Originally Posted by
stevegor
Alec,
Just remember that those dts were put there for a good reason ie: frame strength and rigidity, even though the NZ bikes came without them....something about Kiwi uniqueness?
I would leave them there and go for lightweight comps as 50 grams is not much saving in the overall scheme of things. You could experiment with it by charging down some mountain with fully loaded
panniers putting the frame under extreme stress and see if it survives without the dts, but I recommend against this. My R-20 is used for commuting, bunch rides and now some touring and I don't nurse it, so the dts are staying put....that's my 2cents worth.
From the information I've been able to find out from some people with local knowledge, the NZ bikes had a thicker diameter main tube but no downtubes. I haven't been able to get one of the rare UK twenties to compare with my kiwi twenty yet.
I'm going to keep the twenty standard, but I have built a Healing Cruiser (NZ made R20 copy) into a fixed gear commuter. I have a twenty frame I'm tempted to put the parts off the healing onto, as the twenty has a maintube that is slightly longer than the Healing.
Folding R20.JPG Healing Fixie.JPG