The models we do in Halfords are f*cking dreadful, and overpriced. No doubt they are specific to us and specced by our buyers but still.

Darn it! I go away on business for couple of days, and someone starts a thread on my favourite hobby horse.

I have a 1999 Raleigh 853 road bike and as I decided last year I should move into the present century, I tried to find a Raleigh Militis, with a view to buying one. Many calls on many dealers and e-mails to both Raleigh CS and the local sales manager failed to find a Militis in the whole of the South West and Wales.

2014 and I decide I REALLY am going to buy a carbon road bike, and the list included a Raleigh. Looking at the web site, the number of road bike dealers had changed as had their locations, then, before I started to visit, the Welsh cycle show came along and Raleigh were going to be there, EXCELLENT!

They weren’t.

I now own and am extremely happy with my KTM Revalator.

Can’t think who would want to buy this monstrosity

Unovlo – I don’t think that looks much different to any of the stuff Geness turn out?

Unovolo, whats that?!

Saw a Raleigh Vektar ad after Tiswas one Saturday and I´ve lusted after one ever since.

The US division has recently churned out a single speed, hydro disc, belt drive crosser that looks lovely.

I don’t think that looks much different to any of the stuff Genesis turn out?

True and they get pretty good reviews and are relatively well thought of and thats part of the point.

SAS78

Its a Raleigh Furley, full chromoly F&F with ebb or Pressfit 30 BB
http://www.bikerumor.com/2011/08/02/2012-raleigh-mountain-cyclocross-bikes-carbon-29er-twinsix-collaboration-more/
Think its US only 🙁

One day Raleigh WILL be back.

I will buy one.

Mtbtomo – Think most of the 2015 bikes are now on the website:

http://Www.raleigh.co.uk

The new Mavericks are also worth a look, if like above folk are after do-it-all drop bar bikes; 631 and 520 frames with discs and tons of clearance. Nice machines.

What folk say about the damage done to the brand is true and it’s surely got to be a study in how to mess up a brand. All that said in the general public, Raleigh is still very well regarded and are still the only British bike brand to win the Tour, so why would they ditch the name and the (good) history?

Glad to see Raleigh making ”proper’ bikes again, but not keen on the colour schemes myself. Would be great to see the old blue and white team colours on some of the bikes as Team Raleigh have retro kit now.

My first three race bikes were raleighs, and up until last year my training bikes was a much loved Raleigh team ti until it broke 🙁

Basically my gf’s dad is opening a bike shop in Scotland and will be stocking Raleigh, Diamondback,and Haibike. Now I know if i was on the hunt for a new bike these companies would probably be last on my list but maybe I’m not their target market or I’m too snobbish. He feels like Raleigh are about to have a resurgence in popularity and are changing as a brand which I can sort of see from looking at their top end which looks nice if a bit pricy.

Has anyone bought a Raleigh recently and how was it? Thoughts on the brand?

Your GF’s Dad is exactly 12 months behind me (though in a geographically very different area). My email is in my profile if you/he would like some more direct interactions, but I’ll give you a brief summary on here…

If you’re in the trade, selling bikes, setting up a new shop, you’ve not got time to be snobbish or sentimental etc. You have to stock whatever you can get hold of that sells. Raleigh make some excellent bikes these days, the Militis being one of them (the guy comparing a Planet X Pro Carbon with the Militis just hasn’t got a clue!), but Raleigh’s core market is in the much lower end stuff. At the moment, my impression of Raleigh bikes is that they spend all their time and effort making the bikes look as cool as they can, and selling them to the dealers. They do not spend time and effort making the bikes appeal to Joe Public, or selling them to the public. From what I can glean, Raleigh reps are very heavily targetted on their sales to dealers, reps are often moving on to other companies for an easier life…

The Bikes themselves aren’t at all bad, but the public looks at them, either reminisces about how good Raleigh were back in the day or knows how bad they’ve been more recently (even just a few years ago), and then they buy something else. They look sleek and cool, but eye catching they are not, and at the price level of their core market (say £200-£500), eye catching is everything! There are other starter brands I could recommend far more readily, even though Raleigh are quite pleasant to deal with. At the end of the day, bike shops need to sell bikes, and as an owner I’d rather have 30 days credit on a bike that is in great demand than 6 months credit on something I know I’m going to have to discount heavily to get rid of.

2014 and I decide I REALLY am going to buy a carbon road bike, and the list included a Raleigh. Looking at the web site, the number of road bike dealers had changed as had their locations, then, before I started to visit, the Welsh cycle show came along and Raleigh were going to be there, EXCELLENT!

They weren’t.

I now own and am extremely happy with my KTM Revalator.

Two companies at the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of approach to bike sales. I know, I deal with both! My enthusiasm for KTM has come under criticism from people on this forum, but they’re going places for many reasons. The fact that FLi are at just about every show going, bikes in hand, pushing the brand heavily to the public, getting the bikes into magazine and online reviews etc. will pay them dividends. There are other (European) brands that I can think of that started off as almost unknown quantities maybe 8 or 10 years ago, that through good marketing and understanding the customer base, have become quite large brands in a short space of time.

I think he chose Raleigh because he was most impressed by their attitude to helping to support dealers at a trade show. I really wanted him to get Cube as a compromise between budget and high-end but he said the Cube guys were dicks.Tbh I think most of his sales will be kids’ bikes and hybrid/ciry stuff below £500, but that is hardly glamorous.

It’s VERY easy to be rude about someone (or a company) when they’ve refused to supply you for one reason or another… FAR better to not get upset about it, and ask why they won’t supply you. Cube are very successful, and I can understand why. I wouldn’t knock them for a second, they do have quite an aggressive strategy that has helped them get where they are today so quickly, but they’ve also got some very good people. If your GF’s Dad is going to get upset by Cube and let his experience taint his view of the brand, then I suggest he’s going into the wrong business… Don’t burn bridges, and take the time and effort to learn from those with significantly more experience than yourself. 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 mouth for a reason. If, for a moment, you think you know better than someone else, stop and ask yourself why… Look at it from the other point of view. I’m not going to name names, but I have had someone in a very successful position in the bicycle industry take a decent amount of time out at various points to help me with huge amounts of advice over the last 12 months, for no personal gain at all (I don’t buy anything off him). Why? I’m not sure, I’d like to think he thinks I’m a good guy with a passion for the industry and because I listen to his advice and I’m receptive. Maybe he’s just grooming me before he lands me with a massive order! Who knows… 😉 Seriously though, if your GF’s Dad knows anyone in a position of responsibility within the bike industry that is at any point prepared to act as a bit of a sense check, or even a business mentor, grab that opportunity with both hands! You’ll be surprised just how many people (even successful competitors) will be willing to help you if you’re humble and you listen, but if you think you know it all, they’ll quickly see you go out of business without so much as offering a helping hand.

Anyway… In summary, find bike brands where the reps are busy selling bikes to the public (demo days, public bike shows, presence at races etc.) as these are the bikes that sell. I wish Raleigh sold well to the public (I like a lot of their bikes!), but IMO they’re a very difficult sell.

For P&A though, Raleigh are a good account to have. They have a large range, including a lot of Shimano and SRAM parts these days, at good prices.

they own diamond back i think.

Everyone’s saying the brand is damaged but what do their accounts say? It’s far cheaper to buy in stuff out of a catalogue than run your own r&d department plus I imagine that they make more on selling 10 £300 bikes than they do on 1 £3000 bike.

That guy from sports direct or whatever it is didn’t make his money from reinstating the premium brands he bought up, he makes money from selling cheap tat