awesome stories! this is a huge part of why I love the classics.
When I first started getting into bikes (freshman in college) my dad saw my roommates raleigh mixte and told me a story about my grandpa and bikes.
My pops has had lots of bike stories and him and his brothers went through a bunch of em on their paper routes and my uncle raced a lot so bikes have always been around. But one in particular was a real shame that it was stolen. My grandpa being an working class immigrant from mexico in the 40s was never a rich man and the family always struggled. But when he finally made his first real big purchase that was beyond just getting by, it was a brand new raleigh that sat in a storefront of some shop here in bakersfield, ca. Bikes were important to him and that one was the one to get. So it was a significant bike, but as mentioned before, was unfortunately stolen (anyone with a lead on a 58-60 lenton grand prix out of bakersfield, probably blue, probably has a Snyder's Cyclery sticker on it, pm me!) in the 60s or 70s.
A year or two after first hearing the story, my dad didnt know the year or colors but eventually narrowed it to a 58-60 (or was it 59?) lenton grand prix because of the rod actuated front derailleur and decals. Fast forward 2 or 3 years and I'm ALWAYS checking craigslist, living in south central LA and super into riding and wrenching. I seem to find that the best way to find great deals is not by searching, but by simply opening craigslist and just flipping through the pages, there's always something hiding in there that was spelled wrong or you didnt know you were looking for. One afternoon I see the title "Lenin rode a Lenton!" and open it up to find a 59 the model I figured was probably right. I double checked my email and find where my dad had indeed narrowed the year range and models complete with pictures and was on my way. I hit the LA traffic for an hour+ just to get 15 miles away from work and buy the original paint, fine decals, with original and non-original drivetrain (also pm me if you've got a bargain on four speed rear derailleur, chain, freewheel, and wheelset!) raleigh for under 4 bills, though price wasn't really a factor.
Its a rider, and my grandpa having passed my junior year in college, its a special one in my dads collection. Really cool part was that this was just about christmas time, so it was a good holiday for him. Will certainly post pictures soon as I can snap some this weekend!
Last edited by ezln64; 07-09-15 at 01:13 AM.