Raleigh Twenty

The Raleigh "Twenty" is a small-wheeled bicycle which was introduced to the market in 1968 as a competitor to the original Moulton bicycle. Raleigh already had a more direct competitor in the RSW-16 (Raleigh Small Wheel 16") bicycle. Initially it was not aggressively marketed, but it was a much better bicycle than the RSW-16. The "Twenty's" larger 20" wheels made it smoother and had less rolling resistance.

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Background

In 1970 the RSW-16 was selling rather poorly, so Raleigh decided to market the "Twenty" more heavily. In 1971 a folding version was released under an old Moulton name the "Stowaway" (anecdotal evidence suggests that they were available in Canada since 1969). In 1974 the RSW-16 was discontinued and the "Twenty" became Raleigh's main small-wheeled bicycle in production. In 1975, 140,000 were manufactured in the UK alone, which nearly equalled the entire sales of the Moulton from 1963-1974. It was Raleigh's biggest seller in 1977, though sales tapered off after this, its final year of production was not until 1984, giving the Raleigh Twenty a 16-year production lifespan.

Technical information

The Raleigh "Twenty" was originally fitted with 20" × 1-3/8" wheels and tyres (ISO 35-451), but most export versions were sold with 20" × 1.75" wheels and tyres (ISO 47-406) - the same as BMX bicycles.

Many were sold as either single speed with coaster brake or fitted with a Sturmey-Archer AW three-speed hub. The New-Zealand-manufactured version was offered with a duomatic two-speed hub, which shifted gears by kicking back the pedals and also had a built-in coaster brake.

A number of major variations exist, including different styles of handlebars, different hubs and different carry rack arrangements. Most of these were just the same basic "Twenty" marketed (for example) as the "Shopper" with a front basket to increase carrying capacity.

Marketing

Raleigh owned a number of former competitors and the "Twenty" was sold under many of these names, including Triumph, Sun, Hercules and BSA. The "Twenty" was also manufactured in New Zealand due to local trade laws requiring 40% local content. The New Zealand-manufactured version is most readily identified by the lack of the extra bracing struts at the bottom bracket found on he UK and Canadian-built versions. An early-1980s advertisement offers a two-speed automatic (kick-back) hub, not found on other versions of the Raleigh "Twenty".

Commentary

The Raleigh Twenty has been praised for having more stable handling than other small-wheeled and folding bicycles, and it is often compared to the Raleigh Sports Roadsters. It is claimed that the frame is strong and so stable that it is possible to ride it without the fixing bolt in place (though the practice is not by any means recommended or encouraged). The late Sheldon Brown owned a number of them and performed many modifications to improve the base model. The design of the folding mechanism is not as quick and convenient as modern folding bicycles, which makes this bicycle less practical for mixed-mode commuting. The style of folding is best suited for indoor storage, such as for people who live in apartment, or for taking the bicycle somewhere in the back of a car. One Sheldon Brown "Twenty" was heavily modified and is capable of being disassembled and shipped in a standard air-line suitcase.

The sturdy frame of the Raleigh Twenty has made it increasingly popular as a "project bicycle" with various modifications made to produce bicycles with different purposes. They have been kitted out as small-wheeled road-racing bicycles, as collapseable touring bicycles, and several other types.

Typical owner modifications and upgrade challenges include the following:

  1. The original Raleigh Twenty had steel rims and heavy-gauge steel spokes. These can be replaced with alloy rims and spokes to achieve a savings in overall weight. Because most Raleigh Twenty wheels are exactly the same size as modern BMX bicycles, spokes and rims are available to rebuild the wheels. The front wheel can often be directly swapped with a modern BMX wheel. However, the rear wheel typically needs to be rebuilt, if the owner wishes to preserve the original Raleigh Twenty Sturmey-Archer AW three-speed hub.

The previous paragraph is only true of 20s sold in the USA. In other markets, like the UK, 20s had larger 20 x 1 3/8 (451mm) wheels. tyres in this size are not a problem, but alloy rims are. This size is common in wheelchairs, and a company like Urathon can supply complete wheels with alloy rims in this size. The larger wheels roll better.

  1. Owners often wish to replace the original crankset, which had cotter pins to attach the crank arms to the bottom bracket spindle. This is a technically challenging problem, because it involves the proprietary Raleigh threading and size of the bottom bracket shell (the bottom-most component of the frame). Cottered cranksets can be overhauled to run smoothly, and preserving the original crankset also preserves the Raleigh Heron in the chainring. The decision to replace the crankset usually involves weight and, possibly, gearing—an owner may want to upgrade the Twenty to include front and rear derailleurs, which often leads to replacing the crankset.
  2. The headset is unusual, because it has loose bearings only on one cup. The upper cup is a hard plastic bushing.
  3. Certain unique replacement parts for Raleigh Twentys are notoriously difficult to locate. These include: a pump to fit the original frame plugs, the rubber cover for the locking bolt for the frame hinge (the bolt, itself, can be replaced from a well-stocked hardware store), and the over-sized seatpost, among others.

In popular culture

The Raleigh Twenty is the bicycle ridden by the main protagonist, "Poppy" during the title sequence of the 2008 film "Happy-Go-Lucky". It also appears in several scenes in the 2008 film "Son of Rambo". It is mentioned in the chorus of the British Sea Power song No Lucifer.

Timeline

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