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Old 03-05-08 | 05:55 PM
  #16  
Guy Retreau
Steel,Friction,Freewheels
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 64
Likes: 49
From: Tampa, Florida, USA

Bikes: '72 Carlton Giro d'Italia, '78 Motobecane C4C "sur mesure", '77 Inconu SV 971, 78 BACO_Wolhauser, 2003 Moser M81, 2013 BMC_RM01

Raleigh Five-Twenty

Sammyboy.
I see you found the Five Twenty and the Revelation on Flickr. Just a few more notes for you.

1. Cut off the kickstand and also the rear brake and rack brace.
2. I also cut down the head tube on the bottom to eliminate the external brazed on stop limiting the rotation of the fork. this steepened the angles slightly which the bike needs in my opinion.
3. Brased on new rear brake bridge to accomodate low clearance sidepull and ISO 520 rim.
4. Located 520 fork from 1980s vintage timetrial bike (24" front and a 700c rear) Terry bikes make a womens road bike like this too. then I took another fork with 1" steertube, Made a internal sleeve and brazed on a steertube extension, mainly because you will never find a fork with enough steertube to satisfy you. the internal sleeve is essential for you safety.
5. I originally set this up as single speed but now I have it as a 4-speed freewheel with 60T front chainring. If I had a 56T or a 58T it might be a better allround setup.
6. I also started out with 24x1 inch panasonic pasela tires. they were a bit too high performance and didn't eat up enough of the road shock. Since then I have switched to a pair of Odessey BMX 24(520) x 1 3/8" tires and the ride quality is very much improved. Have lots of miles on it only mishap was folding the rear triangle due to the insufficient chainstays on the Twenty. I replaced the tiny chainstays with a larger member and no more worries.

Good luck on your conversion. regards from the Retreau Guy
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