big chainring 

A couple weeks ago, maybe even a month now, my brother found a Raleigh Twenty in the trash. It was a complete bike but with heavy rust, especially the rims and other chrome bits. My brother simply said, see what you can do with it - maybe you can make a few bucks on it.

Well it sat outside my shed through a couple rainstorms, hot sunny days and now cool autumn nights. Over the weekend I decided to take a look at it and see if there was any hope for it. A couple hours of dousing it with wd-40, PB Blaster, 3-in-1, and a host of other goops and gops its not looking half bad. In fact I'm kinda into the look of it and the quality of the bike as a whole.

I have googled Raleigh Twenty and am more inspired than ever to turn this bike into something cool.

So for the Raleigh Twenty experts out there I have a couple questions.
Is it possible to put new alloy rims on this bike using the old spokes?, so that I could just do a rim swap. I've found nice alloy rims at Niagara Cycle and they are fairly reasonable in price. Keeping it simple and relacing with the original spokes would be optimal.
Tires? 20" tires seem sort of generic. Whats a good one?

This is the rims I am looking at.
https://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ucts_id=447509
Tires
https://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ucts_id=738411

Lastly, post a pic of your Twenty so I can see what others have done.
Thanks.

mainstreetexile 

Those rims will probably work well, but you could probably find alloy rims for less money (or for free) on a 20" kids bike that someone may be throwing out. Re-using the old spokes will depend on the rim diameter to the eyelets, if it's the same it should work but the spokes are probably rough old galvanized ones.

This site has a ton of good info on the Raleigh Twenty and upgrades for it:

https://raleightwenty.webs.com/

BassNotBass

First off I hate you and all the other people who've stumbled upon a Twenty for free or practiaclly nothing ... I've been looking for a sensibly priced one for a few years now.

Now that that's out of the way I wouldn't attempt to use the original spokes mainly because they're old and probably stressed to the point of breaking once you try to re-true the wheel with the new rim. Secondly, AFAIK the Twentys were fitted with both 20" wheels... 406 (modern BMX size) and 451 (English fractional) so if your Twenty has 451s the spokes would be too long.

As for 20" tires, I've used Maxxis Hookworms, Schwalbe HS420s and currently am trying Kenda Kwest high pressure 1.5s on one of my folding bikes. The Hookworms had tenacious grip but wore quickly, the Schwalbes are quick rollers, have great grip and seem to last... the Kwests are still being tested but so far I'm not too impressed because the ride quality is pretty harsh and they're really not that much quicker than the fatter (1.95-2.00) Hooks and Schwalbes.

Lastly I'm sure you've stumbled upon this but thought I'd throw it out there anyway:
https://sheldonbrown.com/raleigh-twenty.html

big chainring 

The original tires have 20 x 1.75 on them. They are the red striped originals, but are shot. So I assume they are the 406?

KonAaron Snake 

It's funny that you posted this...I'm going to be switching to those exact rims within the next week. Part of me is wondering if it's worth doing that rather than selling it, saving the rim money and getting a used Dahon. Still, this has a charm to it. As many here are aware, I've been riding a Twenty for the past 2 months because of a leg injury and I've been planning on posting a thread about my impressions and thoughts about it. I've never ridden a small wheeled bike before, generally avoid upright bars and I never would have thought I'd be riding a Twenty. I've quickly come to really enjoy some aspects about this bike, but also hate others - especially the steel rims. I will never understand why Raleigh bothered to put fenders on bikes that don't stop in the rain. I always assumed that this was a temporary 2 month bike until I was cleared to ride the others, but now I'm planning on keeping it; it's great as a townie and lock outside bike that I don't have to fret over. It would be a great rain commuter if it had better rims. I'll post more thoughts soon...along with better photos.

These were taken just now - I still haven't taken decent garage photos, or good in nature photos (which I can do because it has a kick stand which I haven't gotten around to removing!). This is mostly original; I removed the bottle generator/light combo from the front and tossed on LEDs that actually work, as well as some water bottles and a bell. It's not too bad as a commuting platform, at least when it's dry, flat and the distance isn't too crazy. The tires are new Kendas and I replaced the pads with Kool Stops (huge improvement! It stops when dry!). To the best of my knowledge, everything else is original. The SA hub is a 69', so I'm assuming this is a 69' or 70', making it VERY early production.

I might switch it to singlespeed...at the least I'll ease the gearing from what I think is a 14 or 16t rear. I strongly suspect most who had these would have walked it up hills, because the thing is geared too hard for much climbing, especially without being able to get out of the saddle. It's fun taking this up my work's parking garage ramp and the Ben Franklin Bridge This is the most I've ridden platform pedals in a LONG while, and these are small and I find I constantly slip off of them. The triplet has platforms, but somehow they're less annoying. I'll get more into this later.

BassNotBass

Yes, they should be the 406. Had they been 451s their size would've been marked as 20 X 1 3/8 or some other fractional measurement.

big chainring 

^Aaron, nice bike. I am thinking of going with drop bars, Wrights leather saddle, and then the nice alloy rims. But maybe I should keep it as a townie with the original mattress saddle and upright bars. It's a quirky little bike. I'll get some pics up tomorrow.

gna

Twenties are super fun to ride. Consult Sheldon and John Allen about your Twenty as well as the Folders Forum here on BF.

Aluminum rims and Koolstop pads will help the stopping, as well as a drop bolt as Sheldon and Jon Allen used on the rear brake.

big chainring 

I worked on my Twenty yesterday. Installed a couple racks, drop bars, and Wrights saddle. At the very least I have to get some new tires. Alloy rims would be a big upgrade and I am contemplating that now. Heres some pics.

KonAaron Snake 

Let me know how the drops work out for you with the crank position. Digging the front rack with that bike and I love the color.

big chainring 

I tend to have my saddle set back quite a bit on my road bikes. In fact I think I will replace the seatpost with a MTB post so I can get even more setback.

The front rack is an old Claude Butler rack from the early 70's. Its been on so many different bikes over the years. It spent many years on a Schwinn Twinn tandem. My wife(girlfriend then) and I would ride with a full size picnic basket strapped on the rack. The welds have been repaired by auto mechanics a couple times. Its had quite a history.

Singlespeed92

Helluva score,my friend,and looks great in the pics I always liked the looks of them Twenties (all old Ralieghs actually),never had the pleasure though-yet (same for the full size classic R's,never owned one,always liked em..one day )

Aaron,I didn't post on your thread,but literally just read through it,really loving your green one too!

KonAaron Snake 

LOL - I went the basket route with our tandem; less elegant, but great utility. I've been debating a rear rack for that bike because there are times panniers would be nice.

Thanks singlespeed, I like it.

wahoonc

Here is a picture of my Twenty, it isn't the most current, I have swapped out the head light again, but everything else is the same.

I built new wheels using the original hubs. I currently have 3 Twentys and love them as a general purpose riding bike.

Aaron


71 Twenty by wahooncx, on Flickr

TuckamoreDew

That is what I did with my R20 this summer. After buying the bike and then the rims I had a sudden attack of cheapness and I reused the old galvanized spokes. They were a bit too long and I had to grind the ends down a little. I rode the bike over some pretty rough streets as my daily commuter for at least a month and it has been good so far. No broken spokes, wheels still true. I've also ridden it on a couple of gravel trail rides. Of course, this is no guarantee that it will work with your wheels. Your spokes may be in worse shape and the spoke length required will depend on the rim you select.