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Sheldon Brown's Raleigh RSW Bicycle Page

by Sheldon "Compact" Brown

The Raleigh RSW Compact

In the '60s, Moulton bicycles were hot in England, and Raleigh wanted to get in on the action. One of their answers to the Moulton was the RSW (Raleigh Small Wheels).

This met with some success as a town/shopping bike. Although it lacked the suspension of the Moultons, it used wide (2") balloon tires to smooth the ride.

The original RSW was soon followed by the folding RSW Compact, which had a very easy to use folding mechanism for the frame and handlebars, allowing it to fit into the boot (trunk) of a small British car.

I owned one for a while, but found it too heavy and slow for my liking, so I sold it.

Here are some pictures of mine:

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English Links

English 3-Speeds

Retro Raleighs

Raleigh Parts Threading/Interchangeability

Three-Speed Parts from Harris Cyclery

Sturmey-Archer Hubs

Sturmey-Archer Brochures 1935-38

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Sturmey-Archer 1902-1952

Evolution of the Raleigh Sports

The Raleigh Twenty

Some of My Raleighs:

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Sturmey-Archer Heritage Site

Martin Hanczyc's roadster pages.

Tony Hadland's Sturmey-Archer Pages

Tony Hadland on the history of Raleigh