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 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… 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.


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.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/road/product/avanti-race-10-37671

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:

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?