Just been looking at the Raleigh website. Mostly lower end stuff, but there's a Dura-Ace equipped carbon road bike, and a couple of reasonable looking full sussers. Are they making a comeback then? It would be lovely to see them once again producing decent bikes like they used to (a good while ago though) rather than bottom end junk they've become known for in more recent years.
It's a shame the best-loved brand in British cycling sunk so low.
You are Tyredocter and I claim my £5......
Did Raleigh ever make that many decent bikes? All the good stuff seems to be Carlton.
First bike I ever saw with Rock Shox was a Raleigh.
Did Raleigh ever make that many decent bikes
In 1980 Joop Zoetemelk won the Tour de France on a Raleigh. I suspect the bike was at least as good as it's competitors...
wwaswas - Member
Did Raleigh ever make that many decent bikesIn 1980 Joop Zoetemelk won the Tour de France on a Raleigh. I suspect the bike was
at least as good as it's competitors...a badged up Gitane
Fixed that for ya. Really, no need to thank me.
Ah well, another belief shattered.
I've lost so many over the years I'm always surprised when I find yet another in pieces at my feet.
What did Barrie Clarke et al race back in the day, can't remember whether they were rebadged or customs or whatever?
I know that the Peugeots of Tim Gould were actually made by Chas Roberts, but no idea about Raleigh.
I'd love to see the brand come back (and even better be made in Britain once more), as many of us started out on Raleigh bikes in some shape or form. I had a Grifter!
Some of themare very nice indeed now.
Mate of mine races for them & he really rates the new M-Trax hardtail & thats after racing an Anthem & a Carbon KTM.
Road bikes looks very good, but don't know anyone who's ridden one in anger to be able to comment.
I believe that the bikes such as Barry Clarke rode where made by Raleigh special products - a small offshoot of the main raleigh factory.
I have one its very nice 
golden wonder are you 'cockmaster'? you must atleast know him, I assume you are talking about for real?
Cockmaster? Not me I'm afraid, who's that then?
Yes I am talking about for real, known him for a while..
golden wonder are you 'cockmaster'
I mean dave, called cockmaster for his manuals around the cockmaster quater pipe in sheffield. I know for real through dave.
I know the Dave you mean, known him for a long time too!
I'm also Dave, but ex-TSW Cycles Dave, not bad as a mechanic, but not as good on a bike!
Did Raleigh ever make that many decent bikes?
The Grifter? (-:
I'm guessing you know dave and rob from mansfield. Just looked tsw cycles up. I know him from sheff vegas.
http://www.raleigh.co.uk/b_details.aspx?id=454&brand=4&pt=10
It's not a raleigh but i'd like to have a go on one of these.
Did Raleigh ever make that many decent bikes?The Grifter? (-:
i had a chopper, ;(
i always wanted a grifter, it looked ridable at least
unlike a chopper
how heavy were grifters, obviously was a kid at the time so it maybe seemed heavier but they must have been about 40lbs or something
they may have been 40lbs, but at least they were 40lbs and bike shaped.
unlike a chopper, which were 40lbs and deadly ;(
Did Raleigh ever make that many decent bikes?
Well when I was a kid I reckoned the Raleigh Tour de France was the best bike in the world.
Some of the bikes you can get in teh USA from Raleigh put the stuff we can get over here to shame 
IIRC in the days of Tomac Raleigh USA were a totally different entity to the Raleigh we knew
unlike a chopper
You obviously didn't have enough kids on it - you need at least 3 to make them stable - one on seat, one on crossbar and another on the rack at the back. 4 kids were possible if they were little!
@TJ: Raleigh Special Products was basically Carlton Cycles after they'd taken it over, IIRC.
The head honcho of Carlton, Gerald O'Donovan, went on to design and build Special Products frames.
I had one too, when I was a kid; a 753t track frame, and it was f***ing lush!
I loved my Marauder Index. 18 speed and SIS on the rear, beat that!
OTOH the new Mtrax 4 I rode was rubbish, the worst modern bike I've ridden by a fairly long way.
I remember being told that the old Baker / Timmis / Clarke etc MTB race bikes were made by Orange but no idea if there's any truth in that!
They have a UK Continental Team. Having seen the teams road and TT bikes they're pretty nice..one of them said his new ride was stiffer than his Cervelo (previous Team bike)
one of them said his new ride was stiffer than his Cervelo (previous Team bike)
Didn't Raleigh have a specialist unit in Ilkeston (not far from the main factory in Nottingham) that dealt with their more specialist bikes? I remember in the 80s as a schoolboy, it was my ambition to go to Ilkeston to have a bike fitted and built to my own dimensions (a fellow cyclist in the club did just that - or at least that's what he said at the time). Unfortunately, the paper round wouldn't stretch to fund it at the time!
I've got a Raleigh Road bike and love it, it's not one of those old skool steel thingies either, it's a alu front triangle with carbon form & rear end, full ultegra and top drawer FSA finishing kit.
Just done London 2 Paris on it and it was most comfortable, very reassured handling on fast descents and damm good at putting the power down up hill. It got lots of good comments from fellow riders about how it looked good and it was nice to see a decent Raleigh once again.
The new full carbon ones are getting excellent reviews in Cycling Plus, one of their top 3 bikes in up to £1500 and the same in the up to £3500 brackets.
Interesting history of company:
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hadland/raleigh.htm
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/catfoodrob/choppers/history/history1.html
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