Excited about this Raleigh Lenton

[rhm]

... Are the Swallows still available new? I have a B-15 and tool bag I think is going on it. ....

If you want an early 60's swallow, you might send me a private message. I have two, I think, that I restored. That is, they are early 60's frames with original hardware, but new leather. Whether they are as good as recent production Brooks, I think I am not the one to judge. But I certainly try to make a better saddle than what Brooks is putting out these days.

 

[bulldog1935]

Postwar RRA's varied in weight from 19 lbs to 27-1/2 lbs.

 

[Mr.RED]

Those poppers and all those beautiful Lentons look so awesome. Bulldogs Lenton is one my favorite bikes on this site. Very nice find

 

[rhm]

Did anyone provide a link to this article? Mr. Kohler knows a lot more about the Lenton series than I.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/lenton-kohler.html

One more note on the RRA and Lenton Grand Prix... As I mentioned, I used to have a Lenton Grand Prix, but a friend liked it and I agreed to sell it. As was mentioned above, it had straight gauge 531 tubing on the main triangle and thin taper seat stays; the fork was 2030 steel. I don't have many photos of the bike...

I replaced it with a 1948 RRA that I bought as a bare frame. I built it up as close to "correct" as I could, and really liked the way it rode. I rode many centuries on it with a four speed (FW) hub. But the RRA "should" have a lot of special parts made just for that model, made in-house at the Raleigh plant, and basically unobainable today. I found it just too frustrating to not have the "correct" parts. I don't mean to be obsessive about this kind of thing, but recognizing that tendency, I moved that bike on as well.

After I sold the RRA I decided to have a custom frame made, made specially to fit 26 x 2.3 road tires. The builder asked for the geometry and measurements I wanted, so I just gave him all the measurements from my RRA frame. So the custom frame I've been riding for the last two years, several thousand miles now, is in fact a copy of the RRA geometry. The Lenton Grand Prix geometry was very similar.

 

[bulldog1935]

that is worth a photo

It's kind of funny the way stashing bike parts works. I bought the NOS Coloral bag support and found it wouldn't help for my purpose where I wanted to use it.
Immediate buyer's remorse. Decided it was hideous, would never disgrace one of my bikes, and hid it on a shelf.
The bag on my Lenton is the recent Brooks Millbrook - I tried the earlier copy of the (faux) leather boxes, which didn't work at all with my saddle position - sold that to a happy Mike for what I paid.

After the Milbrook fabric bag began to sag under the weight of necessary tools, went to the shelf and pulled down the Coloral bag support.
Instant reconciliation and perfect touch on my Lenton. (there's extra-thick helicopter tape inside those clamps)

Also, that completely wrong LaPrade seatpost was on my '76 Grand Prix for 30+ years. It was a 26.2mm that I turned on a lathe to 25.7 just to my ride height.
It felt good to fit it on the Lenton.

Not much stock on this bike, Sugino Mighty Comp crank (the original pressed crank stripped on Austin hills), Shimano 600 derailleurs, much narrower SunTour freewheel than stock, and the spirit-changing Zeus/Rigida wheelset - oh, and Zeus DT shifters for jewelry.
This was only the first rebuild over its 40-years on the road.

 

[rhm]

that is worth a photo

It's kind of funny the way stashing bike parts works. ...

Well, it's seriously off-topic (the bike is only two years old now!) but if you promise not to tell anyone I posted it here...
https://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2018/10/2018-french-fender-day-and-future-of.html

Speaking of stashing bike parts... are those Bluemels Lightweight mudguards on your bike? At one point I bought three pairs of those on eBay and stashed them for a while. I eventually used one pair and sold the other two. I have a faint suspicion you ended up with one of them.

 

[bulldog1935]

al dente touch with the wrap-around seatstay and seriously low-trail fork - looks like a cozy fast bike

Those are RW Clipper - Lou and I bought the last two pair a French ebay vendor had in stock.

 

[mongeese]

 

[bikerbluz]

Beautiful bike Mongeese. Great paint and decals. Do you know what year it is?

 

[bulldog1935]

before the Lenton, Raleigh made a tourist version RRA, as well. I hadn't seen a Lenton tourist, but that's a beauty and what a collectible bike.
These two ought to be the highest aspiration of tourist collectors
1948 catalog

Here you go, Model No. 27, cataloged 1952-58, so best guest is No. 29 to replace the earlier Lenton Tourist
Curious whether it has a Reynolds decal.
https://on-the-drops.blogspot.com/2016/12/raleigh-super-lenton-rra-moderne-1952.html

from available online catalogs, can only find the '51 Lenton Tourist - there's a dearth of online Raleigh catalogs from 1951 to '58 - maybe @dnc1 can find something in UK...