harlond1

I'd be grateful for any opinions on the value of my 1973 Raleigh Twenty. I completed the rebuild in December 2010 and posted about it in the Folding Bikes forum at that time under my former user name harlond. (I am not a newbie; I joined in 2005, but when I returned recently I had forgotten my password and could not retrieve it because I no longer had access to the email address associated with the account.) That thread, with photos, can be seen here:

Raleigh Twenty buildup complete

I've ridden the bike often since then and love it, but for health reasons I am unable to ride anymore and am considering selling it. The components of the bike are:

Frame & fork-1973 Raleigh Twenty;
Headset-Tange G32STR Aheadset, used with 26tpi nuts from original headset and Sinz seatpost clamp;
Stem-Nitto Periscopa;
Handlebar-Soma Sparrow (installed upside down to get the grips higher);
Grips-Rivendell Portuguese cork;
Brake Levers-Tektro BMX levers;
Shifter-Sturmey Archer SLS 3C;
Bell-Crane Copper Suzu;
Front hub-Sturmey Archer HBT, 36x451;
Rear hub-Sturmey Archer SRF3, 36x451;
Rims-Velocity Synergy;
Tires-Primo Comet 37x451;
Brakes, Tektro R-365 (drop plate to use these with the Pletscher rack shown in 2010 thread);
Pedals, originally KKT Top Run, but I changed them out and can't now remember to what;
Crankset-Sugino RD2, 165mm;
Chainring-Sugino 46 tooth;
Chain-SRAM PC-7X 1/8 inch;
Cog-Sturmey Archer, 18 tooth;
BB-Shimano UN72, 116mm, with Phil Wood cups;
Saddle, originally Brooks B17, but I moved that to another bike and replaced it with a Velo Orange leather saddle;
Seatpost-Thomson Elite, 28.6x400;
Seatpost clamp-Crow Cycles;
Rack-Pletscher;
Rack crate-handmade;
Kickstand-originally Pletscher Esge, but I changed it out, probably to the Giant Mode stand mentioned in the thread above;
Frame pump-Zefal Lapize, cut down to fit the Raleigh Twenty and repainted to match the frame.

​​​​​​​Couple notes, the wheels were built by hand by the then-owner of my LBS and the frame, fork, and pump were painted by Canyon Custom Air, a local air brusher who has gotten a lot bigger since he did my little job.

Here are some photos of the bike taken recently. I should point out it has been a few years since I was able to ride it. It could use a good wiping down. Anyway, thank you very much for looking, I appreciate your time and look forward to your valuations.

Pinigis 

The color combination is really cool; is that an original factory color?

Velo Mule

I couldn't resist clicking on this thread because I saw "Retromod" and "Raleigh Twenty" words that when linked together I had to see what you had. Cool bike. I like the updates. Much better brakes, tires and rims. The contrasting frame pump. Clean paint. The lettering. And you stuck with a tried and true S-A AW hub. All good. Are you thinking of selling it? Do you want it for your own personal sake or for insurance purposes?

Don't sell it unless you have to. You put a lot of thought and work into it. And you will never get the money out of it. Even as nice as it is.

As far as valuation, I have no idea. I would venture a guess that it would be comparable to a Dahon three speed. Wait, I just looked it up. It appears that Dahon does not have a 20" wheeled bike with a three speed internally geared hub. They have gone to all derailleurs.

Derailleurs have won!??? That doesn't seem right, especially for a folding application. Well, I feeling old now. I like your bike. If I was in the market for a folding 20" bike, I would be interested, especially since Dahon, one of the biggest brands in the folding bike market does, not offer a IHG hub. But that probably makes your bike less valuable to most people. Crazy. Whatever. Nice bike. I appreciate it. Enjoy it.

harlond1

No. IIRC, I had Molteni orange in mind when I started, but ended up going darker. I'm bad with colors, so I was strongly influenced by the painter.

Well, OK, but at what price? Be helpful to me to know even though I'm not looking to sell. Also, thanks for the kind words.

zukahn1

As for value it is really variable a lot based on location in big city market were folders are popular it would likely sell for $500-600. In the average or lesser US market like yours local sale $200-300 and to that just right buyer that likes and thinks this build is great $1000. I do really like the bike and think it's great one of the better and more interesting restomods I have seen like that you stuck with 3 speed IGH it does make more sense with this bike, spreading the rear for more gearing would likely screw up the folding and one can fairly easily change the gearing slightly lower or higher buy just changing out the front chain ring.e

wrk101

A typical, nice, but stock Raleigh Twenty around here is about $100. This is NOT a typical, stock Raleigh Twenty. The key is finding that right person that appreciates this bike. The "right" person could be in the $500 to $1000 range.

What's going on with the tires? Tires are eye catchers and can sell a bike (or keep it from selling). Gum walls look OLD.

The only other thing I wish that bike had was the original chain guard and Raleigh head badge. Everything else is a massive upgrade!

bargainguy

It's a beautiful rebuild. But as a folder, the Raleigh Twenty has limited appeal.

The Twenty was Raleigh's answer to the Moulton. They wanted to get on the folding/separable bike bandwagon, but a deal with Moulton fell through.

For that reason, I always think of these as Moulton knock-offs - but without the neat features of the original Moulton, like the built-in suspension.

I've ridden the (modern) spaceframe Moultons, and the ride is very difficult to describe. Like you're riding on a suspension bridge but somehow you are part of the bridge. Combination of 531 tubing & triangular truss (spaceframe) configuration. I'd be very interested in one of these, except I'm a real shorty and even the smallest size is too big.

The Twenty is a decent enough bike, but design has moved forward since the 60's. In that light, it's a fairly heavy frame with a fairly clunky fold. So it's somewhere between a classic Raleigh and an old folder.

I'd put value at $300-400 in the current rather soft market. It has retro appeal, but not much folder appeal.

zukahn1

+1 it would be real nice if this one had the original Raliegh Nottingham enabled gold leaf headbadge. I think the head badges on classic even on the lesser stuff are nice touches that let you know the vintage and origin of the bike with just a quick look.

harlond1

I have a head badge, I just never got around to putting it on. I'll try to get around to it.