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Really really retro Raleigh

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Really really retro Raleigh

Old 06-25-22, 06:05 PM
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Really really retro Raleigh

Look what the cat dragged into the bike Exchange today . It was originally gold but was at some point repainted with a brush. Note the sliding adjustable stem and the suicide Benelux front derailleur and single down tube rear derailleur lever. It has steel wheels with wing nuts and the Raleigh Heron on the chain rings. Also note the fork crown and the braze on for a fork mounted head light.

Be there anyone so bold as to attempt to identify this ancient beast? My guess is mid fifties . judging by the hefty weight I doubt it is Reynolds







tubing.
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Old 06-25-22, 06:09 PM
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Lenton Grand Prix circa 1958-1960.
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Old 06-25-22, 07:15 PM
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That stem is a collector's piece. The brake levers are not original. Very cool find.
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Old 06-25-22, 07:20 PM
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That stem is gorgeous.
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Old 06-25-22, 08:36 PM
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This stem .. simply a jewel
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Old 06-28-22, 03:56 PM
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I have been looking at all the Lentons I can find on line and I haven't seen one with this sliding stem. Does anyone know if it was a stock part?
The ones I have seen were on much older bikes. Is this a racing part?
Were they common in 1958?
Is this actually a 58 Lenton Grand Prix ?
What was the stock stem? I think I saw a GB stem listed somewhere.

Still looking for answers to life's persistent questions .
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Old 06-28-22, 04:34 PM
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No, not a stock stem. I’ve seen those called Major Taylor stems. They go for lots of coin. More of a 1930s or 40s part than late 1950s. A 1940 Raleigh Sports I picked up in Dec of last year had one. That one had a fairly narrow stem diameter clamp.

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Old 06-28-22, 06:18 PM
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That Accles & Pollack stem was popular from the early days of track riding through to the 50's. Forum member Dawes-man was kind enough to post the '39 Brown Bros. catalogue. Page 142

Neal was kind enough to sell me that stem for a '37 CCM. I have another that's been restored.



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Old 06-29-22, 09:39 AM
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cool Major Taylor stem but if the chrome is rough then it likely won't fetch more than $200; i've seen ones in similar condition sitting on eBay for a while. Still, $200 is probably more than the rest of the bike is worth.
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Old 07-02-22, 01:15 PM
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lots of good news here . I took apart the Lenton today and everything came off without a fight. Stem , bars, seat post , all with no signs of rust inside. Pedals came off . I will wait until Wednesday at the Bike Exchange to pull the cotters as the they have a cotter press there.

When I brought the bike home I weighed 31.33 lbs. with steel wheels, steel stem, steel bars etc. I am going to install an aluminum GB stem, aluminum bars and wheels, a lighter rear derailleur( the Suntour Gt is a boat anchor) and a Brooks saddle which should bring the weight under 30 lbs When complete. I will probably paint it With Rustoleum gold metallic unless anyone knows of another paint that matches the stock color better. If you do or have another color suggestion please let me know. I am also working on a Pinarello montello and want to paint them both together . I am going to use a 2 part primer and hopefully can use one can for both frames.
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Old 07-19-22, 01:00 PM
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Old 07-19-22, 01:00 PM
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Still not certain about what to do about the 1958 Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix . I had decided to re spray it along with the Chrome Pinarello Montello . In order to get the best paint job I decided to use a 2 part epoxy primer. At $30 a can I thought if I painted both of them at the same time I could hopefully do both frames on one can before the paint went off and became unusable. Yesterday I started to remove the Lenton paint with Clean Strip. What I discovered was that if I scrubbed the paint remover on the frame with a tooth brush I could remove the red / brown repaint leaving the gold Raleigh original paint intact. I proceed to do that and the results are pictured above.

So now the question is will the Lenton be worth more if I leave the extensive patina as some seem to think is the way to go or finish stripping and repaint. The bike looks better in the pictures than in person. All that left of the extensive decaling is the shadows and there is significant paint loss and surface rust. I think that this is a historically significant bike, being the first year the Lenton had derailleur gears. I want to do what ever will result in the best price for the bike exchange. If I do repaint it I would like to match the original color but can't find any rattle can paint that has the right shade. I could have the color custom mixed or paint it black which I think was a stock color or do something completely different and non stock but beautiful. I have some Rose gold metallic I have been wanting to try that would look great. what would you recommend?
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Old 07-19-22, 02:48 PM
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That square stem is really interesting looking! I assume it's so that the handlebars can't be torqued side to side accidentally?
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Old 07-19-22, 03:49 PM
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That's cool that you were able to uncover the original paint. Too bad the decals are gone, however. If your interest is in re-selling and maximizing value for your co-op, I don't think a re-paint is in order. These aren't particularly rare (I've had four go through my workshop in the last 10 years or so and have seen plenty here on BF), and they didn't actually perform particularly well (bad era for RDs, 27" steel wheels with Dunlop rims that weren't as good as the early 50s versions, relatively heavy frame tubing). In my view, the value is for someone who wants to restore or build to original spec, not as a regular rider.
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