Thursday, August 29, 2013

Little Wheels Keep On Turnin'

For fans of our Tiny-Wheel Weird Bikes Series, Pal Steve from Peoria called my wandering attention to this:


(Those spin and zoom buttons don't do anything, by the way -- they were just stowaways in my screen capture. But if you want to look real close and/or make the bike dance for you, just go to the original page on the Raleigh UK site.)

It looks -- to my inexpert eye -- like Raleigh UK brought back the design of the non-folding version of the Raleigh Twenty, gave it modern alloy wheels, and added cantilever/V-brake posts. Having tried to stop my wife's Twenty with the stock long-reach calipers and chromed steel rims, I can say with some authority that this is a much-needed and much appreciated upgrade.

I'm guessing but can't confirm that they also ditched the weird bottom bracket threading of the original Twenty and put a real headset in there -- two things that have always been the bane of Twenty hot-rodders. Props for the properly-placed pump behind the seat tube, too. And c'mon, is there anything cooler than handlebar streamers? Raleigh USA, the gauntlet is down -- where are our modernized Twenties with stars and streamers? Why does the home team get all the fun stuff?

Of course, I have no clue what Red or Dead is, because I'm an old, out-of-touch fogey. Maybe it's a British thing.

(Aside to my Peoria readership from the Friday Night Ride: Yes, he really is THAT Steve. But don't make him all self-conscious about his fame. No autographs! Tee hee...)

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