George:
As far as the Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix goes, take a look at ...
http://collection.rydjor.com/
I have one, too, but nothing like as nice as these!
Congratulations, enjoy your new bike.
Alan Lloyd
Schaumburg, Illinois, U.S.A.
> Date: Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:21:38 -0500
\r?\n> From: "Strickler, George M Jr." <gstrickler@tulane.edu>
\r?\n> Subject: [CR] Old Raleighs and Getting My Head Examined
\r?\n> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
\r?\n>
\r?\n> Several days ago a contributor to this list called
\r?\n> attention to a 50's era Raleigh club bike (Reg Harris
\r?\n> Leyton) on ebay. Out of curiosity, I looked at it
\r?\n> (probably a mistake). No bids. I started
\r?\n> thinking about the bike and feeling bad that this piece of
\r?\n> history was being left neglected and unclaimed. So, I
\r?\n> put in a bid. I may have been the only bidder, due no
\r?\n> doubt to the less-than-pristine condition of the
\r?\n> machine. I clearly need more therapy (but what kind?)
\r?\n> for starting down this road. I have never even seen a
\r?\n> "rod actuated FD" (except in one of Jan's books), Benelux?
\r?\n> (I thought they made refrigerators). I will obviously
\r?\n> have lots of questions in order to get the bike ("from the
\r?\n> golden age of cycling") in rideable condition.
\r?\n> One reason I put money on the line was that looking at the
\r?\n> ebay picture reminded me (kind of like Proust's macaroon
\r?\n> cookie) of my first light weight bike. Bear with
\r?\n> me. Around 1952 or 53 I became enamored with the idea
\r?\n> of the "English Racer." I had never seen one and knew
\r?\n> of their existence only by reading about them in Boys'
\r?\n> Life. But I wanted one. My parents, being the
\r?\n> kind of people they were, gave me one for Christmas in 53 or
\r?\n> 54. The bike came from Sears & Roebuck and I
\r?\n> believe was sold under the "J.C.Higgins" brand but it was
\r?\n> definitely made by Raleigh (Nottingham, I think). I
\r?\n> knew this because in pre-holiday investigation I found the
\r?\n> box under my parents' bed and I studied the label with great
\r?\n> interest. It was a thing of wonder. It was the
\r?\n> first bike anyone in my neighborhood had seen w/o a coaster
\r?\n> brake - you stopped it with your hands! And it had
\r?\n> gears - 3 speed Strumly Archer which had limited utility in
\r?\n> flat-as-a-pancake Houston but were immensely fun to play
\r?\n> with. It was light as a feather, at least as compared
\r?\n> with the bloated Schwinns with shocks and battery operated
\r?\n> horns that were the height of bike technology in post-war
\r?\n> Texas. I could have made money by charging people for
\r?\n> a ride around the block. Does anyone remember this
\r?\n> bike? I can't imagine that Raleigh would have made a
\r?\n> model just for Sears. It was undoubtedly one of their
\r?\n> regular models that they just labeled with Sears' house
\r?\n> brand. Any ideas?
\r?\n>
\r?\n> George Strickler
\r?\n> Walden, Vermont