So I finally have my 1959 Raleigh Lenton back on the road. This bike was mostly original (although it had been repainted, unfortunately) and was one of my favourite riders before Hurricane Katrina hit my beloved New Orleans. It was sitting on the floor of my shed/shop (I was in Hawaii when the storm hit, so I had no opportunity to secure my household), and it sat in about 2 feet of water for 9 days.
When I was allowed back home in early October, I immediately disassembled it. The water had lapped around the bottom bracket shell, but the paint was in pretty good shape. I Frame-Savered (if I can use that as a verb) the tubes and went to work planning the rebuild.
Where I ran into problems was the back hub. There was serious pitting in the cups. I don't have the money or patience to take the bike off the road long enough to find NOS or used BH parts, and while getting a NOS hub is possible, it didn't make sense to me economically. (The bicycle already was not original; the rear derailleur, which should be a Cyclo Benelux, was an older Suntour.)
So I decided to make it a fun project: a fast commuter/porteur-type bike.
I got a Sturmey Archer AW from the local co-op, and I reused the front BH Racelite, lacing the hubs to Mavic MA3 rims. The stem is a Nitto Technomic Deluxe I had sitting around, and I used a new Nitto Albatross handlebar, inverted. The brake calipers are Dia-Compes, as are the reverse-pull levers.
The old Brooks B17 is on my other Raleigh, so I put a newer B17 on this one. (I probably will switch them back eventually.) The cranks are Suntour GPXs that I had lying around. The bottom bracket is a Shimano held in place with Phil rings. (I have saved the original Williams cottered cranks and bottom bracket, as well as all other parts I removed; the only original parts that remain on the bike are the frame, the fork, headset and seatpost, I believe.) Pedals are Campy Gran Sports with Christophe clips and ALE straps.
The final pieces to the puzzle are a pair of chromed fenders (not pictured) I took from a flooded Schwinn Varsity I found around the corner from my house. Special thanks to USAZorro for his assist. I'm also running cyclocross tyres on it now, in preparation for some fire road/light trail riding I have planned.
It's not original, but it's a terrific ride and a fine commuter. It is again my favourite bike.