milbikeman

I recently posted a thread about selling my 1949 Condor Roadster to buy a Raleigh Lenton Sports. After doing some more research I realized that the model I am look for is a Lenton Tourist. I was wondering if you guys know where the best place to find them is and what to pay for one.

mickey85

I bought this one:


(Sorry for the bad pic)

On Ebay for $350. It was on an auction site with two Raleigh Clubmen (clubmans?). The Clubmen sold for a bit less, and were drop-bar. I should have gotten them.

This one is all-original - B68 saddle, Sturmey AW, and 26X1-1/4 alloy rims. It came with high-performance Raleigh tires, but I switched those for Schwinn style cruiser tires (the originals were in bad shape). The fork is slightly bent, and the frame is a bit small, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it or not. I'm a fan of it though - DB531 throughout. It's the way a Raleigh Sports should have been made.

Good luck finding them - they were a short run (3-4 year) specialty weirdo bike (who wants a cruiser with metal designed for a race bike?) that didn't sell well. I'd just nab a clubman instead - same frame, easier to find, and probably cheaper.

photogravity

Lenton Tourist bicycles are not very common as they were only built in 1950 and 1951. nlerner and I both have Lenton Tourists, though the one nlerner has is in considerably better shape than the one I bought earlier this year. They are pretty hard to price because there are not many on the market which makes pricing very difficult.

photogravity

That makes three on the forum. BTW, the Lenton Tourist is actually 531 straight gauge. One hint is the 531 sticker which is straight instead of at an angle. There is nothing wrong with straight gauge 531. My 1949 Hercules Kestrel is straight gauge 531 and rides quite nicely.

milbikeman

Thank you for all of the information on the Lenton Tourist. Even though they are rare I think I will continue trying to find one although to afford one I will have to sell my 1949 Condor Roadster which is also rare.

milbikeman

BTW cool pictures!

nlerner

I do have one, which I bought as a frameset only and built up with 700c wheels and fenders (plenty of clearance). It's a great bike, and I commute on it a couple of times a week:



If you're serious about buying one, a friend has listed his on CL at an ambitious price:

https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/3456889317.html

That one is completely original, including the hard-to-find alloy chainguard painted Lenton green. You might drop him a note and see if he's negotiable.

Hakbil

Hi, I have "1948 Raleigh Super Sport" which may be called the prototype to the Lenton model. The only obscure info for the one of the rarest of the rare models for the die-hard Raleigh Collector comes from the late Guru Mr. Brown's page and is as follows: "The new machine was given the model no. 28, previously assigned to one of Raleigh's rarest post-war machines, the Super Sports, which was in production only in 1947-48. This was a de luxe version of the Sports, no. 21. The Super Sports was a steel-framed club machine with added refinements such as celluloid mudguards and a detachable chainwheel (a rare version of the pre-war classic Heron's head model) painted in a vibrant orange enamel. In its essence the new model 28 was a Reynolds 531 tube version of the Super Sports with 71° seat and head angles and offered in a 21" or 23" frame, gents model only. You might want to read the whole article to learn <snip- bad link removed by mod>.

Hakbil

whoops! my mistake, wrong URL

milbikeman

Thank you for the link and info. That is a really nice bike but to afford it I would have to sell my 1949 Condor Roadster first.

Hakbil

thanks no problem

Sixty Fiver

It would seem that all of these 531 Lenton models are quite rare, if not rather uncommon and this may stem from how much they cost to purchase when new and how they would not have been produced in the same numbers as the more common Sports and Roadster models.

Time also plays a role here as we are looking at survivors from more than half a century ago and many of the original bicycles have long since been retired to the scrap heap.

I have never seen another "Reg Harris Road Model" anywhere... mine is a 1955 and is quite simply, a superb bicycle in every respect.

milbikeman

Nice bike and great info!

Velognome 

Drooling for a picture of the Super Sport!

Hakbil

Hakbil

here it is, made only for one year and one color only

Velognome 

BUSTED!!! That's Kurt's picture.......either he's you or that's just not cool!

Hakbil

wow you got me! That's my bike in Kurt's frontyard

Sixty Fiver

If you were responding to my post, thanks.

The Lenton Sports saw higher production numbers and had a longer production run and in re-checking have seen a few more of them pictured on the interwebz than I did when I acquired my bike in 2008 although they are still uncommon... the Lenton Tourist truly falls into the rare category.

Hakbil

if you check the past threads of Kurt's about this bike you can see more pics

acoffin 

I was under the impression all Lenton Sports were labeled Reg Harris Road Model, at least until the mid or late 50s. Is this incorrect?

Sixty Fiver

The Reg Harris models first appeared in 1955 and the only reason I am reasonably sure mine is a '55 is because it came from the original owner's estate and they still had sales receipts and believe the Canadian / export specification was even a little different from the British specification as many Raleigh bicycles were. The Lenton Sports switched to a 27 inch wheel in 56-57 and mine has 26 inch stainless Dunlop wheels.

Notable is the absence of a lamp bracket on the right fork which would make no sense in Canada where we drive on the right and have seen catalogues that show the fixed gear option being available with the SA hub bumping up the price by a few pounds.

My Lenton has newer Bluemels as the original celluloid mudguards were removed as this bicycle was raced, the leather tape, pedals / cages, and Lycette saddle are also replacements to the non original parts that came on the bike. It should have a Brooks B15 but my butt likes the Lycette L'Avenir a great deal and the better pedals and fully wrapped bars add to the comfort factor a great deal.

The final variant of the Lenton was the Grand Prix / No 7 which was released in 1958 and the first equipped with a derailleur gear (Benelux) and these were produced until 1961.

An interesting note on Reg Harris is that my partner raced alongside him in the 1954 Commonwealth games... they were in different categories as Harris was a track cyclist and my partner was a road racer... he and another fellow here (who rode against Harris on the track) remember Harris as being absolutely incredible despite him not winning any medals in 1954.

milbikeman

Great information guys! I am hoping to sell my 1949 Condor Roadster for around $800 so if I can get that amount hopefully I will be able to find a Lenton Tourist in that price range.

acoffin 

Sixty Fiver,

You might want to check your serial number with Kurt's website, it's possible you have a 54 that was purchased in 55. I have a Reg Harris model with a 51 AW hub, just checked my serial number and it is indeed a 1951. That would make the Retro Raleighs site incorrect in it's note of the Reg Harris model being introduced in 55.

-Ant

nlerner

I tend to trust Peter Kohler's account on RetroRaleighs rather than the very partial serial # scheme on the Headbadge. Fwiw, here's the price list for the US market dated 1952 (which seems to refer to Raleigh bikes produced in 1951--that was the last year of production for the Clubman). Note that the Lenton is not referred to as the Reg Harris model: