Dawes Kingpin

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KoffMixtures

Well-Known Member
Location
South Yorkshire
Rowan has a habit of talking up the cycles he's planing to sell.
I do however, enjoy his video's.
It would be interesting to read a dispassionate review of the KP and R20, back to back.
The R20 headset bearing is a much maligned feature with sound engineering reasons for its use.
The KP frame is elegant but has a reputation for bending in the middle.
I have 5 R20's. Never heard of these bending (unless there's a hinge in the middle).

EDIT: Nothing wrong with the R2O bottom bracket, unless you wish to fit a none-standard B/B.
 

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
The KP frame is elegant but has a reputation for bending in the middle.
says who? Where’s the evidence?
Aside from the misjudged re-design of the folder KP in the last year of manufacture ‘ 88/89 I’ve seen no evidence that the Kingpin bends.

However, I’ll show a couple examples of a bent or broken 20.

IMG_5924.jpeg


IMG_4888.jpeg
 
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EltonFrog

Legendary Member
Thought I'd add this in here rather than starting a new thread.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE24S6RXLnU

For all you KP fans, Rowan over at Velocipedium has just loaded a review of his.
I've yet to own one, but have several R20 variants, so look forward to his upcoming comparison video.


He seems to imply that KP is a copy of the R20.
Dawes Kingpin predates the R20 by four years (1964). The R20 is a copy of the Kingpin. Initially the Dawes released the Newpin as a split apart bike with 20” wheels, the Newpin developed into the Kingpin, and the Newpin model ran alongside the KP for a while.
 
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