My New Old Raleigh Folder

For some time now I've been thinking about carrying a bike with me to work. I would be nice to be able to ride during my lunch hour. Aaron's blog (2whls3spds) opened my eyes to the Raleigh Twenty, a sturdy, Sheldon Brown approved, vintage 3 speed folding bike. A folding bike would work perfectly for me.

A nice 1970's Raleigh Folder (a.k.a. Twenty) appeared on Craigslist the other day. After conferring with Aaron I decided to buy it.

This is one of Aaron's bikes folded up and headed to the job site.

Here are two of Aaron's folders. The bike on the left has received a few upgrades.

This is the newest member of the family. I haven't done anything to it yet other than remove the front reflector.

Both fenders are in good shape.

The brakes are terrible! Aluminum rims and decent brakes will be my first upgrades.

These are the only numbers that I could see on the hub. Could 77 be the year of manufacture?

The bike is equipped with pump pegs.

I have lots of plans for this bike. Stay tuned.

103 Degrees

It's been pretty darn hot and miserable the last few days with no real relief in sight. The weather forecast says that its going to be 104 degrees tomorrow. I've avoided screen printing the last few days. The heat from the dryers (to heat set the ink) makes my garage unbearable. All this means that I've spent more time online than usual. I thought it might be nice to point out some interesting blogs and websites I've come across over the last few days. The theme for this post is slow.

The Slow Bicycle movement
Just what the title suggests. Relaxed riding in regular clothes, no lycra here. The two blogs below are members of this new group.




Sweet Georgia Brown
Nice little blog by "The Bronze Bombshell" (cool name). All about riding in style. I'm sure it's a little warm in Georgia right now.





2whls3spds
This guy restores these old bikes to ridable condition.





Peter White Cycles
Lots of neat stuff, Carradice bags, lighting systems, and the super serious Tout Terrain touring frames.