Building the ultimate budget folding bike | custom Raleigh Twenty
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- Опубликовано: 16 мар 2024
- In this episode, I’m stepping away from gravel retro shenanigans and showing you all a real piece of weird!
With a trip to Bristol on my horizon, I needed a folding bike I could take on the train to save me going in the car.
Enter my old Raleigh twenty stow away, this thing has been in storage for years and I thought it would be the perfect candidate for a custom build!
I converted the bottom bracket from 76mm to 73mm and threaded it to 24tpi to allow a modern BB to be fitted
I added 20” wheels and BMX tyres as well as a proper 2x7 speed set of gears - magic!!!
Join me for the build and the trip to Bristol in this one little video!
If you like my content it would be awesome if you’d like and subscribe to @Downhillsmoothtarmac
#bike #cycling #foldingcycle #foldingbike #bicycle #raleigh
Nice work especially on that bottom bracket. I love these bikes, still ride one around that I gave a sympathetic restoration, I also have a 1975 Trusty Viscount folder in full original condition.
Proper utility bikes built like tanks 🙂
Thanks very much! Yeah totally bombproof and so handy to have for trips too
Stunning!, love the retros/vintage but found using them as a daily takes its toll, Argos currently do a great shopper 20" called a challenge Holborn and I've made some sassy custom cargo unicorns from these , really light weight too 👌 been my ten times daily ever since. Save your vintage squizzits for a sunny days .
Thanks man, it suits me for the odd trip and fits in the campervan too, but you’re right - there are modern lighter options out there
Nice job! These are great bikes. Shame you didn't record the bottom bracket re-threading/facing ;-)
I was hoping to see that too.
Me three.
Looks like I might have to get another frame to show you all!! I’m gutted we didn’t film it
Six months ago I was scraping YT looking for a build like this to inspire me. I'm in Australia and picked up a Raleigh 20. I'm planning on doing a resto-mod like this. Make it classic but functional in a modern world. Thanks for sharing and keep it up!
Hey thanks for watching and good luck with your build man!
Love the intro 😂 me all over, bit of sarcasm 😂😂😂.
I've only ever ridden a foldable bike once, about 40 years ago, in the Cotswolds and twitchy is an understatement. They're great for trains or small boot cars, but unless you're a stuntman, not great😂😂😂😂
Cheers mate! Yeah they serve a purpose, but you need to be on the ball with them or you’re off!! 🤣🤣
Neat bit o bodging there. I often thought an old 20 would make a good commuter bike. Nice gear setup to. Now throw a Bafaang motor on it 😁😁😁
It would fly with a bafang on! Although I’m not sure it would stop very well!! 🤣🤣
This made me smile and really enjoyed it. Sarcasm really doesn’t become you Geoffrey 😅😊 I have no idea why you were talking about Italian Carbon bikes, that really isn’t you😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣 I don’t know what you mean JC
or, you could just get the new, stowaway, called the evo2, and its puka as feck, i just bought one :) i agree with you on the gears, even now, the lowest gear, is still to high for hills, needs a granny gear. so top job on that. it is still to heavy and does not stay toether when follded. you need some string or bungy cord.
The Evo 2 does look sweet - I just can’t justify it for how much I use mine though!
@@Downhillsmoothtarmac well i sold mine last month, up in the hills of south wales, i just couldnt live with the tall city gearing, actually bought an 87 Raleigh Avanti Reynolds 531, never been happier :)
@@markhuckercelticcrossbows7887 oh very nice, can’t beat 531c - enjoy it!!!!
That’s a nice looking folder. I got myself a decathlon tilt 500 just around 2 years ago. I have it in my truck and then use it when I finish the days work. I’ve ridden it all over the UK and done over 2500 miles. Yes they are twitchy, and the weight seems to get heavier!, but they’re pretty fun to ride, and a lot better than walking. I have road bikes, mountain bikes and the tilt, and it’s still a great bike. Great video, and as I say that’s a nice looking bike you’ve created.
Hey thanks very much! You’re right, they’re great fun and certainly beat walking!
Great job, nicely modernised. Did you keep the nylon sleeve in the upper headset? - apparently it's to stop the twitchiness, but converted it to bearings on a couple of my builds.
Also, the lever that you undo to fold the frame in half, sorta, if you lift the rubber bung you'll see an adjustment nut, keeps the handle pointing forward when in tightened position.
Once again, thanx for a great vid :)
Thanks, I’m really pleased with how it turned out - I left the sleeve in the headset, mainly for time pressures, but it seems fine to me!
Thanks for the tip on the lever too - I’m gonna check that out!
Hey, love this. I’m on a similar project. Can you explain the bottom bracket changes because I’m stuck with what to do. Also what bottom bracket did you use once threads changed. Thank you
Ok so you’ll need a chasing and facing tool for the bottom bracket to do it my way - however your local bike shop should be able to do this for you easily.
Basically firstly I threaded the bb from Raleigh’s 26tpi to the standard 24tpi - this allows the use of the tool firstly and also the bottom bracket at the end.
Next the shell needs a couple of mm facing off it using a facing tool - or if not I guess you could grind it?? But I wouldn’t recommend that
Finally I fitted an mtb 73x118 bottom bracket with a square taper ready for the new cranks!
Sounds a lot, and it’s a fair job, but I’m sure a local shop could do it for you - if you’re near the East Midlands, Dave could do the work for you in his shop
Nice job. What's the weight of the basic bike ? Always liked what Sheldon Brown did with Twenties. Would like to see one with V brakes fitted.
Thanks! The standard bike is around 18kg, I haven’t weighed our finished bike but I’m guessing it’s more like 14kg now perhaps? Certainly wasn’t a chore to lug around, I kinda wheeled it with the pannier still on it folded
I have a Raleigh 20 that was my grandfather. I’m wondering what someone may expect to pay for the parts overhaul and modernize as you have done. Im in US- any rough estimate helps thanks
As I’m in the UK, it’s hard to know what parts cost where you are in the US, but what I can tell you is that the bulk of the cost will be in shop labour. This is a labour intensive build, but worth it in my opinion - thanks for watching 👍👍
Where can I source replacement brake and 3 speed shift cables for my Raleigh Twenty?
Hi, brake cables are standard barrel end brake cables and the gear cable is a sturmey archer one - both available from any decent bike shop
Bristol needs major biking infrastructure improvements.
Fun project but you are better off just riding a BMX. :D
non-custom branded BMX weigh like 12kg
You’re not wrong, Bristol is a bit hit and miss for infrastructure but it’s not the worst either I’d say!
As for the BMX, I haven’t owned one since my Raleigh Burner in the 80s! Plus can you get a BMX that folds up for train travel? That would be cool!! 😎
Could you use a thread less BB?
As long as you slimmed the bottom bracket shell down then yes I don’t see why not!
@@Downhillsmoothtarmac cheers! Thought that would be the case, have the exact same bike. Great vid. Really useful, thanks
NICE. How close is that chain to the tyre?
@@tubecated_development thanks man, even with those BMX tyres, there’s plenty of distance between the chain and tyre!
@@Downhillsmoothtarmac Good to hear it. And props that you kept the original green-bronze paint, which IMO was the best Raleigh colour of all time.
@tubecated_development agreed! Such a great colour!