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62? Raleigh Sports with 'Lenton' Dual Drive

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I asked my cousin, who lives in the U.K., about the darts that Raleigh used on their paint sceme and he told me it was used only on 1961 to 1962 Raleigh bicycles. No reason why or why it was discontinued.
 
So @Oilit has me thinking about the beautiful darts pattern. Raleigh Industries was acquired by TI in 1960. A few years later someone who was originally a pencil-pusher at TI gets a questionably earned promotion and decides to ax the darts to go back to an old standard paint scheme that was "the foundation of the company ". Everyone claps and they get a pat on the back because it will also be cheaper and easier to produce. Hmmmmm. Conspiracy theory? Maybe so, maybe no. :rolleyes:
 
I bet the "cheaper and easier to produce" was a big part of it. "After all, we're one big happy family now, no reason to keep up this wasteful competition nonsense."
 
Started the rehab and detail of this bike. Find it in the Project Bikes section here:
 
The old Benelux/Sturmey combination. I've got experience with the Benelux derailleurs (I have a '58 Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix) and also experience with a Benelux 3-speed SA cluster (built a Raleigh Twenty up like that using a Huret Allvit derailleur back in my college days in the early/mid-70's), but have never run both in tandem.

That Benelux derailleur is a very sweet shifting mechanism, hurt only by the very narrow range it can handle. I believe the four speed cluster I have on my Lenton is something like 15-19, with a 46-48 chainset. By today's standards it makes you wonder why it had derailleurs at all. I have memories of that 3x3 setup on my Twenty being fairly decent for climbing the hills south of 19th street in Erie once the shop that employed me moved out from the city limits into the shopping mall area on US19.

Definitely treasure that bike. I'd love to find on myself to add to my Raleigh roadster collection.
 
I can't wait to really get this baby on the road come nice weather. I'll wait for the spring rain to wash the road salt away. I'm enjoying the rehab. Detailing it will be fun too.
The cluster is 24-19-15. I imagine the range will feel wider than needed and I'm sure I'll learn my sweet spots. It'll be fun.
Most certainly this is a keeper that I will cherish. Neat to hear your story @sykerocker. Just finished rehab and detail of my Twenty Folder before starting on this project. Anticlimactic to finish a nice bike in the winter here. Looking forward to spring but not trying to rush winter away. Great time to hermit away in the basement and work on bikes.
 
Thanks everyone. The man I got it from gave it a quick spit shine. He picked it up from an estate sale, said it was the best one of a few Raleighs there. I plan to give it a complete tune up, polish and wax and then enjoy it as it is. I've been trying to stick to buying 23" frames and was very happy to get this one. Picked it up in Toledo Ohio and the license reads Sylvania Ohio. I'm thinking the tune up should go smoothly as I've done a few Raleighs but I may need a little advise on the Cyclo, if that's what it is more commonly referred to as. Have no experience with that type of dérailleur. Here is a curiosity to me, Schwinn tires. Maybe modern ones? Wouldn't think they could be the old 597's and seat properly. Size reads only 26 x 1 3/8. Still in pretty good shape too.
Edit note: the size also includes "to fit EA-3 rim"
View attachment 1005803
'62 is consistent with the serial numbers ending in RA +an extra letter.
My '57 ends in RA - they went to RB and added the third letters later when they needed more
 
I must say that it would be great fun to have a 6 speed hub , is there any chance to make that happen to a normal sturmey?
 
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