A focus for me this season was to put together a couple premium, sporty bikes with upright bars and a utility bike type configuration. The goal was to take the basic concept behind the famous Raleigh Sports light roadster, and to increase the performance a bit. My thinking was to do something similar in increasing performance, but also keep the core comforts of a utility bike like a Raleigh Sports would have. This seemed like a good idea for dealing with the hilly terrain around here.
I found three bikes to serve as a basis for this "sporting roadster" type of bike, two of them being Raleighs. One was the 1949 Raleigh Clubman, which I took for a ride last night. The Clubman was a significant increase in performance over the basic Sports model, given the wide variety of alloy parts, in addition to the Reynolds 531 frame. The alloy seat post, bars/stem, and rims make a huge difference. The frame helps some too, but those alloy components really reduce the weight.
The other Raleigh in this concept of a sporty roadster was a 1953 Raleigh Lenton. Like the Clubman, the Lenton would have started life as a road bike.
The Lenton was a step down from the Clubman but up from the Sports in terms of components. The Lenton has steel components, though some are lighter than typical Sports components. The Lenton especially has a nice set of lighter, Dunlop steel endrick rims. They're not as light as alloy, but they definitely are lighter than Westrick Sports rims as well. The frame is a bit lighter than a Sports, having Reynolds 531 main tubes, and the frame dimensions are a little tighter than a Sports. It falls right in between the Clubman and the basic Sports along a spectrum of sporty roadsters.
Overall, I like what this produced. The lighter weights are helpful when handling hills, though the comfort and usability of a light roadster are still present. All these bikes are equipped with saddle bags, light sets, bells, and sprung Brooks saddles. But the Lenton, and especially the Clubman, feel livelier and faster than a basic Sports. That's not to say the Sports is a bad bike - I still have several variations of the Sports in my collection. But these "sporting roadsters" hit a sweet spot that blends comfort, utility, and performance when you want something with a little more life than the usual.
As much as I love my Superbe, it would be lovely to get a Lenton or Clubman and build it up this way. Or perhaps a nice 70's Raleigh road frame, like an International or Super Course Mark II...
ReplyDeleteBest,
Shawn
https://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/landing-page/
I think from the 1970s Super Course and upward in the range, you could get a nice frame and then build a touring bike. If you're totally free to build, then alloy components make a nice improvement as well.
DeleteRaleigh tried this kind of bike a few times, though apparently not with a ton of success. They had a Lenton Tourist in the 1950s and the Super Tourer of the 1970s. I'm sure there were other models.
But it seems like the market divided between utility bikes and road bikes and that these kinds of bikes fell into the market hole between the two types.
I have a 1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow and am thinking of doing something similar by building with North Road bars, Bluemels fenders, and add the usual utility bike accessories. The BSA-era New Hudson parts are harder to find is the thing.
Huh. Never heard about the Super Tourer. Looks like they made them from 74-77, and were a hard sell, basically an upright version of a Competition. I'm guessing it wasn't that cheap, either, and those who wanted to spend money on a bike in the 70's wanted "drop bar". It could have been a formidable adversary to the Schwinn Suburban if it was priced right.
DeleteBut it wasn't a three speed. So I could still take any lightweight 70's Raleigh road frame and convert it if I wanted to.
-Shawn
https://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/landing-page/
Hello, just finding your blog now and it's great. I have a 1974 Raleigh Sport and I'm wondering about adding a headlamp (I have the original clamp on the bike). Did you add one to yours and if so, was vintage or a newer battery operated one? Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteHi, on the Lenton photographed in this entry, I am using a "Kiley" brand retro-looking light. It looks similar to an original Sturmey Archer headlight but is modern in having a higher output LED. It takes 4 AAA batteries. It has high beam, low beam, and hazard flasher modes. They're available on eBay. I'm not sure if they have made it over to Amazon and similar yet.
DeleteThe tail light is an Alumalites retro tail lamp. It also looks like an old tail light but has a modern LED inside. It recharges using a USB cable. It has solid mode and two hazard flasher modes (rapid and slow). I get these on Amazon as well.