THE RALEIGH TWENTY

Stem and Handlebar Options for your Raleigh Twenty

Raleigh provided a variety of handlebars and stems for the Raleigh Twenty over it's 18-year production run. They work well, but may not always suit your needs. Several members have already converted to drop bars or butterfly bars. This page aims to give you an over of your options when upgrading the stem and handlebars.

A New tall Stem - Nitto Technomic or Dirt-Drop:

The Nitto Technomic is the tallest alloy stem on the market today. It is made of forged aluminium in a range of forward extension lengths from 50mm to 120mm. The overall height is about 225mm (about 9 inches) which is a few inches taller than most other stems on the market.

Nitto also make a stem known as the "Dirt Drop" which is intended for MTBs, but is also useful at about 190mm length overall available in either 80mm or 100mm extension lengths.

Both of the above stems are made for 26.0mm clamp section, but shims are available to take 25.4mm handlebars.

Nitto also make a wide variety of handlebars to suit various needs. The Nitto "Noodle-Bar" is a popular drop-bar option for touring bicycles and is well worth considering.

(Picture from Harris Cyclery Website)

A good set of handlebars to go with these stems are the M or H-type Brompton Handlebar. Basically, a taller alloy version of the two-piece flat bars that originally came with the Raleigh Twenty.

Stem from MTB Straight Handlebars:

A new riser stem can be made from a set of steel MTB straight bars. I recommend steel as aluminium alloy bars are not made to suit the loading that would be present for this set-up.

The stem extender is made by cutting in-half an old steel MTB flat bar. The grip end of the bar is 22.2mm, so fits inside the Twenty's fork perfectly and it can be secured with the original stem bonder bolt.

The stem end is 25.4", so accepts a 1 1/8" Ahead stem with a 1" reducing shim. A hacksaw and file are the only tools necessary for making a simple stem riser for a Twenty. An aheadset is also shown on the bottom-right of the photo.

The fat, straight 1" diameter mid section of the donor bar (now the upper end of the conversion shaft) is where the Ahead stem clamps on. The bar's mild 'backsweep' bend provides a useful forward extension when used vertically as a stem riser. This is a simple and cheap way to get a strong, light and effective stem riser that will take any Ahead stem.

Picture and instructions from davepalk