Wanderer

That's really cool! That bike, and me, were both born onthe same year.

Almost as well preserved, too!

YoKev

oh wow, I really want to find one of these now

manofsteel

It's interesting - the man who sold it to me said he found 'Home and Lantern Oil' has always worked nicely in the hubs(found in your local sporting goods store).. and judging by the way this bike operates I can't argue with him!

sciencemonster

Yes, that is what I felt wiht my Clubman. I went from 37# to 30#. Then I put like a 16T cog in back so I could go even faster! But then, I just had to go lighter and even faster, so I just got a '69 Competition, and I am loving that right now. I think it's around 25#, but with - get this - TEN gears.

Just be warned - if you step off that mighty steed, you will find it pretty darn hard to go back once you ride the philly! Now I got it so bad, I measure how much water I'll need in my bottle to make it to where I'm going. I don't carry coin any more - just plastic. I cut my hair shorter...I sometimes even find myself irrestistably drawn to the road bike forum! ARGHHH!!

manofsteel

I've been riding strictly English 3 speeds.. 20-30 steel, mainly Raleighs. The Lenton is my first lightweight experience and it has done something to me...finding it hard to resist...I now have my Lenton parked on the outside end of a row of 60s & 70s upright Sports and Superbes so it's the most accessible when I decide to go for a ride. It's only been like this for about a week(since I got the Lenton)... It's only one right? I can quit any time I want...right?

Have you tried donating a couple of quarts of blood before each ride yet? Also, exfoliating removes a lot of epidermal weight.
I swear, I didn't learn that from 'the other forum', never even lurked there... but I'm sure they would appreciate it! Oh no - I'm thinking like that on my own now... Darn You 1946 Lenton Sports 531!!!

bigjim1

If you are going to use it as it was intended to be used I would dump that old rubber. I had a blowout on my 80s Raleigh last week.It was on the original michelin front tyre. I was lucky as I had just started a fast downhill run and was able to stop under control. Could have been a lot worse. lesson learned.

Jim

rhm

Yeah, this is a good point. If you're going to ride this bike, put new tires on it. You're going to have a hard time finding new tires in the original size, but schwinn s-6 26 x 1 3/8 tires will fit; hang the original war grade ones on the wall.

And if you're going to do much riding, I'd suggest taking the original fenders off as well. They are fragile, and probably brittle even on a good day. I had a pair of those old plastic fenders once, until one time on a cold day I went over a bump, the fender touched the tire for an instant, and the whole thing just shattered. I heard this bang, saw all this plastic flying all over the place, and at first had no idea what had happened. Puzzled, I stopped and looked at my bike... wtf? where's my back fender? The thing was in pieces, most of them no bigger than a stick of chewing gum.

manofsteel

Exploding tires and fenders - oh my!! Sounds like you guys are saying my bike is a time bomb waiting to blow!
Seriously, thank you for the suggestions. With the tires, is this a case of better safe than sorry, or is there a way to assess them for strength and durability, with a chance that they still have a 'blank' amount of miles left on them? Is it simply unpredictable with tires this old? There is no cracking or dry rot on either tire. I won't be racing the Tour de France, but NYC does have some bumpy terrain.
Much Obliged to everyone thus far who's contributed to this thread,
Specter

YoKev

Ok, I keep looking at the pictures and I keep saying "wow". This model is one nice looking bike

What is the smallest size the Lenton was offered in? Something around a 31"ish inseam I hope...

Time to keep watching ebay religiously I think...


Kevin

sailorbenjamin

Hey, exactly what size are those tires? I've got schwinn S-6s on my old beater and I'm curious just how different they are from what it's supposed to have.

manofsteel

I know, I keep saying 'wow' too. I'm in the process of carefully cleaning and polishing it right now, and it's cleaning up beautifully. The chrome parts are incredibly nice, but it's how they're mixed in with war shortage 'blackened' bits that's so attractive. This Lenton was re-introduced in 1946, right after the war, produced for a year or so, and then re-introduced again years later. This model was offered with a 21" frame only, with the stand-over height being 30 1/2"... so I believe 21" was the smallest. I feel I got lucky finding this one, I actually stumbled upon it in the want-ads paper magazine while browsing the classifieds for something else. I keep trying to find something comparable online, ebay, etc, but have not seen one.

manofsteel

The tires are 26 x 1-1/4 ", the front tire being the original Dunlop 'War Grade', and the rear being an appropriate sized Michelin from the late '40s. What size are S-6's?

rhm

Read up on tire sizing, fractional, on Sheldon Brown's website.

In a nutshell, most English 3-speeds have 26 x 1 3/8 "E. A. 3" rims, ISO size 590 mm. Those tires are still made.

But the racier English 3-speeds have 26 x 1 1/4 rims, ISO size 597. Those tires are no longer made.

Luckily, some Schwinns had 26 x 1 3/8 "S6" rims, ISO size 597. These are still made. They will fit your rims. Whether they fit under your fenders is another question; I am guessing the fit will be tighter.

As for the safety of your existing tires... and your safety.... Look, dude, I don't know you, so as far as I'm concerned, you are replaceable! But by almost any standard, your "war grade" tire is irreplaceable. Your bike is in many ways a collector's item, but the war grade tire is practically a museum piece. I don't mean it has monetary value (though I wouldn't rule that out), but whatever value it has, riding it will not improve it. Your argument ("but it's in great shape!, why replace it?") does not hold any water in my opinion because the tire is, in my opinion, simply too precious to ride.

If you leave the original tires and fenders on this bike, and ride it, they will inevitably degrade, certainly gradually and perhaps catastrophically. Sooner or later you will have to replace them with modern stuff. That much is certain. The decision you have to make is whether you take them off and hang them on your wall, or put them in the trash. I vote for the former.

oldy57

I have a 1946 Rudge Aero, the first year of the Aero. In 1947 the name changed to Rudge Aero Clubman. I have the 47/48 catalogue and it shows the Aero Clubman transfer. Mine has only the Aero transfer. Also the bikes came with fixed/free flip flop hubs. The Sturmey Archer hubs were optional. I also have the 47 Humber catalogue and the Humber Beeston Clubman is almost identical.
My bike was also bought from the original owners estate sale. It is a double flip flop fixed gear bike. It has the original painted frame which is completely faded from the lustre orange to a silver undercoat. The orange shows in a few places under clamps and around the lugs. The transfers are all there except the 531 transfer is now a mark where it was. It is a North American market model with the fork lamp clamp on the left side of the fork which has a pin on the inside of it. The bike had no mudguards when I got it. It now has Bluemels with the front one cut to look original. I put a 3 speeed wheel on it and rode the Lake Pepin 3 Speed Tour a few years ago and it rode great. These are wonderful bikes to ride.

roseskunk

nice find! damn. manofsteel, i think we need to see pics of your bikes. i ride raleighs as well, three sports, a tourist, a twenty, etc. no lenton yet though. i love those damned things.

manofsteel

Oldy57, You've got a nice find there yourself! For a bike that old with the silver undercoat still intact is a real testament to the diligence in protecting these steel frames from rust. After recently polishing I discovered the blue-green paint on mine still has it's gloss. You can see the black undercoat in the few places where it's chipped. The Bluemels look great on your Rudge Aero - they make nice replacements.
Member Nlerner posted a pic of his '49 clubman on the first page of this thread which also has many similarities to my Lenton; paint, transfers, lugs, and most components. Except for the original metallic brake cables, most everything on my Lenton is looking pretty much brand new after I clean it up - it's looking amazing! Is that the original kit bag you show in the photo? I'd love to have mine- it's the only thing missing(unless it was an option not originally opted for).
The catalog would be nice too - so great that yours has that. Still, I'm thrilled to have what I've got.

manofsteel

I'll definitely post some pics of the others as soon as I can(still need to photograph them). I'd like to see your Raleighs as well. Next, I hope to find a tourist(50s Tourist Superbe Sports would be nice) or a
DL-1 Roadster with 28"wheels and rod brakes. I hope you find a good Lenton.

manofsteel

rhm , thanks for the link to 'tire fractioning'. I think your advice is good advice. As difficult as it is to remove the fenders for riding, eventual deteriotion(or a shattered fender) is surely inevitable.

It's kind of a catch 22 for me; because showing off the bike while riding it in all it's original glory is extremely fun and satisfying... but in doing so I may soon have little to show off.

nlerner

Oldy57's catalog shots prompted me to look and see what I had from that era. These scans are from the 1950 Raleigh UK catalog, and the Lenton Sports shown looks very similar to manofsteel's catch. The one exception is the crankset chainring. Also, from the specs, it looks like it did come with that seat bag.

Neal

manofsteel

With all these similarities I've been prompted to do a little more research myself. According to The Headbadge, Raleighs with serial numbers ending in AJ are exclusively from 1948(which mine has).
I know for a fact that the gear shifter on mine was only used between 1938-48(see here: https://genetics.mgh.harvard.edu/hanc...satriggers.pdf ). Several other features also indicate that it was made between 1945 and 1948.
Do you think there are exceptions to The Headbadge's serial number chart. And if not, this doesn't make sense considering the bike was acquired in 1947, one year following new purchase, by the man I bought it from. Anyone like a good mystery?