Twenty Country

The Raleigh Twenty is a neat little bike. There is information about the history of the model here(Hadland).

When my wife was a child living in Germany, her parents bought her a Raleigh Twenty. It saw some use there, and here in the states, but mostly it lived in the garage or basement. I knew it was here, but never gave it much thought.

A couple of years ago I came upon Sheldon Brown's Twenty Page. Wow! Since I didn't have a road bike, the Twenty became a "project." Finally, after extensive procrastination, I got the bike together.

Here's what the bike looks like as a three speed.

This is what I changed:

Seatpost	Kalloy 410mm, just long enough for me.
Saddle	Brooks B17. Why did I wait. Great saddle.
Rims	Mongoose, from garage sale find.
Front Hub	No Name, from garage sale find.
Rear Hub	I kept the SA 3 speed, laced to the garage sale rims.
Tires	IRC Metro 20x1.25
Stem	The stem was a challenge. I'm 6'3" and the original wasn't going to be long enough. I ended up getting a 7/8" BMX seatpost, a 7/8 to 1" Shim and a 1" Coda stem. The result, while heavy, works pretty well.
Handlebars	Cinelli, donation from a friend.
Brake Levers	Tektro Road Levers
Brake Pads	Kool Stop Continentals
Fenders	Old set of Mt Zefals I had lying around, trimmed and bodged to fit.
Pedals	Wellgo SPD (913??)
Chain	On the first test ride which took me out of my neighborhood, the back of the master link popped off. So I got a new BMX chain.

Accessories
Saddle Bag	Had to go with Carradice Nelson Longflap.
Water Bottles	The Twenty has no brazeons for bottle mounts, so I found some TwoFish Bottle racks. They are OK, but tend to shift around when I'm not on pavement. Also one of the straps tore the first time I was putting it on. Five minutes with a needle and heavy thread fixed it. I'll probably keep using my Camelbak.

I am considering additional changes as well. A modern Bottom bracket and crankset. I like a rear rack, but the saddlebag covers most of my carrying needs, so I might remove the rack. As soon as I can find a inexpensive wheel I'll go Sheldon's route and make it a fixed gear. Maybe bullhorn bars.

Update February 2005

Well I finally got around to getting a new rear wheel and a track cog, so the bike is fixed now. With the stock chainring and a 13 tooth cog, it gives me 66.1 gear inches (5.1 gain ratio) which is very close to the 66.7 gear inches (5.0 gr) i run on my Fuji. Look for it to be ridden more as I'm Fixing Frederick! I'm leaving it at my office as a townie and lunch time ride bike.

Here's what the bike looks fixed.

Here are the recent changes:

Stem	I replaced the stem with a Profile from Nashbar, since I took the first on to use as a handlebar bag holder on my Fuji.
Rear Wheel	Bought a budget no-name wheelset from Dan's Comp. Put the fixed cog on the rear. No lockring, but using locktite. Keeping the front as a spare.
Fenders	I'm waffling about putting the original chrome fenders back on. Heavy, but cool.
Pump	Someone tell me where to find a 12" pump to fit the pump pegs behind the seat tube.
Saddle	I moved the Brooks to my Fuji, and have an old MTB seat here until I can get a new Brooks.
Bar Bag	The Carradce saddlebag also went off to the Fuji, so I dug into the back of the basement and came up with the very first piece of bike luggage I ever got, circa 1978. I want to say its a Cannondale bag, but I really don't remember the maker. I had to bend some 1/4 rod into a shape that would fit this stem. It is working pretty well.

Finally, here are a couple of photos of the first real ride after the first changes (test rides and commuting doesn't count). The rolling hills of central Maryland. Some of the finest biking in the USA.

For pics after the fixed conversion, check out the Fixing Frederick Pages for anything that says "Lunch Ride."

	Eastbound on Central Church Road
	North on Kimmel

Here are a couple of other sites on the internet about the Raleigh Twenty:

Mark Rehder

John Allen

Sources
Mt Airy Bikes	Wheelbase	Alfred E. Bike	Harris Cyclery
Dan's Comp BMX	Nashbar	Jenson