Originally Posted by
Velo Mule
@
cudak888 , I'm not sure I understand the blasphemy. Is it because you have modified your Raleigh Twenty? As you point out, they are not rare museum pieces. The modifications include a what looks like a suspension fork that I'm not familiar with. Pretty neat and it probably makes riding it more enjoyable, so that is a good thing. And it has a derailleur instead of a Sturmey-Archer hub. Not terrible. More closely spaced gears are a good thing. Edit: are you using a hybrid gearing system?
It is a play on words twice over. The name is a subtle reference to Mike Finnegan's
Blasphemi dragster - also flat black and about as big a money pit as
Blasptwenty. The name doesn't always roll off the tongue though, so I've occasionally referred to it as
Vader.
The fork is only the tip of the iceberg - the frame has been been heavily modified, including a headtube replacement with 1-1/8" Columbus tubing to accommodate the modern fork. There are accommodations for both a front and rear derailer, but it has neither at the moment. In the photos, the RD was temporarily employed as a chain tensioner for the FD.
Originally Posted by
Velo Mule
I like the old Racer. I wonder if, when the seat was new, that the padding actually did something. Not a lot, just more than it does now. I remember my sister's Breeze. The seat was that same rubber cover and it felt cushiony. Of course, there is the possibility that you could heat up the seat cover, remove it and put new foam or horsehair or whatever they used back then in there. Then there is also the chance that you can do all that and it still could be uncomfortable. I know you said that you didn't want to commit a Brooks to it.
I've sat on some of the later ones and have replaced the foam in one. They're less painful than this earlier variant. Note the metal skirt curves all the way to the bottom to match up to the single rivet on each side.
Originally Posted by
Velo Mule
With that in mind I have the following ideas, all of them are bad:
Toughen up and get used to sitting on a steel pan (I can say it, but I wouldn't do it).
Put a mattress style seats on it and get the weight even up more.
Get a modern cruiser style seat. It won't look right but it should be comfortable and when you are riding you won't see the seat.
Keep the Schwinn "S" seat and when you ride put on a Sheepskin cover.
Remove the rubber cover and put padding under the seat including the possibility of using gel pads.
Don't ride the Racer, then sell it and make it someone else's problem.
Out of that list, a sheepskin cover or "don't ride it regularly" come to mind. Not sure I'll keep the Racer, but I plan to enjoy having it around a bit before I decide what to do with it.
Originally Posted by
Velo Mule
I also wouldn't mind seeing what modifications you did to your Raleigh Twenty.
Ask and ye shall receive the rabbit hole:
Blasptwenty: Overdone, over-complicated mod build for video rig
-Kurt