Raleigh Lenton: Bent Fork.
 

So I bought this Lenton for a song a few years back. Looked rough but solid at a glance, but when I rode it, I knew something was definitely up. I've looked it over the best I can without any proper measurement, and so far as I can tell, the frame itself looks okay. I see no obvious bulging or ripples and everything looks pretty much right from all angles. The fork and the handlebars, on the other hand, are visibly bent. It took me a while to see it on the fork, because it doesn't appear to be bent backwards as I usually expect. Instead, it seems that both blades are bent sideways ever so slightly in the same direction, offsetting the front wheel to the side. The bars also show some sign of trauma in that they aren't quite symmetrical. I'm not sure WHICH side is bent, but one side isn't quite the same as the other.

Ordinarily, this is where I'd scrap the project, but I really really really want this bike to work. I just loved it the minute I saw it and I'm being really stubborn about this one. I've sort of come to the conclusion, however, that I'm in a little bit over my head and could use some informed advice.

- Is it hypothetically possible to get the fork repaired? If so, would the risk of failure be too great to justify it? Where on earth would I take it to get this done?

- Does anybody have a lead on a suitable replacements? I know these old-school Raleigh forks with the tubular crown are pretty common, but I've yet to find one for sale online that is a good color match. Given the character and ageing of the original finish, it's probably pretty unlikely that I could match it with new paint, right?

- Where does somebody find a set of handlebars like this? I've seen other vintage 50s era bikes with these kind of odd shaped drop bars, but scouring the internet for leads on a similar replacement to these has been a dead end.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5102/5...aa3ecb1c_b.jpg

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5306/5...fde4a4a7_b.jpg

I backed my grail find '86 Cannondale ST800 into a garage. I wasn't even going into the garage just backing up to unload. Idiotic. The Cannondale was perfect, it just completely bent and torqued the steel Tange fork. I took it to Mark Nobillette. He builds for Zinn, Rivendell, and I think Rene Herse among others.

He's a legendary steel builder. For me there is no higher recommendation than that Zinn himself chooses this builder for his steel stuff. Few people on the planet know more about the physics and technical science of building bikes than Zinn.

http://velocult.com/2009/10/mark-nob...kshop-boulder/

http://bohemianbicycles.wordpress.co...herse-bicycle/

I don't know why his website is down. Punchline of the story I'm riding that same Cannondale ST800 on that same fork. Never had a problem with it. Tracks perfectly straight, again.

Some guys will try to turn to avoid an obstacle, thereby bending the fork sideways. Best to hit it dead on if it's got a rare fork. You'll heal, the bike won't fix itself.
Getting it straight side to side isn't really any harder than cold setting the rear triangle. You can even use the wheel as a reference if it's true. The hard parts is making sure the curve is the same on both sides. Sometimes when the impact is from the side one blade will get straighter than the other. I measure the length from the dropout to the hole for the brake bolt to verify this.
Some shops won't do this because of liability. Some do a lousy job. I built my own jig and do my own. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it takes all night. It's worth it either way.
Sweet bike, btw. Is it 531?
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...ps00308dd8.jpg
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...psb095d83a.jpg
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/l...psd799a756.jpg

Reading the markings on the frame is a little difficult. I don't believe that it's 531, based on the 531 models I've seen, but I'm not completely certain. What I can tell you is that I believe it's a 1962 and it's three-speed with a coaster brake. Appears to be all original.

I think I paid 25 bucks for it, so it was sort of a no-brainer.

If you decide to "scrap the project" I'd be happy to take it off your hands. Realigning the fork is a very simple process...

sailorbenjamin, could you explain exactly how that jig is used? I think I get it, but I want to be sure I'm clear on the process.

Any shop / builder with a frame table can align the fork or get adventurous and DIY like Sailorbenjamin. Good luck with it, looks like a nice little bike.

No, that's an early 50's Lenton Sports. I recognize fancy lugs with the notch on the side. It is straight gauge 531. The components, as far as I can tell, are also distinctive to that model. The 1962 ones are a completely different animal; same lugs as a conventional Sports, different crank without the removable chain ring, different handlbar, and so on. The early 50's ones have a metal oil port on the left side of the bottom bracket; the 1962 has a plastic port on the right side of the bottom bracket; and so on.

The 531 decal on these was at the top of the seat post, and its very small, like a little more than a half inch wide, a little less than that in height. It is probably worn down to nothing more than a silver rectangle. All these bikes take a 25.4 mm seat post, regardless of the tubing.

I'll give you $26 for it right now. Clean profit, no hassle.
Um, the jig. There are several kinds. I sort of made mine up as I went. The V cut in the top holds the steerer straight. The shallow v inside is dead center. The sides are level with the centerline of the steerer tube so I can eyeball the straightness of the blades and measure rake accurately and there are 2 lines that don't show in the pictures 50mm to either side of the centerline so that I can check for 100mm axle spacing with a good square.
It would probably be better made of metal but I'm a woodworker and I had this nice stash of really high quality air dried old growth cedar that's pretty dimensionally stable.

My dating was based on the hub. I might have mistaken a 5 for a 6, but I was pretty sure I was looking at a "62". I too thought it LOOKED older than that. For contrast, I had a 62 Gran Sport, which is obviously a completely different model, but they did not look like they were from the same decade. It's also possible that the coaster brake hub isn't labeled the same as an AW would be, or that the hub is non-original. Thanks for the info. There isn't a lot of information available about Lentons, so I didn't have a lot to go on.

Alright guys, I'm starting to develop a game plan for how to deal with the fork. Next hard question: What do I do with the bars? Try to yank them back into shape somehow?

So it sounds as if it's more of a gauge than a bending jig? How do you actually go about making corrections in the bend(s), if necessary?

OP, as for the bars, I would just get creative with taking some measurements. Find a flat surface like a counter top, table saw, etc., put a sheet of butcher paper on it and carefully draw a grid, set the bars down on the drops (tape them to the surface so they can't move), and measure from each end of the flats to the surface to see whether the drops are identical. Drop a line to mark the center point so you can measure from that to the bar ends to check symmetry, etc. As you figure out what's needed, mark the paper so you have a reference when you begin bending. I would mark both the current state, and the target.

As far as bending them, I'd put them in a wood vise and use some kind of cheater bar on the loose end. A pipe bender might be handy but it will depend on what you need to do. Don't try to do too much at once, and keep checking against your grid.

I'm guessing they won't wind up needing too much work. If you need to bend them a lot, well, ride carefully.

Its science....rocket science......not medicine....

Chuck's got it right. Do the easiest thing first, if that doesn't work then you get fancy. Also, toss those bars if you plan to ride at any kind of speed. Old bars are for show new bars are for riding!

Yeah, actually, that would be more accurate. I've taken to wedging the fork under the couch and pulling really hard on the offending part. You sort of have to be careful when you choose your fulcrum. I guess I'm kinda lucky to have just the right couch, if the weather's nice I'll sometimes stick it between the back porch steps. Soft wood so I can minimize damage to the finish, arrange it so as not to crush the steerer tube. I guess it would be wise to put a stem in it. If it's bent 10mm to the left I'll pull the one blade till there's 110 spacing and then pull the other one to match. Sometimes I use a piece of threaded rod bolted to one dropout with a nut where the other dropout starts and then pull till there's 10mm between the nut and the dropout.
I hear Lauterwasser packed his bars with sand so they'd stay round when he bent them.
Yeah, not rocket science, but i can usually get withing a mm of where I want it.

I can't tell you guys how much of a relief it is to see so many people telling me this is doable. I normally see fork damage as a death sentence, but I suppose it doesn't make much sense that it should be. I'm currently storing the bike at my parent's house, 3 hours away, so it might take some time, but here's my game plan once I get it back:

1. Do a tour of the local shops and see if any of them are confident that they can do the job. I know my usual 1 and 2 shops were uninterested in the project 2 years ago when I first got it. There is another shop that I'd been recommended to visit concerning cold setting a rear end at one point, so I'm gonna see if they can handle it.
2. If not, just wing it and hope for the best.

I once ran a steel racing bike into a parked car during a criterium. For whatever reason, the forks gave way, leaving the main triangle unharmed. I put my feet on the bottom bracket shell and my hands on the fork blades and pulled the fork back into shape. That was decades ago, and there's no way my back would allow such shenanigans these days, but the fork held up for the rest of the season and I saw no change in the handling.

Just a few months ago I bought a very nice Italian racing frame from Ebay for a song, because the fork had damage very similar to the one you are describing. I have a little homemade jig that holds the steerer tube parallel to the ground. With that jig (and my wife's granite counter top) I measured the distance to the surface from one dropout and then, turning the fork in the jig, the other. Then, using my bare hands, a vice with homemade tubing blocks, and some guesswork, I bent the blades back into position. It took fifteen minutes and about five bucks worth of materials (not counting the counter top...) and the bike has given me perfect service since then.

Short version: you have a treasure, gotten nearly for free, and with only the slightest effort required to restore to serviceability.

Shorter version: You're a lucky SOB and I hate you.

HTH!

A little more encouragement;
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=fork+jig
Some ideas;
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...igs?highlight=
Oh, and I've been meaning to mention that the coaster brake hub wouldn't be original on a Lenton.

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I'd start on the telephone. If you find a mechanic who has done this before, give him a try. You'll have better luck with a frame builder. If there is none in your neighborhood, you might consider sending it; postage on a fork won't be that much.

But I'd go straight to plan #2 . It probably needs only a very minor tweak; as long as you're not bending it way too far and bending it back again way too far and fatiguing the heck out of the metal, you won't do any harm by trying. And if you're not happy with your results, you still have the option of sending it to a frame builder.

What if you use 2 top caps from a 1" threadless steerer and a long piece of threaded rod? You put the top caps inside the steerer on the top and bottom and run the threaded rod through the center holes in the caps down to the dropouts using nuts and washers to hold it in place. Theoretically the rod will be parallel and centered between the fork blades. You can use the rod as a gauge, just measure from the rod to each fork leg to see which is off. Good luck.

That's a good idea. It's a little tricky, because of the rake of the blades, though, you need to establish a purpendicular to the steerer tube down at the dropouts. The only real good reference point I've come up with is the bolt hole for the brake caliper, note the rod on my device. I suppose you could use a similar rod at the brake hole (it'll have to go through the big rod that you just ran down the length of the fork) and then line another rod up by eye down at the dropout end.
Great idea, though. I'm way too C+V to think of threadless stuff.

Interesting, and it would definitely account for the dating confusion.