Raleigh Lenton Rudge Pathfinder (Possibly Reg Harris) - Frame Build

Hello,

Got this frame from a nice old bloke near me for £26. Came with a brooks B15 saddle and not much else that can be re-used. Having looked at Sheldon Brown's Raleigh page I think it's a Rudge Pathfinder...although I am often wrong. It's a good frame size for me so I'm looking (on a budget) to get it looking nice and shiny...not a fixed gear rider as I have bad knees but do ride a single speed at the moment and am loving the Porteur look these days. I'm not mad keen on the paint job and not sure if it's original as there were no decals on it...but do like the stripped down look.

Any help/advice on building this up would be great...and if anyone is interested I'll post pics and updates as I go through the build.

Cheers
And

I think if it is going to be single speed then you will need two brakes defo, drops with hoods is the best way to go in my opinion. The rest is up to you, if your on budget then second hand parts like wheels and cranks will save you a heap of chash. Unless you hate the paint scheme, respraying it, even by yourself, will cost you alot and on budget and that money could be better spent on nice components that will make it more enjoyable to ride.
Very nice looking frame, love those forks, have fun with this.

Cheers Loctez, I think your are bang on about the respray/paint scheme. I may just leave it as it is and reduce the rick of it being half inched by someone. I am trying to lean away from drops on this build as I want a more upright city bike so Portuer/Moustache bars might be an option. Keep you posted. If anyone has been helpful tips on getting some nice 26" wheels I am all ears as that's what was on there last time, but they are two bad to re-use.

Does anyone know if I need to be thinking about that bottom bracket cover thing in the picture above? Looking to purchase a BB...any help in sizes etc would be appreciated also...I am still wearing nappies when it comes to bike builds.

If it is what you think it is you may have bb trouble if you want to change it as Raleighs would normally have a different threading. I just regressed mine and put a square taper axle in it. If it is check the bb width as you may be able to use a threadless bb. I was thinking if I ever had mine resorted id file down the bb and fit one. Good luck with the build.

Cheers mate. I am pretty certain it's a Raleigh Lenton but not too sure of the exact spec. I have just ordered a square taper axle at the same length so will use that rather than anything more complicated. Thanks again