So, in the midst of "paring down" my assortment of bikes, I've taken a step backwards and bought a '49 Lenton. It needs a lot of work--hub restored or replaced, brake levers are mismatched and pretty much shot, new saddle--but first things first. The handlebars look as if they were replaced early on with some very wide, almost cruiser style bars--nice old grips but otherwise horrible. Any thoughts on what to replace them with? I do not want drop bars on this bike, just comfortable, fairly Spartan North Road type bars--should I just be on the lookout for something off a nice old Raleigh Sports and maybe flip them?

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From what I've seen, the 'north road' style bars you can get today have a somewhat modernized shape that doesn't really match the style of old bikes. The new ones have longer straight sections and tighter radius bends, while the old ones are more curvy, a little more voluptuous if you will. So your best bet is to find someone who has a bike of that period on which he changed the handlebar for one reason or another; or someone who accidentally destroyed the frame of such a bike and now has to part out the rest.

Show us a photo of your mismatched brake levers, too; I have more than one orphan brake lever of that period, possibly including a match for one or the other of yours.

I meant to link to the seller's pics (is that kosher?) The weather here has been so lousy, I haven't had a chance to take my own. I will though.
https://s1107.photobucket.com/albums/...3DDSC_0004.jpg

I'd definitely prefer to find old parts rather than anything new. This bike needs so much--the brake levers are definitely not Raleigh, nor the wheels, and it looks as if the cranks and pedals aren't either. But the frame and fenders are great, though beat up, and it's got some nice bits on it.

Oh, that does look pretty nice. I love that tiny little '531' decal.

Why do you think the wheels are not Raleigh? I can't see them well enough in the photos to have an opinion. Crank could be a Williams or a Nicklin, not quite right but not too far off either. You're quite right about the bar and stem, of course.

Look through the "for trade" thread. A couple people have raleigh sports or equivalent (hercules etc) bikes that they are parting out. A lot of the parts on those would be the same as what were on my Lenton Sports, but that was a later model than yours.

It's a nice little bike--I like it a lot already, even in its current state!

The wheels--again, this was just a cursory look--they just don't look right. They're definitely not a matched pair and I just didn't see anything along the Raleigh/Dunlop lines in terms of markings. I'm still a novice when it comes to this stuff, but all of the old Raleigh parts are so heavily branded that if I don't see a patent or an RI or something, I tend to assume that it's a replacement of some kind. Ditto the levers--mismatched and I just didn't see anything Raleigh-ish about them, assume they came along with the Frankenbars. Thanks for the tips--that's probably exactly what I'll do. And in Boston, old Raleigh parts shouldn't be too hard to come by.

GG, drop me an email; I have a couple of alloy "touring" bar options that might work for you.

Neal

Love the fenders!
The stem isn't right either. That's an American stem. With Northroads bars, the old English ones were 15/16" and the American and Japanese ones were 1".
The left brake lever looks right, at least in the little picture.
I think the wheels on these should be 26x1 1/4". What size do you have? There are a few alloy rims out there in this size. If you've got one, it's worth holding on to even if it isn't original.

I looked more closely last night--the front wheel is indeed a Dunlop; the rear is a Rigida, with a John Bull Red Spot tire on it (front is a Kenda and both look fine). I haven't measured anything but they look like 26 x 1 1/4. And yes, the stem is all wrong!

Neal, thanks--I will!

Here's the rim you need. I'm really tempted to bid on it, just for the hub and wingnuts. Shipping will be a killer, though.

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I really need a quick visit to the UK! One of my favorite things on this bike is the R-shaped wing nuts.

Those appear to be the original Raleigh 3 pin cranks. The Lentons Sports cranks didn't have the Heron motif. That's a nice bike.

Stock bars and levers on my 1955 Lenton...





Stock wheels are Dunlop EA1 (26 by 1 1/4) and crank is also original... the fixed version did not have a Heron chain wheel but rather a 3 bolt track model that allows for changes in chain wheels.

That looks like an aluminium Dunlop EA1 rim with an alloy hub... the rarity of these warrants a better price than your run of the mill steel hub and steel rim set up (I have a spare '54 rear wheel) and the hub and wheels on my Reg Harris are the better quality stainless versions.

It does indeed. At least, that's what I thought; and so did someone else, who asked. Seller says its a chromed steel rim, though.

Have seen very few aluminium Dunlop rims in my life... friend has a 40's Enfield bike with them and he put a lot of work into bringing these back to life.

The stainless wheels are the shizzle... mine saw regular use for 50 years before I got my Lenton and still look new and are still very true and only needed a little touching up when I got the bike.

Quick update--the little Lenton now has a beautiful new-to-me GB stem and VO porteur handlebars, thanks to Neal Lerner! They are an incredibly good fit on the bike and it's a wonderful ride, even in it's current single-speed state.

Can't seem to upload a photo to save my life...

https://gallery.me.com/greengage?view...&bgcolor=black

we really do need an emotion for "salivating lustily".
They did make 3 pin heron rings, BTW.

I am feeling N+1 today. This one put me over the top.

When viewing your gallery, right click on the photo and choose "copy link location". Click the little photo icon on BF. Paste the URL.

Awesome bike.

Thank you, Colonel! And yes, I am smitten with this bike--it just feels light and eager and fast and the handlebars are very comfortable. Many thanks again to Neal for parts, advice and tinkering!

Reserved for Clubman models I believe.