New project

[skudupnorth]

I have been given this Elswick Folder to play with even though i have enough bikes in my garage ! I do not know much about them other than it's quirky,folds and has Czech made wheels and tyres which floats my Skoda boat !
It needs a bit of TLC,but in general it looks complete and ridable ! Any info on the breed will be appreciated
Enjoy

 

[Rafferty]

I have been given this Elswick Folder to play with even though i have enough bikes in my garage ! I do not know much about them other than it's quirky,folds and has Czech made wheels and tyres which floats my Skoda boat !
It needs a bit of TLC,but in general it looks complete and ridable ! Any info on the breed will be appreciated
Enjoy

I've just acquired a Dawes Kingpin, so I'm in the same boat as you. I want to change the wheels for 406 size instead of the 451 size as ther is more choice with tyres and rims. The seat-post, stem, bars, chainset, saddle and mudguards will all be changed, as will the brakes. A respray is also a must, and I might change the front forks if I can get any info on what options I have. I've already made a start, so maybe we can swap ideas/info when your refurb gets underway.
Raff.

 

[skudupnorth]

It will make a great hack bike for short trips to the shops

 

[Hacienda71]

I think my brother had a similair bike in a metalic brown back in the 70's , no idea what happened to it . Loving the proper dynamo and Stumey Archer 3 speed.

 

[skudupnorth]

The dynamo works but the gears need a bit of love !

 

[Teuchter]

Love those old sturmey archer gears... we've got two bikes with them in our household including an old (non folding unfortunately) Raleigh Twenty of my wife's. You should be able to date the bike from a year stamped on the hub. Often all the hub needs is some oil and proper adjustment.

Check out some of the examples of work on other similar bikes for an idea of what's possible...
http://raleightwenty.webs.com/

I keep suggesting I take on my wife's bike as a modernisation project but she's dead against any changes that go beyond fitting a front wicker basket

 

[skudupnorth]

Love those old sturmey archer gears... we've got two bikes with them in our household including an old (non folding unfortunately) Raleigh Twenty of my wife's. You should be able to date the bike from a year stamped on the hub. Often all the hub needs is some oil and proper adjustment.

Check out some of the examples of work on other similar bikes for an idea of what's possible...
http://raleightwenty.webs.com/

I keep suggesting I take on my wife's bike as a modernisation project but she's dead against any changes that go beyond fitting a front wicker basket

I will have a look tomorrow on the rear hub for the date,cheers for the advice.........might hang fire on the wicker basket though

 

[Radchenister]

Think my mum had one of those; might want to tackle those window sills as well .

 

[skudupnorth]

Think my mum had one of those; might want to tackle those window sills as well .

Ha,Ha they've been like that for year and they are only my den/garage !

 

[skudupnorth]

Found the date stamp,it's an 83 model

 

[EltonFrog]

I have a Dawes Kingpin very similar to that, which I'm doing up. It's going to be finished in the spring. It's a bit of a folly amd extravagance but I sent the frame off to Mercian to be resprayed and to have the headset and bottom bracket to be serviced. The rest of the parts I'm going to do up my self and refit, I'll post a thread when I start.

I didn't know about the date stamp on the gear hub, I'll check that out too.

 

[skudupnorth]

I never knew about date stamps until Teuchter told me ,this forum just keeps giving It's on the bench now ready for pulling apart,not sure if the old girl will get a posh respray,but i am looking forward to riding it .

 

[EltonFrog]

I never knew about date stamps until Teuchter told me ,this forum just keeps giving It's on the bench now ready for pulling apart,not sure if the old girl will get a posh respray,but i am looking forward to riding it .

Financially it does not make sense for a proper respray, I don't know why I did it really, I'll never get my money back if I decide to sell it!

 

[skudupnorth]

Financially it does not make sense for a proper respray, I don't know why I did it really, I'll never get my money back if I decide to sell it!

At least you can enjoy it though,great stuff

 

[Rafferty]

I'll be respraying my Kingpin myself. So far I've changed the seatpost, stem, bars and crankset. Not sure about the wheels though, as going for the more common 406 size will cause braking issues. The steel rims have got to go and I'm unsure whether or not to go single speed.