Bike Forums - New - to folders, anyhow - and could use a bit of advice.

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- - New - to folders, anyhow - and could use a bit of advice. (https://www.bikeforums.net/folding-bikes/866871-new-folders-anyhow-could-use-bit-advice.html)

And a quick pic of the Montague:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...psd8578740.jpg

I'll be putting in another thread regarding this one in the next day or so, concerning my mounting the Blackburn rack.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sykerocker (Post 15263220)

As promised, the Twenty:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps8926f534.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps2deb3e7c.jpg

Riding it made me feel (for a moment, anyway) like I was 24 again. I found I had an 18t SA sprocket on the shelf left over from my gearing change on the Ranger/Phillips roadster, so I swapped it for the stock 15t sprocket. It dropped my gearing enough to get me up the hills around my house. Except for my driveway, which is a straight up Cat2 climb, of course. Then again, none of my IGH bikes climb that hill. I'll be using the bike for occasional runs to the post office (3.4 miles one way on very hilly rural terrain) when I don't feel like using the Schwinn CrissCross (my main commuter).

And I've started work on the Montague. Frame, wheels, bars and brakes have been cleaned up (the paint is beautiful with only a few small scratches, the alloy is virtually perfect), a set of Shimano STX derailleurs have been installed, and I'm starting to look at how I can mount a Blackburn rack on it without affecting the folding function. Already figured that the rack will be hard mounted to the dropouts, with the third mounting point being a slightly loose locating point around the seat post. Probably will use 3/8" aluminum bar stock bent around the seat tube and located in place with a bolt thru the bend and a spacer holding the ends apart. Picking up tyres and tubes tomorrow, maybe even a set of new Shimano 7-speed triggers, hopefully will have it on the road by this weekend. While I'm holding hard and fast to mounting a rear rack (one of my mandatory requirements on a commuter bike), I'm going to pass on mounting fenders (usually my other mandatory) so as not to compromise the folding function.

However . . . . . . in the "best laid plans of mice and men nee aft do gang aglay" department, late last week my job decided to move file storage of some of the stuff that I regularly work on into my office. Which means there is now a file cabinet sitting where I was planning on storing the bike. I'm still going to go ahead with the plan to replace the Ranger/Phillips at work with one of these two (most likely the Montague, the Twenty is way too useful for days I have to drop the car off for service) because I'll still be able to store it more out of the way in the service department.

Excellent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sykerocker (Post 15259535)

Bump update.

Just got back from an enjoyable weekend and the Westminster, MD bike swap, and I've come home with folders.

Yes, folders. Plural. It's amazing what you can find for a total outlay of $200.00

.

That + That for $200 !!

Dont know about you asking the forum for advice, i think it's more that the forum should be asking you for on tips for canny purchasing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diode100 (Post 15272252)

That + That for $200 !!

Dont know about you asking the forum for advice, i think it's more that the forum should be asking you for on tips for canny purchasing.

Thanks. I'll admit, I've been buying and selling used bikes for about eight years now, starting about three days after I returned to cycling. However, my knowledge was in mainstream road bikes, with a little knowledge learned regarding mountain bikes. And I'll freely admit that my current love of cycling comes from taking an bad attitude towards aging and trying to put a positive spin on it. I got the bicycles back . . . . . the hallucinogenic drugs and rampant sex are probably best left to memories.

I've known for years that I've wanted another Raleigh Twenty, if only for the memories. The problem has been finding lots of nice, clean Twenties at prices starting at $300.00 and climbing. Sorry, no three-speed commuter is worth that kind of money to me unless it's older than I am. And even then I'll question the purchase. The deal with kingsting came about during a conversation over in C&V on another matter, where I'd just mentioned in passing that a clean Twenty at a reasonable price could get me to open my wallet very quickly.

The Montague was sheer luck and being in the right place at the right time. I'm walking thru the Westminster swap meet mid-morning and chance upon a conversation that one of the vendors is having with a woman regarding the bike. It was a customer's who had a bunch of unpaid bills, so the shop confiscated it - then used it for a short while as a shop errand bike, eventually stripping the drivetrain off of it. The woman in the conversation was interested, but lost the interest very quickly upon learning that she's have to come up with derailleurs, shifters, pedals, chain and all the cabling. As well as figuring out how to run the cabling - she didn't strike me as the mechanical types.

I had the wallet open and the twenties out and in the dealer's hand a split second after she said she wasn't interested. The look on the guy's face was priceless, as money suddenly appeared out of nowhere and the bike was taken out of his hands. I decided to splurge on a new set of SIS thumb/triggers rather than using one of the older twist grip sets I've got on the parts shelf - the bike is cosmetically too nice to put old parts on it. Otherwise, everything was sitting on the shelf; although a set of folding pedals is in the planning stages. Mounting the Blackburn rack took a bit of effort. I'm going to do a thread on that later today, figure someone else out there can use the idea.

Just moved it to work this morning, and the old Ranger 3-speed is going back home to a life of a lightly ridden antique. First bank run will be in a couple of hours.