you do not need to have the bracket in the headset to use a front basket.

I put it there to put a small cooler bag, a basket or just when hanging a backpack on the bars this thing is keeping the bottom of it away from frontwheel and plastic fenders.

EDIT: Mine was £ 5...
http://www.rivbike.com/search/run?query=racks#product=none

hey badmother....
nice ride!!
is that a nexus or SA hub with a between-the-legs twist shifter?? :D
and how does the bike detach?

With the small chainring I'm guessing SA.

hey badmother....
nice ride!!
is that a nexus or SA hub with a between-the-legs twist shifter?? :D
and how does the bike detach?

Thank you! My son is already looking at MY bike with lust in his eyes..

That is a Nexus 7 yes. I like Nexus for it`s great solution with the wire.

Last summer I told him the shifter is working fine, just make sure you (being a boy) do not shift when pasing a pree-school. After that he refused to ride the bike (also it was purple then)..

It is detatchable, 197?

Jur: This bike is "work in progress" so you can not trust what you see. Using an old chain at the moment since I`we not decided on chainring and cog sizes. This is ment to be a utility bike, geared for that (pulling trailer and so on).

thanks for all the replies guys, i didn't realize i had any till i came and looked on here, the notification for the subscription to this thread was way too loose, but i've fixed that now.

Anyhow, i settled on some old 'VINTAGE WHITE REFLECTIVE "UNION" BICYCLE PEDALS' from that well know auction site, and they're on there way. they are quoted as being 9/16 thread so fingers crossed it'll work out. They're not BMX really, but for now they'll do since the bike i'm putting them on currently has no pedals! Plus i'm keeping that one (a non folder) fairly stock until i get into wheels a bit further. :)

Sorry if thats confusing the project i mentioned, but i have two i need to work on basically.

Thanks for that mock up LP, very cool looking! Although i'm hoping to get black mag wheels. Having said that if i did decided i still wanted gears i could go the rare raleigh vektar wheels route, since they have the SA hub in the rear.
Correct me if i'm wrong, still a proper n00b! :D

As far as pictures go i will post as i make progress, but like i said that is gona be slow anyway, and probably ever evolving! But, here is the bike in question with its still original and perishing tires, which somehow still hold air fine! :lol:What do we think? I like that dirty looking colour! haha.
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i just got one of these and found a web site that has all sorts of parts they can probably help harriscyclery.com. Also there is this guy with a site with all kinds of info he has an e mail address on his site it is sheldon brown hope this helps

i just got one of these and found a web site that has all sorts of parts they can probably help harriscyclery.com. Also there is this guy with a site with all kinds of info he has an e mail address on his site it is sheldon brown hope this helpsEveryone must discover Sheldon Brown for their first time. I don't remember my own.

Also FYI, Sheldon Brown has passed away last yeart. See Wikipedia. His web site is maintained as a memorial.

Hey H84ll1 - i don't know where you are, but if you're in the uk, you could look out for a Raleigh Vektar to cannibalise for wheels. These have the only mag wheels i know of with a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub but I'd imagine they'd be all but impossible to find in the USA.

not all Vektars are 3 speed
there was a cheaper model that had normal mags
this man has a few Vektars on the Grifter Forum
http://raleighgrifter.aceboard.com/229420-9930-14110-0-Raleigh-Vektar-Resto.htm

Heh - that black Vektar predates the stealth fighter. Awesome!
I never knew they did them in black. Sweet!

"Hello is that Lockheed? - This is Raleigh's lawyer here - you've been served for patent infringement!"

Since this thread is all about small wheeled Raleigh bmx-esque bikes I thought steal the moment to share this pic my bro took of me in about 1980 of me [aged about seven] on my beloved Raleigh Boxer [the pov-spec version of the 'Strika'] in Elwick, County Durham after one of our unsupervised exploring rides. I'd never seen it till the other day. I love it - I'd forgotten how cool my Boxer was!

This being back in the days when kids just 'did' rides of 15 miles on a normal kids bike.
For fun - maybe take an apple and some ribena... Happy days




I still ride 349 wheels now!
Or perhaps they're 305s...

Huw.....where did that all bushy hair all go? ;)

Hi there guys,

thanks for all the responses, much help.

that black vektar looks sweet!! Apparently the black ones were the rarer of the lot so finding one on ebay may be pretty difficult (altho being in england may well help), although white ones do come up on there now and then (i have a saved search so i won't miss out) but they seem to sell for crazy money if they're in tip top condition, and bearing in mind i only want the wheels....maybe that's a little crazy. single speed would prob be fine, just need to get a good ratio (which i know nothing about) so i can get a decent speed out of the old girl.
Also, someone mentioned some Vektars were single speed versions, was that later ones of the Vektar? Or just the Wildcat that was very similar to the Vektar but without the gizmo's and 3 speed SA hub.
this is a wildcat (not my own picture, google rocks);


So on the pedals, i did get some from ebay in the end and when i went to replace the old one (yes, one single little pedal, the other was missing when i got it) it seemed they were a white version of what was already there!! lol. i was surprised, i hadn't realised when buying them, but they look good and just for info sake they were the size mentioned, 9/16, and they were listed as "vintage white reflective 'union' bicycle pedals", anyone know if they were the original Raleigh used? just curious!

I finally got some suitable shims from here (http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/category-Seat-Post-Shims-1.htm) after some great advice from them, for the seat posts i had acquired recently, but i'll give you more details on that when i have more time to get them down. I have one on the non folder now and it has made a difference to the looks already, although the seat really badly needs changing to something 80's BMX.
All in good time. :lol:

Any way, in a few weeks, i'll have the folder and so i can put the parts for that on and see how it looks. I'll post again then! :twitchy:

you read it right! :cry:

After having used both bikes for a while now, on a variety of terrain, the tires, and tubes within have died.

Does anyone know of good replacement white wall tires to fit the 20 x 1 3/8 wheels on both bikes? also i need the right size tubes. I'm gona go inquire at local bike shops in the week but wondered if they'll be hard to source. I'd like a tire with good grip and still good speed, so some where in between the two would be great. whether that is possible with white walls as well i'm not certain, although i've had a poke about with google to no avail.

Any advice would be great! thanks! :D

you read it right! :cry:

After having used both bikes for a while now, on a variety of terrain, the tires, and tubes within have died.

Does anyone know of good replacement white wall tires to fit the 20 x 1 3/8 wheels on both bikes? also i need the right size tubes. I'm gona go inquire at local bike shops in the week but wondered if they'll be hard to source. I'd like a tire with good grip and still good speed, so some where in between the two would be great. whether that is possible with white walls as well i'm not certain, although i've had a poke about with google to no avail.

Any advice would be great! thanks! :D

Ouch...the 451 tire selection is fairly limited. I would upgrade to the 406 rims ASAP.

Aaron:)

is it just me or the R20 seems to be ahead of it's time. amazing that a bike built 30 years or so ago still makes people drool and lust. now if i can just lay my hand on a battered R20 to be fixed up. i actually was at a point of getting one from L.A. this guy was selling his R20 for $125. he emailed me back and said i can even negotiate the price. i backed out at the last minute. i know - i should have pulled the trigger and bought it. but the pics all look nice especially littlepixie's (did i get the name right ? ) ....

thanks,
vic

I think the black vektars were single speed mark 2 model.
and so used the Raleigh Mags that the Raleigh Burners and Stylers used. You can get them in a few colours

Ive had 2 Wildcats. They had longer steerer tubes than normal BMXs. Not as long as the 20 though. They also had fork legs that were an inch or 2 longer than normal BMX. I fitted chrome forks to my first Wildcat. It broke the pedals to bits as they kept on grounding on the road, even in a straight line.

That bike got stolen 3 times. Wrecked the last time.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I will, at some point be upgrading one if not both of my twenty's to 406 rims wahoonc, but for the moment i wont be, which was why i was looking for the correct tires. Changing to those size rims is quite a lot of work given that the brakes will need replacing, and the frame modding, it's where i'm heading but not at the moment because of time and money. :twitchy:

@griftereck
thanks for the wheels idea. I've actually managed to get hold of some vektar wheels :D they need a bit of refurbishment to be in full working order, but i'll get round to that at some point and they'll become my 406mm rims :thumb:


Back to the tires though, where do people source their tires from?? I want nice white walls if i can, but i'll settle for something thats all black and BMX ish if i have to. I was just trying to keep the vintage look for now.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I will, at some point be upgrading one if not both of my twenty's to 406 rims wahoonc, but for the moment i wont be, which was why i was looking for the correct tires. Changing to those size rims is quite a lot of work given that the brakes will need replacing, and the frame modding, it's where i'm heading but not at the moment because of time and money. :twitchy:

@griftereck
thanks for the wheels idea. I've actually managed to get hold of some vektar wheels :D they need a bit of refurbishment to be in full working order, but i'll get round to that at some point and they'll become my 406mm rims :thumb:


Back to the tires though, where do people source their tires from?? I want nice white walls if i can, but i'll settle for something thats all black and BMX ish if i have to. I was just trying to keep the vintage look for now.

Check out Bike Friday's parts list for the choice of 451 tyres, there isn't a lot of choice, but they are good quality tyres. I doubt if you will find a white walled tyre in the size you want, but hey, you might get lucky on eBay.
I get my 451 Schwalbe Stelvios from my LBS, who simply order them in, OR, I get them on eBay from the guy who owns Bike Friday.