1950's Men's Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix

[sstone]

I'm curious about this bike, as there is one at an auction this weekend in my area. I've searched the net and have found photos of 1955 & 1958 which were yellow w/ white fork/stem tube and all of the fancy 'leaves' stickers on the seat tube, which match the auction bike in question. This bike however, has a multi-speed IGH with built in lever operated drum brake (no, I didn't look at the hub markings ) , the benelux rear 4 cog & deraillier w/ shift lever on the down tube, and double chainwheel w/ the benelux bar lever control deraillier on the seat tube. Strange! It also has a front, hand lever operated drum brake, which looks pretty old. Most of the photos I've found have caliper brakes. Some other stuff was added, but can be removed. It still has the Brooks b15 seat in pretty good condition because it was covered with an add-on seat padding, and the bike itself is in pretty good condition with only minor rust on the chrome parts.

Has anyone ever heard of this combination of gears and the brakes? I'm thinking of bidding on it, up to abt $100 (including the auction fee).

Thx

 

[sstone]

photos of '58 Men's Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix

 

[sailorbenjamin]

Wow. What a score. I paid way more than that for mine and it was just a bent frame.

 

[danny7147]

It's unusual... The only Raleigh I've got in my collection with drum brakes is a 1940's ex-police bike!

It's a slightly strange bike as you say, instinct tells me it's 70's, but to be honest even if it turns out to be something it isn't, the parts would make a nice little ebay profit on your $100 anyway

 

[danny7147]

Just a quick flick through Google brought this up though...

That's a 1958 and looks VERY similar...

 

[Major Taylor Archive]

There is a very similar bike at my shop, same color too. Our's is a '57 with an SA 4 speed rear hub. Someone changed the brake levers in the '70s and possibly converted it from derailleur to an IGH. It's all original otherwise.

Did you win the bike ?

 

[sstone]

There is a very similar bike at my shop, same color too. Our's is a '57 with an SA 4 speed rear hub. Someone changed the brake levers in the '70s and possibly converted it from derailleur to an IGH. It's all original otherwise.

Did you win the bike ?

Sorry I didn't update. Didn't have any posts originally, so I skipped it. But, to answer, yes. The auction was really slow for a change. Had the 1st & 3rd bid, got it for $60! According to posts (on my bikeforums post), that was a great deal! I've had several posts indicating other bike owners in the past have created the same setup on other bikes. I had thought that I would return it to original condition, but most have said to clean it up and leave it the way it is, including my LBS owner. It will definitely be some fun to work on it and bring it back to really purty condition.

S

 

[sstone]

It's unusual... The only Raleigh I've got in my collection with drum brakes is a 1940's ex-police bike!

It's a slightly strange bike as you say, instinct tells me it's 70's, but to be honest even if it turns out to be something it isn't, the parts would make a nice little ebay profit on your $100 anyway

At first I thought it was a mid 70's bike as well. But after the auction viewing, I went home and did some research and found the bike you found, as well as a couple of others, plus Sheldon Brown had a page ref: the Raleigh Lentons built between 1949 & 1962 ( http://sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/lenton-kohler.html ).

The only thing I didn't notice when I viewed it was that the cable guides on the top tube have split, but otherwise, just some cosmetic flaws and should clean up really nicely. I plan to keep it intact as most feedback is in that vain.

Thx, S

 

[sstone]

There is a very similar bike at my shop, same color too. Our's is a '57 with an SA 4 speed rear hub. Someone changed the brake levers in the '70s and possibly converted it from derailleur to an IGH. It's all original otherwise.

Did you win the bike ?

Post a photo

S

 

[sstone]

At first I thought it was a mid 70's bike as well. But after the auction viewing, I went home and did some research and found the bike you found, as well as a couple of others, plus Sheldon Brown had a page ref: the Raleigh Lentons built between 1949 & 1962 ( http://sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/lenton-kohler.html ).

The only thing I didn't notice when I viewed it was that the cable guides on the top tube have split, but otherwise, just some cosmetic flaws and should clean up really nicely. I plan to keep it intact as most feedback is in that vain.

Thx, S

Oh, and post a photo of the P-bike Luv to see it.

S