Now I have to step in.............
As (un)Official guardian of the breed I have to take issue here - you guys seem to be getting your 40 spokes 4 crossed here
If we are going to talk about them in such terms, can we come to an understanding of just what a typical British "Club" bike was / is ?
The typical British club machine was not ;
- converted from an old heavyweight Raleigh / Huffy etc. shopper or roadster or so-called by the big manufacturers "Touring" bike or "Lightweight". This was all spin and sales pitch to hide the truth of what they really were.
- Generally 3 speed wide ratio geared. That's for roadsters and shopper bikes.
- Heavy - 45lb ? someone was conned if that's what a Lenton weighs
Generically they were ;
- Built pre & post WWII and well into the 60's - Of Reynolds 531 or K.R.O.M.O. in some cases - Using 4-speed S-A's or Cyclo 4's & 8's amongst other configurations - Dual purpose work / cycle club machines - not out and out race bikes - Equipped with anything from basic to top-flight components depending on wether you bought one from a big manufacturer or a small volume builder and what you specified. - Comparitively Light (25lb for one equipped S-A Flying Scot I have) - Costing £15 at the entry level and £30 at the top end in the early 50's
To me a handbuilt by a small builder club machine is the pinnacle of the mainly touring club era in Britain in the 1950's - The best example I have naturally is a Flying Scot. It was to me a pinnacle but only of one time span within the whole CR remit.
Oh and to those out there who question if they can ever be lively - get out there and ride on one - a good one, not a rebuilt 3-speed Huffy with drop bars. They'll never be on a par with a 'light-in-weigh' derailleur equipped machine but they are not dull by any manner.
Bob Reid Stonehaven Scotland
http://freespace.virgin.net/
From Chris's own comment about Raleigh Lenton's it's been reduced in stature by comparing them with conversion of heavyweight Huffy's and 3-speed AW hubs - Hardly fair that guys.
Here are a few "IMHO" notes on comments that have been made in connection
with the traditional Britsh Lightweight club bike over the past couple of
days.....
> I never rode a high-performance hub gear bicycle. I remember converting
> my father's Hercules 3 speed with down bars and moving the trigger switch
> by the handle bar plug for a sort of end shifter.
Suffice to say you can't make a silk purse...... 3-speeds and a heavyweight
frame ?
> Assuming a decent lightweight frame and aluminum rims, can a 3 speed
> Sturmey Archer feel or even be a fast bicycle?
I doubt it - try changing that to a 4-speed medium or any close ratio hub
and you'll be surprised.
> The Clubman bicycle Chris spoke of has reasonably lightweight parts (many are
> steel but weigh similar to alloy) and the frame is mostly (all?) Reynolds 531
> and should be quite a lively bike.
Yes, quite true when applied to a Lenton which was a mass produced
lightweight but not generically to the breed - You paid circa £15 for a
Lenton in 51' - For the handbuilt far-lighter-weight more aluminium
components Flying Scot £25-30 you got what you paid for.
> I also had a Lenton Sport with drop bars, a 3 speed AW hub, Simplex
> plunger derailleur and 3 cogs on the back. Everything on the bike was
> steel except for the Brooks saddle and Chinese 26x1 1/4 gumwalls. The
> thing must have weighed 45 lbs despite the 531 frame tubing. I never
> could warm up to that bike; very sluggish, but the drivetrain really
> worked well.
Now that really is the limit - how can you compare all of this to a true lightweight Club bike ? If you had a Lenton Sports weighing in a 45lb someone sold you a pup - they repainted a Raleigh All-Steel roadster I'd say.