Raleigh Twenty


They say the number of bikes you should own is n+1. I said to myself that i'd limit myself to just three, tourer/commuter, Race bike & beater commuter. I'd been fiddling with my partner's two Raleigh Twentys for the last year or so and spotted one on ebay mostly original with a rear dynohub and working original lights. I was the only bidder and won it for a princely sum of $85, it was a folding version which was different to the two I'd worked on previously which were rigids. Other than the hinge in the middle there was no difference, both had the odd 20 x 1 3/8" tyre size and all the other Raleigh idiosyncrasies.

It was pretty rideable from purchase, however the tyres were cracked and the indicator chain in the Sturmey Archer AG 3-speed hub had broken which left it in top gear. Good thing I had a spare one hanging around. Other than that I just put some air in the tyres and rode it to work almost every day. The dynohub and lights still worked great, the front light was somewhat dim - after some research I found out all the old Sturmey Archer dynohubs only put out a nominal 2w 6v rather than the standard 3w 6v which explained the dimness compared to a standard 3w halogen setup.



I ordered some new Raleigh record whitewall tyres and some Busch Muller LED dynamo lights, my main aim is to use the bike for putting around town and not be worried about locking it up outside. This includes being able to jump on the bike and not worry about lights or anything else which is why I've gone with dynamo lights with standlights. For those that don't know, a dynamo light with a standlight will stay lit for a few minutes after you stop pedalling.

That's all for now.

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