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20-614: The Raleigh "Twenty" or "Shopper" was a small-wheeled bicycle made by Raleigh from 1968 until the early 1980s. It was Raleigh's answer to the Dawes 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 since 1965. The Twenty was more successful and it remained in production long after

40-622: A 17th-century mansion. He was a member of Brooks's gentlemen's club in London. Moulton died on 9 December 2012 at the Royal United Hospital in Bath. His funeral, which was attended by 'Moultoneers' from all over the world, took place at Holy Trinity Church, Bradford-on-Avon on 19 December, after which he was interred in the family grave at Christ Church in the same town beside his great-grandfather, Stephen Moulton, who founded

60-583: A fluid and rubber suspension for a new Alvis car, which did not reach production. Moulton also designed "Flexitor" rubber springs for the 1958 Austin Gipsy , an off-road vehicle. After the family business was acquired by the Avon Rubber Company in 1956, Moulton established Moulton Developments Limited to design the suspension system for British Motor Corporation 's new small car, the Mini , that

80-499: 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 . The Raleigh Twenty is the bicycle ridden by the main protagonist , Poppy, during the title sequence of the 2008 film Happy-Go-Lucky . It also appears in several scenes in the 2008 film Son of Rambow . The bicycle

100-579: A wheel of approximately 600 mm (24″) in diameter. The man credited with being the father of modern small-wheel bicycles is Alex Moulton who pioneered the field with his F-framed Moulton Bicycle in 1962. His original small-wheeled design notably featured full suspension. Raleigh introduced the RSW-16 as a direct competitor, but it lacked the suspension of the Moulton and compensated for this by using very wide 2-inch "balloon" tires. The RSW-16 "Compact"

120-494: Is mentioned in the chorus of the British Sea Power song " No Lucifer ", and is the inspiration for the 2019 song Raleigh Twenty by New Zealand band Fat Freddy's Drop . Small wheel bicycle An early proponent of small-wheeled adult bicycles was Paul de Vivie , better known by his pen name "Vélocio". His approach was to use a balloon-width tire of about 57 mm (2.25″) on a 500 mm (20″) rim, giving

140-484: The Bristol Aeroplane Company . After the war he joined the family company, which made rubber components such as suspension parts for railway carriages; he turned it towards rubber suspension systems for road vehicles. In the mid 1950s, Moulton developed an experimental rubber suspension which was tested on a Morris Minor . His friend Alec Issigonis heard of this work and together they designed

160-471: The Moulton bicycle , launched in 1962, again using rubber suspension and small wheels. A factory was built at Bradford-on-Avon, and Moulton Bicycles Ltd soon became the second-largest frame builder in the country. Moulton was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1976 New Year Honours for services to industry. Other honours include: Moulton lived at The Hall, Bradford-on-Avon

180-523: The "Twenty" was sold under many of these names, including Triumph, Sun, Hercules, New Hudson, and BSA . 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

200-601: The Moulton dynasty in the Wiltshire town in 1848. Moulton never married, and had no immediate survivors. Under Moulton's will, the Grade I listed Hall – along with investments, land, outbuildings and cottages – was gifted to a charitable trust. In 2020 the trust was reorganised as a charitable incorporated organisation , the Alex Moulton Charitable Trust, which continues to preserve and maintain

220-542: 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. The Raleigh "Twenty"

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240-551: The RSW was discontinued. 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

260-426: 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. This was a Raleigh Eighteen with a chopper-style seat. It was aimed at the youth market. This was essentially a Raleigh Twenty increased in size by 10%. It also had no bracing struts at the bottom bracket. Raleigh owned a number of former competitors and

280-403: The pedals and also had a built-in coaster brake. 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. This was essentially a Raleigh Twenty reduced in size by 10%. It differed from

300-459: The performance benefits of light wheels . Small wheels, all else being equal, have slightly higher rolling resistance . On the other hand, they may have lower aerodynamic drag due to their smaller area, which is proportional to their radius. Alex Moulton Alexander Eric Moulton (9 April 1920 – 9 December 2012) was an English engineer and inventor, specialising in suspension design. Moulton's father, John Coney Moulton ,

320-464: The terrain, giving a harsher ride on bumpy roads that are effectively smoothed by larger ones. It may be desirable for bicycles with smaller wheels to also be fitted with some form of suspension to improve riding characteristics. Bicycles with small wheels normally have their gearing adjusted to provide the same effective wheel radius as large ones, so pedalling cadence is not different. Smaller wheels tend to weigh less than larger ones, thus bringing

340-473: Was a folding version. In 1968 Raleigh introduced the Raleigh Twenty , which later went on to become one of Raleigh's biggest sellers. A large number of European manufacturers made U-frame small-wheeled and folding bicycles in the 1970s. Smaller wheels are more maneuverable. For this reason, and in some cases for comic effect, they are used in some clown bicycles . Smaller wheels more faithfully follow

360-540: Was a naturalist working in the Far East. Alex Moulton was the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer Stephen Moulton , the founder of the family business called George Spencer, Moulton & Co. Ltd, based at Bradford-on-Avon , Wiltshire. Moulton was educated at Marlborough College and the University of Cambridge where he was an undergraduate at King's College . During World War II he worked on engine design at

380-631: Was being designed by Issigonis. The combination of conical rubber springs and small wheels was one of the many innovative developments that allowed Issigonis to achieve the Mini's small overall size. This was later refined into the hydrolastic and hydragas suspension systems used on later British Leyland cars such as the Austin Maxi , Austin Allegro , Princess and Rover Metro , and later on Rover Group 's MG F sports car. Moulton also designed

400-417: Was originally fitted with 20" × 1-3/8" wheels and tyres (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 with coaster brake 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

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