Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
fastpedaller
Posts: 3435
Joined: 10 Jul 2014, 1:12pm
Location: Norfolk

Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by fastpedaller »

Recently I remember something on here about 'fun' adult bikes with small wheels. Non-folding bikes which were simple - I've even done a web search but can't find anything. I can see the appeal of a light-weight, maybe single speed or 2 speed nimble bike.
PH
Posts: 13106
Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 12:31am
Location: Derby
Contact:

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by PH »

Google mini velo for some ideas. They were looking to become a big thing a few years ago but have since sort of petered out.
I can see the attraction, I have a 24" wheel Airnimal Joey and it's fun to ride in a way it's hard to define, it has an appeal beyond the folding.
User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 8003
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by simonineaston »

The Raleigh Twenty (nylon-based steering technology an' all... :wink: ) has a cult following.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
whoof
Posts: 2519
Joined: 29 Apr 2014, 2:13pm

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by whoof »

simonhill
Posts: 5226
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by simonhill »

They are quite common in Japan, some are high spec mini road bike types.

Maybe add Japan to a mini velo search.
whoof
Posts: 2519
Joined: 29 Apr 2014, 2:13pm

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by whoof »

User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 8003
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by simonineaston »

Twenty with added GU&G (Get Up & Go!)
Va-va-voom...
Va-va-voom...
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by Mick F »

What about a Raleigh RSW16?
:D

IMG_0427.jpg
Mick F. Cornwall
fastpedaller
Posts: 3435
Joined: 10 Jul 2014, 1:12pm
Location: Norfolk

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by fastpedaller »

Thanks. Interesting that these 'fads 'come around in time. Only source seems to be Tokyo bike in London c£700 ouch! or Alibaba for $100 each, but need to buy 100 minimum :lol:
Maybe a few scrap bikes and my brazing kit ?
User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 8003
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by simonineaston »

What about a Raleigh RSW16?
Rider looks happy & cheerful - that must mean it's a Great bike! :D
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
PH
Posts: 13106
Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 12:31am
Location: Derby
Contact:

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by PH »

fastpedaller wrote:Thanks. Interesting that these 'fads 'come around in time. Only source seems to be Tokyo bike in London c£700 ouch! or Alibaba for $100 each, but need to buy 100 minimum :lol:
Maybe a few scrap bikes and my brazing kit ?

The Cannondale Hooligan was the closest I saw to it becoming mainstream, seems to have been discontinued a few years ago, though they don't fetch much secondhand,
Sid Aluminium
Posts: 255
Joined: 26 Feb 2019, 7:38pm
Location: Beyond the edge of the wild

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by Sid Aluminium »

Small wheels, non-folding. Okay. Moulton Bikes (made in England since 1962) are exclusively small-wheeled and the firm has never offered a folder. The majority of the bikes they've built over the last 58 years haven't been separatable/demountable, either. Bob's your uncle.
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by Mick F »

simonineaston wrote:
What about a Raleigh RSW16?
Rider looks happy & cheerful - that must mean it's a Great bike! :D
That very Mk1 1968 RSW16 can be seen in the National Cycling Museum at Llandindrod Wells.

It was a barn find up the road from here and given to me.
All I needed to do was pump up the tyres and lube the chain, and it was rideable. Hub dynamo lighting worked too.

I rode it locally for some few years - pubs and shops etc then put it away. Eventually decided that it needed to be preserved, and we drove it to Llandindrod, stayed overnight, and handed it over ............ and that was Mrs Mick F riding it from the carpark to the museum. :D
Mick F. Cornwall
User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 8003
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by simonineaston »

Closer inspection of the photo reveals several components that were shared with Raleigh Moultons of the era, ie the chainset, the brake callipers, the dynamo and the curved 'bar stem that crops up on the Moulton Mk 3... and of course, ride comfort, achieved not by the sophisticated suspension on the expensive-to-make Moultons but rather, balloon tyres, giving a comfy ride but also tons of rolling draaaaag!
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56359
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Small(er) wheeled bikes - non folding!

Post by Mick F »

Yes, but when the tyres were inflated quite well, it was surprising how little drag there was.
Those were the original tyres of the Mk1 ........ and the pedals too.

By the time the Mk2 came along, the tyres were black with the red Raleigh stripe, and the pedals became normal standard "two block" ones.

This is as it was when I brought it home.
RSW16.JPG
Mick F. Cornwall
Post Reply