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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.
[i]Did Raleigh ever make that many decent bikes[/i]
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 [s]at least as good as it's competitors... [/s]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'
This should be on t-shirts.
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)
Really isn't saying much at all, knowing how flexy some of the Cervelo's can be!
Yes alex222, I know Rob & Dave from school days! Got into riding with them around 96/97ish
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.
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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
'Did Raleigh ever make that many decent bikes? '
Tomacs Raleigh USA bike was a collaboration of Ti lugs made by Merlin and carbon tubes from Easton, all glued together by Raleigh in the UK.
When the Raleigh/SAAB team were winning national titles, world cups and medals at the world champs they were all riding bikes built in Nottingham.
Emma Guy and Matt Farmer won NPS DH races on full sussers built in Nottingham.
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!
i went down that road, two of us on the bike and one pushing,
until the one pushing slipped' broke his nose and knocked three teeth out on the sissy bar,
happy days
not
I went down Ditchling Beacon sat in the basket of a fairly knackered 1950's butchers bike.
About half way down I shouted back to my mate "Can you smell burning". He said "Yes, the brakes are on fire".
We were both 16 and thus immortal (at least we felt it) so we got to the bottom slightly faster than was comfortable but unscathed.
Some of the car drivers going up the hill looked a little surprised to see two teenagers on a bike trailing smoke hurtling around the corners towards them.
the Dho:
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darn'ill race-bike.
lightweight, active on the brakes, 15 years ahead of the Trek Session 88.
(reynolds 853 aswell)
i met the guy who designed it at a Dragon race - i think his name was phil? - he was fast!
where did it go wrong?
Same way as saracen? Build bikes people lust after but cant afford, then build progressively more low end bikes untill an accountant tells you to stop making £3k bikes as theres more money in £30 ones.
Think about it, do you think trek made more money from £7k madones as a result of lance's 7 TDF's, or from lower end trek 1000's? They peobably made more money from increaced sales of £300 'mountain bikes' than they did from the ones Lance was actualy riding!
Its a ballancing act, you have to make enough desirable cars (Ford GT), to sell a few mid range ones (ford RS/ST), to sell millions of basic bred and butter cars (fiesta). Ford could cut its raceing and maybe never have made the GT, but if it did how many fewer fiestas would have sold?
Shame that they were asset stripped in the 90s. At least some people recognised what was there - pity that it was a Taiwanese company, at least it renamed itself Sunrace Sturmey Archer in recognition when they bought sturmey Archer in its entirety before it was split up in auction.
Not convinced the Special Products stuff was much cop tbh.
I worked in a bike shop at the time of the Dyna-tech frames and even bought a road frame myself - after a visit to their factory and being convinced they new what they were doing.
I would wager that every single Dyna-tech frame we sold came back to us broken, both road and mtb. (My family broke one of each plus both their warranty replacements.)
The chainstays would go in the main or, downtubes split by the gear lever bosses on road bikes.
Sorry state of affairs.
I guess that's why they ditched the name (and bonding process,) and started M-Trax.
Raleigh nosed dived but are back (like GT but somebody else owns them?)
They import and sell loads of bike accessories and cheap mudguards.
They have some nice road carbon jobbies but not exactly are bargains compared to Boardman. I would buy a Raleigh if it was the right price but for £2000? hmmm maybe not.