Raleigh Lenton

This morning I had four vintage Raleighs, but when I saw an ad for Raleigh bike with fender and pump…well I looked and I saw the worn “LEN.. ON” decal, then I went and bought my fifth vintage Raleigh. Oh, and it is my size.

It doesn’t look or feel like anything has been asked to rotate for several decades, but it mostly appears original and in a mostly sound rust-free condition. Overall, I think it is a bike that I can get it back on the road with a heavy service then replace non-original parts as they come available.

I know for certain that the Shimano rear derailleur and 5 speed cassette are not original spec. EBay had the correct Benelux derailleur and it is on the way, but don’t know anything about the original cassette other than it was 4 speed so I have some digging that needs to be done. And I’ve never seen a stem like that, wondering if that is that original? There are probably other non-original components, but at this point I don’t know.

I’ve only found a couple of sites that have any spec’s so sleuthing this exact bike is somewhat of an educated guess. I’ve read through both Sheldon Brown Retro Raleighs and an extensive document at the site On the Drops Blog which is somewhat of a Lenton historical document. Rims, brakes, cable operated front derailleur as well as paint and markings all seem to point to this being a US spec 1960 Lenton Grand Prix, what I see referred to as the last real Raleigh Lenton. Later models used the name on a more mass produced and lower spec bike.

For now, this will take it’s place in line, that is hanging in the garage waiting for me to have the time and the parts to restore.