Originally Posted by
KonAaron Snake
I had a Raleigh 20 that I used while recovering from an injury...it was a surprisingly fun ride - no worse than a raleigh townie bike (though that might be damning by faint praise). Most of the things that I didn't like about it you've modified on yours (brake calipers, rims, headset). I thought about doing some similar stuff to what you did, but I realized that for the price and effort, I'd probably be better served by a dahon. Seeing yours makes me think I might have made an error!
By no means am I an expert, but your 71' date as first folders seems wrong to me. I know mine had a 69' marked hub (if memory serves the serial number didn't match the sn databases I'd found...which makes me wonder if any were sourced out).
It could be that the '71 was the first exported folding version. See this site:
History - THE RALEIGH TWENTY
Says in in 1969 in Canada there were folding (anecdotal) R20's, but in 1971 everywhere else. I didn't pay much for the bike and upgrades, other than the wheels, were inexpensive. It's really fun. I'm a member of The Society of Three Speeds, founded in Portland, so I've got to show up on a 3 speed. If I took mass transit, I'd definitely take this over the full sized Phillips I have. This bike is zippy, nimble and it's spirit seems happy to see the open road!
Here it is wearing its Pletscher rack again, which I've shined up and installed a 1970's rear reflector.
'71 R20 with Pletscher Rack by
velocivixen, on Flickr
R20 with '70's Reflector by
velocivixen, on Flickr