Small wheeler fans check this 1975 BSA!
09-11-08, 09:48 AM
#1
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Small wheeler fans check this 1975 BSA!
Bought this old girl off of ebay for £7.50 ($12?) to customise, with drop bars, alloy wheels etc.
But when I set eyes on it I just couldn't do it
33 years old and in almost immaculate condition.
It's got a detachable shopping bag, dyno hub lighting, comfortable seat etc. etc.
Set up for me at 6' 1" here, or it could be ridden by a 10 year old child.
3 speed Sturmey Archer gears and original white-walls.
Looking a bit muddy here, but it has been raining for ever this month.....
Chrome is almost perfect, but has a little spotting on the top of the bars.
Who cares?
All I have had to replace is the front inner tube.
Is that not a credit to the old Raleigh company?
And the previous (one) owner?
But when I set eyes on it I just couldn't do it
33 years old and in almost immaculate condition.
It's got a detachable shopping bag, dyno hub lighting, comfortable seat etc. etc.
Set up for me at 6' 1" here, or it could be ridden by a 10 year old child.
3 speed Sturmey Archer gears and original white-walls.
Looking a bit muddy here, but it has been raining for ever this month.....
Chrome is almost perfect, but has a little spotting on the top of the bars.
Who cares?
All I have had to replace is the front inner tube.
Is that not a credit to the old Raleigh company?
And the previous (one) owner?
09-11-08, 11:23 AM
#2
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okay that's the SECOND time in two days i have seen a bag like that.
what is it?
is it original as well?
what is it?
is it original as well?
09-11-08, 11:45 AM
#3
Viscount
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It has a shoulder strap (Partially hidden inside the flap in the pics) and a quick release so you can take it off the bike and do your shopping easily
Cool? I think so.
09-11-08, 02:14 PM
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Your BSA is the neatest vintage city bike I've ever seen! And the top tube and down tube are all in one. Is it very heavy?
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09-11-08, 02:40 PM
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I'm always amazed at the deals you find. Does no one in GB bid on classic bikes?
Beautiful bike!
Beautiful bike!
09-11-08, 03:45 PM
#7
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They are a little on the heavy side but 3 speeds are enough around all but the hilliest towns.
I might just weigh it and see.
09-11-08, 03:53 PM
#8
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Not on this one anyway!
The seller was so nice, he said that because he discovered it had a puncture on the front he would reduce the winning price from £12.50 to £7.50.
But I did have to buy a new inner-tube yesterday
It was bought originally for his wife when she was 15.
She obviously didn't use it much.
In the rear carrier was the original handbook and spanner!
The seller was so nice, he said that because he discovered it had a puncture on the front he would reduce the winning price from £12.50 to £7.50.
But I did have to buy a new inner-tube yesterday
It was bought originally for his wife when she was 15.
She obviously didn't use it much.
In the rear carrier was the original handbook and spanner!
09-12-08, 05:02 AM
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Wow, that's a wonderful 20.
I've decided now to try and collect one of each type of 20: NZ made rigid, NZ made folder, NZ made detachable, UK made rigid, UK made folder.
I've got the NZ folder. I've got a 28 hole Sturmey Archer five speed hub to go into a hotrod 20. I've got no more space for bikes at the moment.
I've decided now to try and collect one of each type of 20: NZ made rigid, NZ made folder, NZ made detachable, UK made rigid, UK made folder.
I've got the NZ folder. I've got a 28 hole Sturmey Archer five speed hub to go into a hotrod 20. I've got no more space for bikes at the moment.
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09-12-08, 05:33 AM
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The only way you could get away with using it "with the strap" and not getting punched in the nose is if you covered it with Rat-fink stickers.
09-12-08, 05:47 AM
#12
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Ooo-wee, that is a nice one. Cross post it to the folding bike forum, that's where all the hardcore Raleigh Twenty junkies hang out! They'll be so thrilled they won't even notice it doesn't fold....
I have one I customized, but then, little by little, I undid most of the customizations! I found the original bars were more comfortable than the alternatives; the three speeds perfectly adequate, and so on! Alloy rims are, of course, advantageous.
If you want to do something that's both radical and subtle, some people bend the fork blades back a tiny bit --like a centimeter or so-- as designed, the fork has too much rake, so the handling is pretty jumpy. You bend the fork back to give it a little mechanical trail, and you can ride no hands! I tried it, and it worked.
Oh, another thing... careful with that plastic tray under the shopping bag! It's terrible plastic and will crack if you do anything violent to it, like sneeze.
I have one I customized, but then, little by little, I undid most of the customizations! I found the original bars were more comfortable than the alternatives; the three speeds perfectly adequate, and so on! Alloy rims are, of course, advantageous.
If you want to do something that's both radical and subtle, some people bend the fork blades back a tiny bit --like a centimeter or so-- as designed, the fork has too much rake, so the handling is pretty jumpy. You bend the fork back to give it a little mechanical trail, and you can ride no hands! I tried it, and it worked.
Oh, another thing... careful with that plastic tray under the shopping bag! It's terrible plastic and will crack if you do anything violent to it, like sneeze.
09-12-08, 06:51 AM
#13
Viscount
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I'm some kids dad and I'm big!
You want to see the Tweedy bag on another 20, or RSW I had....
Proper 60s + I used to carry tools in the bottom, not powder puffs, mirrors, lip-stick or whatever!
Like this one:
The views were amazing and we never saw any 'mountain bikes' up there....
Three of us went on a 'mad one' up the Malvern Hills to the Beacon. The highest point!
On 3 speed shoppers....
Proof here:
Two of us are on the top here and watching our laggard struggling up the last bit.
Hard work getting up there but the trip down was totally crazy. At the bottom you could fry a steak on the rims.
09-12-08, 07:18 AM
#14
Viscount
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Wow, that's a wonderful 20.
I've decided now to try and collect one of each type of 20: NZ made rigid, NZ made folder, NZ made detachable, UK made rigid, UK made folder.
I've got the NZ folder. I've got a 28 hole Sturmey Archer five speed hub to go into a hotrod 20. I've got no more space for bikes at the moment.
I've decided now to try and collect one of each type of 20: NZ made rigid, NZ made folder, NZ made detachable, UK made rigid, UK made folder.
I've got the NZ folder. I've got a 28 hole Sturmey Archer five speed hub to go into a hotrod 20. I've got no more space for bikes at the moment.
Join the club.
Lots of members in it already I reckon
The 20s are a good area though.
You may need a doctor soon methinks.
Or a stern bank manager.
09-12-08, 07:28 AM
#15
Viscount
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Ooo-wee, that is a nice one. Cross post it to the folding bike forum, that's where all the hardcore Raleigh Twenty junkies hang out! They'll be so thrilled they won't even notice it doesn't fold....
I have one I customized, but then, little by little, I undid most of the customizations! I found the original bars were more comfortable than the alternatives; the three speeds perfectly adequate, and so on! Alloy rims are, of course, advantageous.
If you want to do something that's both radical and subtle, some people bend the fork blades back a tiny bit --like a centimeter or so-- as designed, the fork has too much rake, so the handling is pretty jumpy. You bend the fork back to give it a little mechanical trail, and you can ride no hands! I tried it, and it worked.
Oh, another thing... careful with that plastic tray under the shopping bag! It's terrible plastic and will crack if you do anything violent to it, like sneeze.
I have one I customized, but then, little by little, I undid most of the customizations! I found the original bars were more comfortable than the alternatives; the three speeds perfectly adequate, and so on! Alloy rims are, of course, advantageous.
If you want to do something that's both radical and subtle, some people bend the fork blades back a tiny bit --like a centimeter or so-- as designed, the fork has too much rake, so the handling is pretty jumpy. You bend the fork back to give it a little mechanical trail, and you can ride no hands! I tried it, and it worked.
Oh, another thing... careful with that plastic tray under the shopping bag! It's terrible plastic and will crack if you do anything violent to it, like sneeze.
I always wanted to try the customising thing with a 20 and it ends with this BSA.
Just can't do it on this one.
The tray seems fine, I just get comments about using the bag with the shoulder strap
But I don't care, I'll use any bag.....
09-12-08, 07:49 AM
#16
Viscount
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