We all had a Raleigh at some point, didn't we?

This looks excellent
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08j8mvl

For the last 150 years, Britain has been a nation of bike lovers. And for much of that time, one make has been associated with quality, innovation and Britishness – Raleigh bikes.

Born in the back streets of Nottingham in 1888, Raleigh grew to become the biggest bicycle manufacturer in the world. For over a century, the company was known for its simple and practical bikes, built to last a lifetime. For generations, its designs were thought second to none, enjoyed by adults and children alike.

Now, with wonderful personal testimony and rare and previously unseen archive film, this documentary tells the extraordinary tale of the ups and downs of Raleigh bikes – a beautifully illustrated story full of remarkable characters, epic adventures and memorable bikes.

Meet the people who rode and raced them, the workers who built them and the dealers who sold them. Find out how cycling saved the life of Raleigh’s founder, discover the technological advances behind the company’s success and join Raleigh bike riders who recall epic adventures far and wide.

Along the way, the programme takes viewers on a journey back to cycling’s golden age – rediscover the thrill of learning to ride your first bike and find out what went on inside the Raleigh factory, where the company’s craftsmen produced some of Britain’s most iconic bikes.

Finally, the documentary reveals what went wrong at Raleigh – the battles it had with its rivals, the controversy behind the design of the Chopper and the effect the closure of its factories had on its loyal workers. This is the extraordinary untold story of the rise and fall of Raleigh bikes.

My first was a Strika. In green. Triple clamp cool.

A Super Tuff.

Had an Equipe as well.

Mine didn’t have the semi guards, but it was uparaded to Weinmann (spl?) natural rubber brake hoods. And skinwalls, obvs.

I had a lovely Raleigh Outland, which i adored.

One of these

My first bike

My second bike

My third bike

Yeah I was rolling deep in Raleigh’s when I was a kid.

Raleigh Tomahawk

Tomahawk by pten2106[/url], on Flickr

I had a Budgie in a dark gold and then a red and yellow Burner. I defected to Peugeot for my first mountain bike.

(Not my bike pics)

My first was a Commando

Second was a Criterium Triathlon

Third Vitesse

Bomber in superchrome blue.

My first bike was.
Shame my parents thought that in the 1980’s this was ‘more practical than one of those BMX things’. Can you tell I was bullied at school?

Small Rider
Strika
Grifter
Burner GS

In that order. None since and having seen some late offerings nay thanks.

Strika in red, and a Team Banana replica.

Chopper. Hideous thing that meant all my mates on their racers were faster than me.

Burner like this

And a Grifter before that. Then had a Raleigh road bike, but can’t remember the model. Would love it PDF they started making great mountain and messing about bikes again

Raliegh Chipper, for those not grown enough to have a chopper.

I own two now, actual made in Nottingham Raleighs

Pretty sure my first Raleigh was a Chipper, followed by a Grifter.

I had a lovely cardigan as well

Raleigh Lion Trike.
Then a Tomahawk.
Then a Grifter.
Then a Magnum road bike.

I genuinely didn’t know other manufacturers existed until ’74 when the lad next door acquired a very cool green Puch ‘chopper’.

Had a Chopper and a racer in the 70s . 8)

One if these, if not that very one. My first ‘ATB’ as they were referred to.

funkmasterp I always wanted one of them in that colour.

My mate had one and i’ll always remember him tear arsing off some steps only for his rear mag wheel to collapse on landing and him crushing his nuts on the saddle 😈

Mine was pink, like this:

24″ wheels, rode it all over the moors.

I had one of these shipped out the US by my Dad.

In the late 70s and early 80s I had;
A purple Budgie (baby Chopper)
A green Strika
A red Grifter
All hand me downs, all got truly thrashed and abused. Happy days!!

Raleigh clubman, then another raleigh clubman, then a raleigh criterium, also a raleigh bannana, not the team issue one the cheap pretend one.

Been out for a ride on the raleigh tonight, bought in 1986, from asale cycles manchester.

I had one of these.

Then a Grifter with a Puch Maxi moped fork fitted. 😯

Then one of these.

Then one of these.

At one point before I got married, I had 5 Raleigh BMXs and 2 Grifters. In my one-bedroom flat 🙂

Just sneaking into the “everyone” club – got my first one at the end of last year.

F&F given to me by teasel off here when I was after something to use as a “crappy” commuter. 😀 Far too good for that! It’s bluddy lovely. Never ridden anything so smooth. So it’s currently a “far better than it’s 30 year old paint and road grime patina would have you believe” commuter, and will be taking me on some long rides and audaxes this year.

My brother was a couple of years younger than me but between us we had, a Strika and he got the small one of the Strika/Grifter trilogy which I can’t remember the name, then I got an Arena 5 speed when he got a Commando, then we bot got BMX’s, mine was an Ultra Burner and he got a Super Tuff Burner with yellow Skyways. Happy days!

I had a gold bike with white tyres and a sparkly silver seat which looked like a Chopper. Pretty sure it was a Raleigh – anybody know what model it would have been?

also had a Raleigh Winner that my Dad bought off someone for £10, and served me well as a commuter for a few years.

My first tree bikes Raleighs.

The Pixie

The Tomahawk

The Meteor

3 bikes to see me until I was 14. My 9 year old is on his fifth!

first mountain bike was a raleigh gritstone. Long gone now but I do have two in the garage. A lovely triathlon with 531 tubes which I use as my winter roadie and another touring bike I have built up as a fixie.

Yup.

Raleigh Amazon – my first ever bike that wasn’t from the local paper.
It was bought a good couple of months before Christmas and stored in the caravan (in our garden). I remember sneaking in more than a few times in the morning on the way out to my paper round to look at the shiny loveliness of my soon-to-be new bike.
Many, many happy years on that bike – 10 years and post university later it was still going, at least 2 rear wheels and now on slicks to bomb around the city.

Happy days – compared to anything modern it was rubbish I’m sure – but the paint job was fantastic – a sort of metallic speckled fade type thing, lovely!

Mine was a Mustang. My dad went into the shop and brought “proper” mountain bikes for the whole family (mum, dad, 2 kids); emptied out the shop. A wonderful small shop in Rugby that’s probably closed decades ago.

Lots of fond memories of that bike but it wasn’t the lightest of things….

Boxer
Burner
Winner
Banana

Loved them all if I remember rightly!

Have you seen the default spec and weight of the Raleigh that Steve Abraham is using for his latest record attempt? 😯

Grifter
Mustang, the Halfords exclusive one.
Raleigh Avanti Race, modern CF race bike, fast not comfy.
Currently hanging my nose over the new mustang adventure bike, the love child of the last two.

I think I had a chipper, then a chopper, a 24″ pacer and finally a Mustang.