crusader998
Retro Newbie
Why am I posting at all?
I did this restoration and have received various comments about losing "authenticity" Just wanted to see what others might think. I'm thick skinned so if I've spoiled it feel free to let rip.
The back story.
This is a 1954 ladies lenton sports with sturmey archer 4 speed.
The bike in the pictures belongs to my mother who was given it new. She used it for many years until about 1975 when it ended up in the basement. She has had other bikes since but has always hinted that she preferred her Lenton so a couple of months ago I took it away to do some work on it as a Christmas present. I have never undertaken a bike restoration before but with the brief from mum that she wanted a "town bike" style restoration and that the bike would be her daily transport. (She's 69 and cycles about 70 miles a week) I decided to have a crack at it.
The Restoration.
The lightweight frame was in good nick but the paint and decals were beyond saving. The original lightweight wheels were a bit pitted but complete and running true however they were beyond my ability to restore. I have kept them and will maybe have someone with more knowledge look at them in the future.
I dismantled then rubbed the whole thing down to bare metal and zinc primed it.The bike was originally blue and from doing my research found that it was polychromatic Mediterranean blue. Thankfully there was some original colour beneath the brake cable clips so I was able, as best I could, to colour match it. I added a moderate amount of flake and colour sanded the last coat to flatten the flake to achieve the original polychromatic effect. There really was no alternative to repainting. I am all for patina but there's patina and there's just plain knackered looking. I got some duplicate decals onto it then clear-coated followed by a gentle rub with 2500 grit to retain the polychromatic look as opposed to full on gloss.
Contemporary 26 X 1 1/4 lightweight wheels are impossible to find as various people delighted in telling me (one reason why I have kept the originals) so I sourced a set of stainless 26 X 1 3/8 wheels from 1956 which came complete with sturmey archer 4 speed and dyno hub.
Apparently the bike came with plastic mudguards which have probably been broken sometime over the last 60 years and thrown away but in keeping with my "town bike" brief I found the ones that are on now. They come from a 60s BSA and have been repaired, de-dented and sprayed to match the bike.
The white and blue colour scheme came from the old dear's desire to have white wall tyres.
The chrome was not bad given its age and so I treated it to a fairly gentle wire brushing and then clearcoated it using etch thinners. This has retained the patina but should stop it becoming more patina than metal. The only exception was the handlebars. They were in pretty bad order so I painted them.
Bearings, brakes gears were fine just needed cleaning and re-greasing
Justifying myself
The bike could be put back to original by swapping back the wheels, removing the mudguards and replacing the brooks seat
The bike has gone from a relic in a basement to an every day rider.
I am a spray painter so the paint job is professional and probably better than factory
Anyway it's done now so have at it
I did this restoration and have received various comments about losing "authenticity" Just wanted to see what others might think. I'm thick skinned so if I've spoiled it feel free to let rip.
The back story.
This is a 1954 ladies lenton sports with sturmey archer 4 speed.
The bike in the pictures belongs to my mother who was given it new. She used it for many years until about 1975 when it ended up in the basement. She has had other bikes since but has always hinted that she preferred her Lenton so a couple of months ago I took it away to do some work on it as a Christmas present. I have never undertaken a bike restoration before but with the brief from mum that she wanted a "town bike" style restoration and that the bike would be her daily transport. (She's 69 and cycles about 70 miles a week) I decided to have a crack at it.
The Restoration.
The lightweight frame was in good nick but the paint and decals were beyond saving. The original lightweight wheels were a bit pitted but complete and running true however they were beyond my ability to restore. I have kept them and will maybe have someone with more knowledge look at them in the future.
I dismantled then rubbed the whole thing down to bare metal and zinc primed it.The bike was originally blue and from doing my research found that it was polychromatic Mediterranean blue. Thankfully there was some original colour beneath the brake cable clips so I was able, as best I could, to colour match it. I added a moderate amount of flake and colour sanded the last coat to flatten the flake to achieve the original polychromatic effect. There really was no alternative to repainting. I am all for patina but there's patina and there's just plain knackered looking. I got some duplicate decals onto it then clear-coated followed by a gentle rub with 2500 grit to retain the polychromatic look as opposed to full on gloss.
Contemporary 26 X 1 1/4 lightweight wheels are impossible to find as various people delighted in telling me (one reason why I have kept the originals) so I sourced a set of stainless 26 X 1 3/8 wheels from 1956 which came complete with sturmey archer 4 speed and dyno hub.
Apparently the bike came with plastic mudguards which have probably been broken sometime over the last 60 years and thrown away but in keeping with my "town bike" brief I found the ones that are on now. They come from a 60s BSA and have been repaired, de-dented and sprayed to match the bike.
The white and blue colour scheme came from the old dear's desire to have white wall tyres.
The chrome was not bad given its age and so I treated it to a fairly gentle wire brushing and then clearcoated it using etch thinners. This has retained the patina but should stop it becoming more patina than metal. The only exception was the handlebars. They were in pretty bad order so I painted them.
Bearings, brakes gears were fine just needed cleaning and re-greasing
Justifying myself
The bike could be put back to original by swapping back the wheels, removing the mudguards and replacing the brooks seat
The bike has gone from a relic in a basement to an every day rider.
I am a spray painter so the paint job is professional and probably better than factory
Anyway it's done now so have at it
Well done, it would have been so much easier to have bought a new one 
