Story so far: saw an orange Twenty for a tenner from a bike recycling charity in Gloucester. Looked a lot mankier in the flesh than it did on fleaBay (definite respray job) and as I was dismantling it to go in the car the guy there spotted a massive hole in the seatstay which I'd just exposed by removing the rear rack and mudguards. Looks as if someone tried a bit of welding. So he offers me a different bike - a Raleigh Solitaire in this case, but it's merely a Twenty with a fuller chaincase, for nothing. This one has been front-ended as the fork steerer is completely bent. But...I knew I could get a new chrome fork for less than £15 with the correct length steerer and threading, so I took it.
Apart from a few nicks and some oxidised paint, the frame is beautiful in a deep burgundy colour. The forks went straight in the bin and I checked the head tube since the loiwer cup had been hanging out (!) but it's fine - no crumpling anywhere and the calipers say the tube is still the correct ID and not ovalised. So Raleigh knew how to design a sacrificial fork.
The wheels are a bit rusty but would probably scrub up. However, I already have some good BMX size wheels (406mm diameter) which I want to use, so I can forget them. The chainset is pristine and, on extracting the BB, it appears that the bike has never been ridden. There are no bearing tracks on the races and the chain only has dusty congealed oil on it, no road dirt. I reckon someone rode it into a wall five minutes into its first ride or it was damaged in storage somehow.
The brakes, bars and stem are probably saleable as I'm not going to use them. I have a Tange 1" headset that's been kicking around for years, which I will use, and I'll fit an alloy stem and some riser bars. Likewise, the original saddle and seatpost weigh about as much as a complete racing bike so they will be replaced with a 400mm 28.6 post and whatever saddle I find in the shed, probably the one from NSTN's old Brompton.
I mentioned that the wheels will be 406, not the factory 451 (USian Twenties often had the smaller BMX size) which gives a brake drop problem. For the rear I have managed to find a very long drop 1080 clone with a reach of up to 108mm. I will need 100mm! The front is less of a problem as the new fork has V-brake bosses. Drop bolts are not a great option as there will still be a mudguard clearance issue with most dual-pivot brakes - the steel mudguards are in very good condition and are painted to match the frame. The biggest issue is going to be converting the rear brake to bottom-pull if it's not designed to be swappable between top- and bottom-pull. It's always possible but may require adaptor kits and homebrew stuff. The rear brake will have minimal power due to all that reach. I have V-brake levers but will try to seek out the Shimano ones that can be changed between caliper pull and V-brake pull so front and rear brakes can have the correct pull but the levers will still be a matching pair.
The smaller wheels drop the bottom bracket by about an inch. US riders report pedal grounding issues with 406 wheels. To get round this (and to allow for the fact that the intended rider is currently only 4'6") I have found some 150mm cranks which will go onto the existing BB with new cotter pins. I could go cotterless eventually but the chainguard may no longer fit and short cotterless cranks are stupidly expensive.
The Solitaire stickers were terribly naff but simply peeled off. All the oxidised paint quickly cleaned back to new with Meguiar's ScratchX (amazing cutting compound, way gentler than T Cut). I have some mid-70s Raleigh Twenty decals which I'll fit when the heavy stuff is complete, as I don't want to damage them with a carelessly-wielded headset spanner. The colour seems virtually identical to Skoda Rosso Brunello so I might touch up the chips too.
Disappointingly the LBS no longer has a 1" head tube facing tool but they reckon the tube looks OK to press a headset straight on. I'll see if they're right. Twenties didn't have a top cup or ball bearing race - they had a plain nylon bushing (apparently to damp the steering, which was otherwise twitchy as the geometry was a bit challenged; presumably a lower-offset fork would have given toe overlap).
The bike is currently completely disassembled except for the LH crank arm, which is still attached to the BB axle and will require the cotter pin drilling out, since unlike the RH side, the pin refused to budge and just mushroomed, despite the use of heat, a pipe as an anvil and all the usual Sheldon tricks. I could just get a replacement BB but an original Raleigh one in the 78mm width is rather expensive, prices being driven up by Chopper restorers. So it'll have to be the drill.
Pics as it starts to come together.
