# 1961 Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix



## 2old2race7 (Sep 8, 2018)

I just bought this 1961 Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix.  It has a 4 speed Sturmey Archer hub.  It came with the never used Bell Bike II helmet, tools, a lamb seat cover and the bill of sale from June 9, 1961.  The price then was $89.95.  Purchased at Mike Walden's Continental Bike Shop on Livernois in Detroit.


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## juvela (Sep 8, 2018)

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thanks so much for posting this beauty, what a find!  

two questions for the heron experts -

a) seems odd for a Raleigh of this time to come with Lyotard model 36 pedals; would have expected something like a set of Apollo

b) Weinmann brake set seems slightly peculiar, would have expected GB.  note that pads are all the way up in front and all the way down in the rear, suggesting frame may have been contructed with another model of caliper in mind.

thanks again!  

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## bulldog1935 (Sep 15, 2018)

yes, the bike is a little curious.
The '61 Lenton Grand Prix should be a 10 speed, Cyclo derailleurs and shifters, with 5 rear cogs and a pair of half-step rings in front.
Your photo shows the right-side shifter boss - is there one like it on the left?  If not, the frame is older and could go back to '57.
Here are worthwhile photos of Lou's '60 Lenton Grand Prix - 
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/more-raleigh-lenton-gp.105188/
It should have GB brakes.
Paint and decals are in excellent shape.
Of course the bike shop could have delivered it this way to the customer's specs. 
Considering derailleur bikes were fairly new, he may have wanted the Lenton without the Grand Prix.
The Raleigh derailleur hubs of this era used 3/8" axles that also match the SA hubs, making them interchangeable on these frames. 
Also, what's your serial number?  We can compare to my '57

In '62, the Lenton GP was replaced with the Gran Sport


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## 2old2race7 (Sep 17, 2018)

bulldog1935 said:


> yes, the bike is a little curious.
> The '61 Lenton Grand Prix should be a 10 speed, Cyclo derailleurs and shifters, with 5 rear cogs and a pair of half-step rings in front.
> Your photo shows the right-side shifter boss - is there one like it on the left?  If not, the frame is older and could go back to '57.
> Here are worthwhile photos of Lou's '60 Lenton Grand Prix -
> ...





There is no shifter boss on the left.  The bike has the 4 speed Sturmey-Archer hub.  The bike serial number is FH 6767.  The '59 Catalog shows the Lenton Grand Prix as an 8 speed.  It shows the Lenton Marque II as being available with the 4 speed Sturmey-Archer hub.


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## bulldog1935 (Sep 18, 2018)

from 1957 to '59, the Lenton Grand Prix did have 4 cogs in the rear, and a Cyclo "suicide" front derailleur.
Yes, all the Lentons except the Grand Prix were club racers with SA hubs and single-ring chainsets.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/lenton-kohler.html
The Raleigh Record Ace the previous year introduced Cyclo rear derailleurs to Raleigh, still with a single-ring chainset.  The Lenton Grand Prix introduced front derailleurs.
The Lenton Grand Prix was introduced in late 1956, and didn't make the catalog before '58.
Your bike looks most like a '57 Lenton Grand Prix frame that may have been altered by the bike shop.
Also worth noting, no one had ridden a derailleur bike before these arrived on our shores.



it's certainly possible the bike was delivered as a Marque III, which would also account for the brakes - but in '58 and '59, the only paint colors cataloged were green and yellow.
But all through the years, Raleigh sneaked in colors that weren't listed in catalogs (My silver '75 International was never cataloged).
Everything about your frame matches ''57 - the only color offered on the first Lenton and never cataloged.

BTW, the 'FH" on the s/n is more likely a soft stamp of "RB"
Kurt Kaminer would say that makes it a '61 frame - http://www.kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleigh_serials.html#55
Though he doesn't actually account for your serial number, because he states all RB serial numbers should also have a suffix letter N (etc.)
When they added lever-operated front derailleurs for 1960, maybe Raleigh took all the remaining single-shifter-boss frames and outfitted them as Marque III.








Here's my '57 frame, built from bare frame as a custom to look basically correct, but everything underneath is newer, beginning with custom Phil hubs to fit the 115mm OLD with 3/8" axle.  I used a single Huret band clamp to get a left-side shifter, with the proper Cyclo shifter on the right-side boss.


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## schwinnderella (Sep 20, 2018)

bulldog1935 said:


> from 1957 to '59, the Lenton Grand Prix did have 4 cogs in the rear, and a Cyclo "suicide" front derailleur.
> Yes, all the Lentons except the Grand Prix were club racers with SA hubs and single-ring chainsets.
> https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/lenton-kohler.html
> The Raleigh Record Ace the previous year introduced Cyclo rear derailleurs to Raleigh, still with a single-ring chainset.  The Lenton Grand Prix introduced front derailleurs.
> ...



Bulldog, what model and year is the gold Raleigh?


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## mongeese (Sep 20, 2018)

I am in possession of a Super Lenton if I can post a picture here I will.


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## bulldog1935 (Sep 20, 2018)

schwinnderella said:


> Bulldog, what model and year is the gold Raleigh?



1960  
Contact LouB if you want to get the serial number


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## anders1 (Nov 28, 2018)

Very nice bike!!


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## dnc1 (Nov 28, 2018)

A friend has just purchased a Lenton GP, with suicide shifter. I'll try and get photos of it next week.


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## rhm (Nov 28, 2018)

Re the bike  2old2race7 posted...

Very nice!  

Someone posted a similar bike on bikeforums.net, and unless this is the same bike, this is the second one I've seen with a SA FW hub. The Cyclo Benelux eight speed drivetrain was normal. 

The Weinmann brakes, however, are certainly original. A lot of these came with Weinmann brakes.


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## bikemig (Sep 13, 2020)

This bike is quite the survivor.


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## Amanda Reckonwith (Sep 26, 2020)

...it's quite remarkable that these continue to show up in such well preserved condition.


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## Amanda Reckonwith (Sep 26, 2020)

...I forgot to mention that some guy over on the other forums found this one in  Brooklyn somewhere, stored away as a family heirloom the father had brought back with him from the U.K.  I have never seen the Rudge version in person, and the fork and fork crown are very upscale, even if it's roughly the equivalent bicycle. Another survivor in remarkable condition. I don't think they got sold on our side of the ocean, although other Rudge bikes do appear in my area from time to time.


link here


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