Ratley -1970s Raleigh 20 Stowaway

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willhouse

willhouse

Joined
Feb 6, 2021
Messages
8
Reaction score
37
Location
Havelock North, New Zealand
Hi all! First post on the forum, and first time entering the comp.
I picked up a cheap and well weathered Raleigh Twenty Stowaway that I'm going to mod for this comp.
Planning to go a bit lowrider on it, bent fork, banana seat, sissy bar and what ever other parts I can find!
I'm in New Zealand, so cool vintage parts (or any parts that aren't for mountain or road bikes) can be hard to come by.

I've started stripping the bike. Every bolt is rusted tight and puts up a decent fight.

The last photo is a mockup using my mint Raleigh 20 frame, but sort of the look I'm aiming for.

Looking forward to seeing the other builds.

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Sent from my STK-L22 using Tapatalk
 
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Welcome to the fun! I have found penetrating oil or PB Blaster sprays to be helpful in loosening those rusty nuts and bolts. Just spray on, and leave for 20 mins or so, then give it a go.

This is a great community of bike nuts, and creativity abounds. Looking forward to your process!

RaT oN~!
 
willhouse said:
I'm in New Zealand, so cool vintage parts (or any parts that aren't for mountain or road bikes) can be hard to come by.
Click to expand...

Great to see another kiwi on here... what part of NZ are you in?

I've done a few build offs and know the struggle in getting good parts.

I'll be watching.

Glen.

EDIT: I have to admit that I didn't know we had folding Raleigh Twenties in NZ as I've never seen one before, and wouldn't you know it, there's one on Trade Me right now... with a start price of $500 and buy now of $1000 o_O
 
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Welcome to RRB and the Build Off. Can you send me some Hokey Pokey ice cream? Or some of the Crunchy bars that go in it?

I've always loved the Twentys, very versatile bikes. Can't wait to see your lowrider nanner twenty.
 
Been busy the past week cleaning up the bits I'm going to use. Most of the rust is surface rust, and the parts clean up well. Its pretty satisfying taking the rust off, especially when the surface below is in pretty good nic. Hopefully I haven't cleaned parts so much they aren't ratty enough anymore!

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Bought some rust remover (as endorsed by Frank Fritz - American Pickers). "Soak 2-24 hours" the label says. Well after a week my seatpost was still looking like a rusty seatpost. Same goes for the rest of the parts. Not a good buy. Cheers Frank.

Had much better luck with some Simple Green, a brass brush, some tin foil and water. Before and after pics....

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I lost the internal bolt that the frame pivots on, inside the frame when I took it apart. That will be fun to try and get back out.

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Half the bars done! I wish they were a bit wider than 550mm though.

This week's job is to get the wheels stripped, fully regreased and cleaned up, and clean up the frame a bit.
Anyone got any tips on preserving patina on the frame? Satin clearcoat maybe?

I've got some parts on the way too including whitewalls, spike grips, fork and a 26" banana seat (to make the sissy bar sit on more of a rearward angle).

I've built a similar R20 lowrider before too, but this build will take on a longer/lower look.

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Thanks for the comments, and for following the build!
 

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Glen said:
Great to see another kiwi on here... what part of NZ are you in?

I've done a few build offs and know the struggle in getting good parts.

I'll be watching.

Glen.

EDIT: I have to admit that I didn't know we had folding Raleigh Twenties in NZ as I've never seen one before, and wouldn't you know it, there's one on Trade Me right now... with a start price of $500 and buy now of $1000 o_O
Click to expand...

Hey Glen, I'm in Hawkes Bay. How about yourself?
Yeah parts finding can be pretty difficult. Ive got a bunch of saved searches on TradeMe, but the good / interesting stuff always goes for plenty of $$.
That R20 you linked to is in good nic, but I think old mate is dreaming at that price! I paid $80, and thought that was plenty. They made these bikes in Hastings. The guy I bought my bike from bought all the remaining factory parts and spares when it shut down, so he has stacks of parts for Raleighs, Morrisons, Healings, HMX's etc etc. Its a great shed to hunt though!
 
willhouse said:
Anyone got any tips on preserving patina on the frame? Satin clearcoat maybe?
Click to expand...

I’ve not done it before myself, but apparently, boiled linseed oil is good for bare metal. Some use shellac for preserving patina I think too. Others on here such as @OddJob should be able to help with advice on that.

willhouse said:
Hey Glen, I'm in Hawkes Bay. How about yourself?
Yeah parts finding can be pretty difficult. Ive got a bunch of saved searches on TradeMe, but the good / interesting stuff always goes for plenty of $$.
That R20 you linked to is in good nic, but I think old mate is dreaming at that price! I paid $80, and thought that was plenty. They made these bikes in Hastings. The guy I bought my bike from bought all the remaining factory parts and spares when it shut down, so he has stacks of parts for Raleighs, Morrisons, Healings, HMX's etc etc. Its a great shed to hunt though!
Click to expand...

I'm in Whangarei. Another RRB member, @Endlesschain is also here and he has a few of my old bikes and (almost) all the parts I had because I lack space in the rental house I'm in.

Yeah that dude on Trade Me was certainly dreaming at that price for sure.

I'm amazed that I've never actually ever seen one before. I'm from Christchurch originally (moved 2011) so perhaps there just weren't many down there. Sounds like the guy you got yours from has quite a collection... a handy person to know.

Glen.
 
I'm in Whangarei. Another RRB member, @Endlesschain is also here and he has a few of my old bikes and (almost) all the parts I had because I lack space in the rental house I'm in.
Click to expand...

Ah yip, thats Ryan right? Ive sold him a few bits in the past. Seen some of his builds too, pretty decent!
I've just had a look through some of your builds too, mate they are awesome!

Bit more of an update in the Ratley...
I ended up using the old WD40 trick on the frame. I dont think it will protect it for long, but it wont be out in the weather either.
Had a bit of fun trying to get the crown to line up nicely and ended up having to cut about 60mm (after multiple iterations and a bit of spring mount bending!) off the head tube to make it all work.

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Got there in the end, but needed a few spacers to make it all work. Ideally I would cut down the steerer tube to make it look a bit nicer, but these bits are hard to find in NZ, so I don't want to cut it and then not be able to use it again on another build.

IMG_20210519_111609.jpg


The wheels were pretty crusty, but they polished up really well. I don't have a before photo except for in the first post, but they came up good! Maybe too good now to be a ratrod?? Bought a new pair of whitewalls, because you can't not have whitewalls on a lowrider. The original tubes still hold air too!

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I put it all together for a mid-build mock up, pretty happy with the look so far. I'd like to get the top tube level, but I cant see how I would be able to do that, except to remove the spring.

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willhouse said:
Ah yip, thats Ryan right? Ive sold him a few bits in the past. Seen some of his builds too, pretty decent!
I've just had a look through some of your builds too, mate they are awesome!
Click to expand...

Yes that's right, Ryan. Your build would be his cup of tea too as he's really into the lowriders.

Thanks for the compliment on my builds, I appreciate it.

Cheers,

Glen.
 
willhouse said:
Ah yip, thats Ryan right? Ive sold him a few bits in the past. Seen some of his builds too, pretty decent!
I've just had a look through some of your builds too, mate they are awesome!

Bit more of an update in the Ratley...
I ended up using the old WD40 trick on the frame. I dont think it will protect it for long, but it wont be out in the weather either.
Had a bit of fun trying to get the crown to line up nicely and ended up having to cut about 60mm (after multiple iterations and a bit of spring mount bending!) off the head tube to make it all work.

View attachment 157931 View attachment 157932

Got there in the end, but needed a few spacers to make it all work. Ideally I would cut down the steerer tube to make it look a bit nicer, but these bits are hard to find in NZ, so I don't want to cut it and then not be able to use it again on another build.

View attachment 157933

The wheels were pretty crusty, but they polished up really well. I don't have a before photo except for in the first post, but they came up good! Maybe too good now to be a ratrod?? Bought a new pair of whitewalls, because you can't not have whitewalls on a lowrider. The original tubes still hold air too!

View attachment 157934 View attachment 157935

I put it all together for a mid-build mock up, pretty happy with the look so far. I'd like to get the top tube level, but I cant see how I would be able to do that, except to remove the spring.

View attachment 157936

View attachment 157937
Click to expand...


That looks so slick!!!!!
 
willhouse said:
Ah yip, thats Ryan right? Ive sold him a few bits in the past. Seen some of his builds too, pretty decent!
I've just had a look through some of your builds too, mate they are awesome!

Bit more of an update in the Ratley...
I ended up using the old WD40 trick on the frame. I dont think it will protect it for long, but it wont be out in the weather either.
Had a bit of fun trying to get the crown to line up nicely and ended up having to cut about 60mm (after multiple iterations and a bit of spring mount bending!) off the head tube to make it all work.

View attachment 157931 View attachment 157932

Got there in the end, but needed a few spacers to make it all work. Ideally I would cut down the steerer tube to make it look a bit nicer, but these bits are hard to find in NZ, so I don't want to cut it and then not be able to use it again on another build.

View attachment 157933

The wheels were pretty crusty, but they polished up really well. I don't have a before photo except for in the first post, but they came up good! Maybe too good now to be a ratrod?? Bought a new pair of whitewalls, because you can't not have whitewalls on a lowrider. The original tubes still hold air too!

View attachment 157934 View attachment 157935

I put it all together for a mid-build mock up, pretty happy with the look so far. I'd like to get the top tube level, but I cant see how I would be able to do that, except to remove the spring.

View attachment 157936

View attachment 157937
Click to expand...
That is one crazy set of lines!!! :thumbsup:
 
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