Raleigh RSW 16

The Raleigh RSW 16 was a small-wheeled bicycle made by the Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham and put on sale in 1965 as the firm's answer to the Moulton Bicycle. Within a year of its launch Moulton had become the second-largest frame builder in the country, and Raleigh set out to produce a small-wheel design that would not infringe the Moulton patents; a pre-production model was shown to Alex Moulton as early as 1964. Like the Moulton it had an open frame, built-in carrying capacity and small 16 inch wheels, but it had a rigid frame and relied on wide balloon tyres rather than suspension for comfort, at the cost of greater drag and effort for the rider. It also introduced a twistgrip gear selector on the right handlebar, and a folding RSW Compact version followed. Its success cut into Moulton's sales and helped push that firm into financial difficulties, after which Raleigh bought the Moulton business. The RSW 16 stayed in production until 1974, with reported sales of around 100,000 over nine years, while the slightly larger RSW 20 endured well into the 1980s.