Folding Bikes - Is a Raleigh Stowaway an R20?

Dear folks

Craving your indulgence here, because I am just after some advice from the Raleigh fans.

My wife bought a new Mezzo folder to replace the old Raleigh Stowaway that I'd recently found for her on eBay.

I thought I would try and resell it but want to describe it accurately.

Firstly, would it be accurate to call it a Raleigh 20 Stowaway?
Secondly, I want to accentuate those parts of the whole which would make it fetch a better price, so do I stress the Brooks sprung saddle?
Do I show them the photo of the Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub with the numbers "76" and "6" engraved on it, or is that just an indication of the fact that this is ancient?
Is it fair to say that these bikes are a collector's item?
Are my photos crap or what?

The chromework aint bad and generally it seems to be in good nick but I haven't worked on it.

Have a look at the web-album here (http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/PACAphotos/RaleighStowaway#slideshow) and let me know if you think I'm on the right track, what you would do to it prior to looking for a quick sale and whether eBay is the best place to go in the UK or whether other sites or traditional papers/mags would be better.

All help gratefully received

John K

I think it is the same frame as the R20, but IMHO it isn't an R20. I would list it as a Raleigh Stoway 1976 model year and let it go at that. Is it a collectible or rare? Not particularly so unless someone is looking for that specific model. FWIW they go for $90-$250usd on US ebay.

Aaron:)

I would list the less sure describtion in brackets along side. You may get more hits also

I'll give you some free marital advice: If the wife owns two folders, how many can the husband have? I've got 19 years and 5 folders.

I think it is a R20; the Stowaway was a name pinched from Moulton who had one that took apart and called it that. Raleigh bought Moulton at some stage and it may be that the name was their to begin with. But it is a proper R20 unless the hinge has upright plates instead of the classic horizontal ones.

If it's identical, as Jur says, with a horizontal hinge, then advertise it as an R20, that way the right people will find it.

If it's identical, as Jur says, with a horizontal hinge, then advertise it as an R20, that way the right people will find it.

IIRC the model the OP has is made in Taiwan (at least the ones I have seen in the US are) and some of the parts are not Raleigh standard.

You can advertise it anyway you want...you could even claim you rode the 1946 TDF on it:innocent:

I much appreciate a truthful ebay listing or any other sales listing for that matter. It is the R20 frame.

Aaron:)

Congratuations your wife for choosing mezzo also!

by then again I would say that wouldn't I ?