
The Raleigh "Twenty" or "Shopper" was a
small-wheeled bicycle made by
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
from 1968 until the early 1980s. It was Raleigh's answer to the
Dawes
Dawes may refer to: Places
*Dawes (Parish), New South Wales, Australia
*Dawes Point, New South Wales, Australia
*Dawes Arboretum, in Newark, Ohio, U.S.
*Dawes County, Nebraska, U.S.
*Dawes Township, Thurston County, Nebraska, U.S.
Other uses
*Dawe ...
Kingpin, which had been on the market since 1964. The Twenty was made in both folding and "fixed" versions.
The Twenty was a companion model to the
RSW 16, which had been Raleigh's competitor to the
Moulton
Moulton may refer to:
Places in the United Kingdom
;In England
* Moulton, Cheshire
*Moulton, Lincolnshire
** Moulton Windmill
* Moulton St Mary, Norfolk
* Moulton, Northamptonshire
**Moulton College, agricultural college
** Moulton Park, indus ...
since 1965. The Twenty was more successful and it remained in production long after the RSW was discontinued.
Background
The Twenty was not aggressively marketed when it was first released in 1968, but it was a much better bicycle than the RSW. The Twenty's larger wheels made it smoother and it had less rolling resistance.
[
] By 1970 the RSW was selling rather poorly so Raleigh decided to market the "Twenty" more heavily. In 1971 a
folding version was released under an old Moulton name the "Stowaway" (anecdotal evidence suggests that they were available in Canada since 1969).
In 1974 the RSW was discontinued and the "Twenty" became Raleigh's main small-wheeled bicycle in production. In 1975, 140,000 were manufactured in the UK alone, which nearly equalled the entire sales of the Moulton from 1963–1974. It was Raleigh's biggest seller in 1977, though sales tapered off after this. Its final year of production was not until 1984, giving the Raleigh Twenty a 16-year production lifespan.
[
]
Technical information
The Raleigh "Twenty" was originally fitted with 20" × 1-3/8" wheels and tyres
A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...
(ISO 35-451), but most export versions were sold with 20" × 1.75" wheels and tyres (ISO 47-406) – the same as BMX bicycles.
Many were sold as either single speed
A single-speed bicycle is a type of bicycle with a single gear ratio. These bicycles are without derailleur gears, hub gearing or other methods for varying the gear ratio of the bicycle.
There are many types of modern single speed bicycles; B ...
with coaster brake
A bicycle brake reduces the speed of a bicycle or prevents it from moving. The three main types are: rim brakes, disc brakes, and drum brakes.
Most bicycle brake systems consist of three main components: a mechanism for the rider to apply th ...
or fitted with a Sturmey-Archer AW three-speed hub. The New-Zealand-manufactured version was offered with a duomatic two-speed hub, which shifted gears by kicking back the pedals and also had a built-in coaster brake.[
]
Variations and derivatives
A number of major variations exist, including different styles of handlebars, different hubs and different carry rack arrangements. Most of these were just the same basic "Twenty" marketed (for example) as the "Shopper" with a front basket to increase carrying capacity.
Raleigh Eighteen
This was essentially a Raleigh Twenty reduced in size by 10%. It differed from the larger model in that it dispensed with the bracing struts at the bottom bracket. The Eighteen was introduced in 1972 and aimed at children and shorter adults.[
]
Raleigh Commando
This was a Raleigh Eighteen with a chopper-style seat. It was aimed at the youth market.[
]
Raleigh Twenty Two
This was essentially a Raleigh Twenty increased in size by 10%. It also had no bracing struts at the bottom bracket.[
]
Marketing
Raleigh owned a number of former competitors and the "Twenty" was sold under many of these names, including Triumph, Sun, Hercules and BSA
BSA may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Basketball South Africa
* Bearing Specialists Association
* Belarusian Socialist Assembly
* Bibliographical Society of America
* Birmingham Small Arms Company, UK manufacturer of firearms and vehic ...
. The "Twenty" was also manufactured in New Zealand due to local trade laws requiring 40% local content. The New Zealand-manufactured version is most readily identified by the lack of the extra bracing struts at the bottom bracket found on the UK and Canadian-built versions. An early-1980s advertisement offers a two-speed automatic (kick-back) hub, not found on other versions of the Raleigh "Twenty".
The style was later revived in an updated form as part of a short-lived collaboration with the fashion label Red or Dead
Red or Dead is a fashion designer and manufacturer, started in London in 1982 by married couple Gerardine Hemingway and Wayne Hemingway. They design products such as shoes, spectacles, bags and watches.
History
In 1982, Wayne and Gerardine ...
.
In popular culture
The Raleigh Twenty is the bicycle ridden by the main protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
, Poppy, during the title sequence
A title sequence (also called an opening sequence or intro) is the method by which films or television programmes present their title and key production and cast members, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound (often a opening theme song with ...
of the 2008 film ''Happy-Go-Lucky
Happy Go Lucky may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Happy Go Lucky'' (1936 film), an American film
* ''Happy Go Lucky'' (1943 film), an American musical film starring Betty Hutton
* ''Happy Go Lucky'' (1946 film), a French film
* ''Happy Go L ...
''. It also appears in several scenes in the 2008 film ''Son of Rambow
''Son of Rambow'' is a 2007 comedy film written and directed by Garth Jennings and inspired by ''First Blood''. The film premiered on 22 January 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival. It was later shown at the Newport Beach Film Festival, Seattle ...
''.
The bicycle is mentioned in the chorus of the British Sea Power
Command of the sea (also called control of the sea or sea control) is a naval military concept regarding the strength of a particular navy to a specific naval area it controls. A navy has command of the sea when it is so strong that its rivals ...
song "No Lucifer
"No Lucifer" is a 10" single released by rock band British Sea Power on 10 March 2008. It was the second single released from their critically acclaimed third album, ''Do You Like Rock Music?''. The song was written by Hamilton, who also sings ...
", and is the inspiration for the 2019 song ''Raleigh Twenty'' by New Zealand band Fat Freddy's Drop
Fat Freddy's Drop is a New Zealand seven-piece band from Wellington, whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. Originally a jam band formed in the late 1990s by mus ...
.
Timeline
* 1968 – First Introduced
* 1969 – Folding Version introduced in Canada (conjectured)
* 1971 – Folding Version introduced in UK and export markets
* 1974 – RSW 16 discontinued – focus shifted to "Twenty"
* 1975 – 140,000 "Twentys" manufactured in UK
* 1977 – The "Twenty" is Raleigh's most popular bicycle
* 1984 – Discontinued[
]
References
{{Raleigh bicycles
Cycle types
Twenty
Twenty or 20 may refer to:
* 20 (number), the natural number following 19 and preceding 21
* one of the years 20 BC, AD 20, 1920, 2020
Music
Albums
* ''20'' (2nd Chapter of Acts album), 1992
* ''20'' (Cunter album), 2011
* ''20'' (Drag ...