I sold my twenty

ian.allen2

Retro Guru
I had my Raleigh Twenty 1971 on ebay for the second time and it has finally sold. The seller called me to arrange a time for him to collect and said he noticed on the listing that I was looking ofr another bike to 'do up / restore'. I said I was and he told me he had a Triumph bike, I cant remember the model, but he said that it needed some work doing to it to get it back on the road. It needed a BB and painting and would I be interested. If so, would I be willing to knock £10 off the winning fee and take the bike as part ex. I said yes as I would like another project to do. All I know is, its a gents bike with 26" wheels, about 21" frame. He will be bringing the bike up with him when he collects the Twenty so I can have a look at it and make my mind up.
 
I had a Triumph Traffic Master as my Uni bike. Sturmey Archer 3 speed, metallic green with white wall tyres.

She was a beaut. I returned it the garage I rescued it from when I left.
 
Not a bonneville, lol. Wish it was.

Thats the model, Thanks Kestonian, A Traffic Master. I dont know what colour yet, but I think I will take it as p/x. Something to do. I knowit has a SA three speed. Most probably needs tyres and tubes, cables, etc. I would like to get a pair of vintage bull horns for it to make into a 'look a like' bike I had in the 70's. He also said he has a Hercules but he was oing to sell it on ebay and wants about £60 - £65 for it. I asked him if it was a Balmoral and what colour. He didnt tell me the model, but said it was green. My first bike was a Maroon balmoral, and I would love to have another one. Just to put in the shed and keep as a momentum of my youth.
 
Always nice to see folk on here who are not serious roadies or mtb'rs. I like all bikes and will always have a soft spot for classic British Roadsters. I have a Rudge, a BSA Twenty and a CWS Commuter sitting in the shed awaiting my ministrations.
 
I like mountain bikes and hybrids, but I think the older bikes are built better. Built at a time when workers took pride in their jobs and things were made properly and not just thrown together using cheap parts just to make as much profit as possibly can to line the pockets of fat lazy bosses who dont give a damn about their workforce.
 
You could probably give the Traffic Master a wash and sell it to someone hopelessly trendy in Shoreditch for a decent profit! My Mum has a lovely old shopper I keep threatening to restore but I'm afraid that if I do, she might actually ride it.
 
Kestonian":2e6467a9 said:
You could probably give the Traffic Master a wash and sell it to someone hopelessly trendy in Shoreditch for a decent profit! My Mum has a lovely old shopper I keep threatening to restore but I'm afraid that if I do, she might actually ride it.

I enjoyed rebuilding my Twenty. I have replaced the rusty mudguards for chrome ones. I bought a green tartan pannier bag for it and dynamo lights, but these were not in the sale. I will be selling these at some later date. I changed the twistgrip gear selector for a trigger selector as the outer cable was too far gone and the inner cable was hard to get complete without the toggle chain adjuster having the large bolt clamp. So I opted for a trigger with original cable and slim toggle adjuster.
All I done to the frame was to service the bearings, clean the original paintwork and polish it. New tubes and tyres and inner & outer brake cables. It has been stood in my shed ever since, collecting dust.

The Traffic master, I dont know what I will end up doing to it yet. I will see when it arrives. I hope my camera takes the pictures I want as I take some pics, it goes through everything with the flash and shows me what I have took, but when I transfer them to the computer, not all pics are on the camera.. Very strange.
:?
 
The twenty was collected buy he didnt bring hte triumph with him. I got a mountain bike to tinker with instead.
 
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