[CR]Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix info

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing:Falck)

Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2000 13:09:57 -0700
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
From: "Monkeyman" <monkey37@bluemarble.net>
Subject: [CR]Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix info

Ok I've decided to start a v-e-r-y s-l-o-w restore of a Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix I've had kicking around. Here's a little history on the bike itself. While I was working for The Bikesmith in Seattle, Washington one of our regulars threw this bike the huge heap of junkers in the back of the shop when moving. There it sat for a week or so until I looked and saw the chrome lugged stem on it. I pulled it out and found it had a Cyclo "suicide lever" front derail and right only DT shifter. The paint was really rough but you could still see the 531 sticker and the beautiful ribbon DT decal over a robins egg blue. The frame itself actually looked ok except somone had engraved their DL# on the bottom of the downtube. I gave the Cyclo to Val (the shop owner) and he was happy to let me have the rest of it. The bike was frame, fork, headset, stem, BB, and seatpost though I don't think the seatpost was original, though everythingelse is I believe. Over the years I've built it up with coster brakes, fixed gears, and painted it rattle-can-black. So I'm just now starting the restoration.

During the last few weeks I've been doing some research and it had raised more questions than it's answered. People who've looked at it have said it was built between '52 and '56, but using the Retro Raleigh timetable I get '66 from my SR# being 62449 RA. This is at least 10 years too late. So now I'm wondering really how old it is. Second mystery is the BB spindle is a Raleigh A16 which is 1/5" shorter on both sides than the more common A16GC. So this must have taken a different crank from other 10 speeds of the time, what was it? Anyway this just the start of the project and the first thing to do is get it into running shape, not period perfect just rideable. Any info or help and the project would be great. If you have parts I'll need tell me so that when I have some money I can buy them. I'm not looking for NOS or NIB parts but parts that'll work. Catalog scans or photocopies would also be grand.

thanks, Brandon"monkeyman"Ives

PS: The fork has a lantern mount on the right fork mount, is anyone making a nice repro of this lantern?

Brandon and Mitzi's-- "Wurld uv Wunder" http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~capybara/

Monkeyman's on going bicycle part garage sale http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~mkirklan/salepage/garage.html

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nobody can do everything, but if everybody did something everything would get done.
      -Gil Scott Heron- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!