Sunday, January 24, 2010

Raleigh Folder Improvements

I've made a couple of quick changes to the Raleigh Folder to make it rideable. The most pressing need was improved braking. I switched out the brake pads and got rid of the cheesy brake levers that had too much play at the hinges. I also changed out the old rusted brake cables and housing. These changes made a big difference. Eventually I'll switch out the steel rims with aluminum rims to lighten things up and further improve braking. I had to cut off the original grips since they had been glued on and wouldn't budge. I also picked up an inexpensive Sunlite 24" rack. I tried a 20" rack made for recumbent bikes, but it sat directly on the rear fender. Plus the 24" rack was half the price of the 20" rack. Lastly, I replaced the old generic saddle with my son's old Wrights leather saddle. Other than some annoying rattles the bike rides well.

This morning I took the Raleigh out for a quick test ride. My son joined me riding my touring bike since he's outgrown his Trek 420.

New grips, brake levers, and brake pads.


One of my next projects will be to replace the stem and handlebars with something that will give me a little more breathing space. I also need to find some good replacement 451 tires.

My son just turned 13 years old. He's already looking too big for my 58cm frame. By the way, I just bought those shoes for him the other day. They're size 13! He's outgrowing everything and costing me lots of money.

Here's what I was going to wear to the Denim Ride.

Here is another view of the rack.


12 comments:

  1. Looking good!

    How is the ride?

    Aaron

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  2. I've got some rattling noises that I think are coming from either the chainguard or the fender and the shifter needs to be replaced. Other than that it rides just fine.

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  3. This looks interesting. How does that rack attach at the front?

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  4. Steve-I attached it with a single center stay to the brake bolt. It's nice and sturdy.

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  5. Seems like you are getting it sorted out.If you keep the steel rims for a while and want to change tires check out recumbent sites like www.hostelshoppe.com their primo comet 20/1 3/8 bsd 451 is a great tire.When you switch to alluminum make sure to look at maximmum weight limits,most alu rims in that size are designed for mini-bmx and have about a 125# rider weight limit.Sillgey Cyclery has some good ones intended for their Piccolo minivelo,I think you can buy the rims seperately.Check them out at www.sillgey.com. Hope this helps.

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  6. If you go to If you go to thorusa.com, they have Dahon 20" wheels for cheap - you can get a new front wheel for $30.

    I love folders - great, handy bikes.

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  7. The bike looks great, and it must be a lot of fun to ride.

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  8. Justin,I am pretty sure that the wheels on Dahon's are all the more common 406mm bsd not 451mm bsd like the raleigh twenty.I might be wrong though.

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  9. You might very wel be right - that sounds waaay more technical than anything I know about 20" wheels...

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  10. Big Oak-It feels a little strange at first but it is fun to ride.

    frankenbiker-Thanks for the links! I didn't even think about the minivelo stuff.

    Justin-I believe that Dahon does use the smaller 406mm size, but Bike Friday uses the larger size. I was looking at the Dahon site to get some info on their new generator/ charger hub. It will charge your phone while you ride.

    Apertome-Thanks. It is fun to ride and is much sturdier than I imagined.

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  11. There are a couple of ways to minimize the rattling from things like chainguards and fenders. Use a nylon spacer/washer on between the bolts and fenders. Leather works well too and looks retro. ;-)

    Aaron

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