The biggest bicycle factory in the world employed 50 thousand people in Nottingham and made all there own parts cranks pedals handle bars brakes chains rims spokes gears saddles everything....
Raleigh had a race division they used to build road bike frame and forks mainly built with reynolds tubing and if you ever had a problem with your frame or needed some new decals etc you could just call them and they would always answer your calls and help you out plus the Raleigh burner bmx bikes were cool bikes those were the days
A few years ago I got a book called 1001 classic bikes (or something similar), and it was amazing to see how many classic bikes Raleigh made, they certainly knew how to stick a few bits of plastic on a kids bike to make it cool, they made the Burner, Grifter, Chopper, bomber, Chipper - and loads more.
Back in the day I had a Raleigh Budgie and the Grifter. Around 2005 I had a Matrix reverb which proudly stated it was part of Raleigh heritage. In the last couple of years I've seen MTB helmets and accessories with the Raleigh name & I've bought a Raleigh dropper post.
I think you're off to a good start here, keep it up. And my understanding of the founding is that the wealthy gent had just returned from Hong Kong, where his health had been turned around through cycling and he wanted to make bikes available to all so he started production of Raleigh bikes after returning and buying a local bike-building shop. And the cycling world as the world would know it did begin with Raleigh, so a big thanks to all y-all for that. and O on the Chopper, cool bike, no question, but it was more Schwinn Krate, a show-off bike with a bouncy ride here in the States, than Schwinn Sting-Ray, the bike that could take such a pounding that it got kids racing each other in what would become BMX. Plus, well, a lot of us just had to do the Evel Knievel thing, too. 😀
Last month, my brother was public spiritedly performing a beach clear up at Rhossili, on the Gower. He turned up a cartridge from an Oerlikon gun, dated 1941. The manufacturers code showed it was made by Raleigh.
Grifter frame out of a skip, BMX parts, dad welded a N at the steerer tube...it was ace! Got nicked from my house...Next Maverick, rode that till it fell apart! Used to carry a 15mm socket for when the right hand crank arm fell off. Had me M-Trax STX-RC for over 20 years! Fosters in Sheffield and Rotherham was the place to go for Raleigh!
Rayleigh doesn't exist anymore, it's now just a Dutch manufactured brand, the Dutch holding company having more recently been taken over by an American hedge fund.
Had a purple/white fade Raleigh mustang. Weighed about 40kg, had chrome rims and canti brakes, but as a 10 year old it was absolutely mint. My little brother had a red/yellow fade one. Was always deeply jealous of a buddy who had an Activator 2.
@@SteveKimbo I can even remember chrome rims being the cause of most brake related accidents. When they had Raleigh Special Products division they did make some truly game changing bikes.
Raleigh will never die, There are thousands spread around the world and in peoples sheds just waiting to be restored. The company however kept missing the boat, ie small wheeled adult bikes, BMX and then MTB,s and got left behind. Still plenty of spare parts though.
I still usey Raleigh mountin bike I bought from halfords in the late 80 s. I love it its steel weights a ton but love takeing it out now again my comute bike is a Peugeot road bike. I was on the understanding g when Raleigh closed in Nottingham it moved to brum . All the best😊
There have been many take overs of Raleigh and they have brought many other companies as well, to be honest the video could have gone on a lot longer, there is so much going on with this company.
I thought the Chopper was a bit silly at the time Kinda wish I had one now Wanted a Carlton but got a 5 speed Arena I rode the wheels off it even attempted touring Still have a Gran Tour that someone gave me Mostly ride Dawes nowadays
I think my late Mother and Father both worked/met whilst working at the Raleigh bike factory in Nottingham,circa early 1940s ??..... Either there or Players.
I was taken to Halfords to choose my birthday treat, and the BMX had literally just been released. Having older siblings, I was aware or Raleigh bikes, and so chose a blue Grifter. Of course, the BMX took off like wild fire, with all the kids eventually having one. Regretted my choice for years to come, with my slow old bike that weighed a ton, and was so not cool. My parents never upgraded me either - ever. But who's bitter about it? 😆
The mid 90s mountain bikes killed Raleigh for me. The Raleigh Max was utter utter rubbish. Particularly the steel one. Then randomly they started making the RSP full suspension bikes that were legitimately quite good. Then just as randomly they didn't anymore.
@bikefilth the Matt Farmer ridden DHO was the highlight of that period. I can't help but think if they'd stuck at it they'd have rebroken into mountain biking.
I had an Activatior with the front fork suspension (that never seemed to move). I love that bike until the day it was nicked. Replaced it with a Max and hated it, so so heavy.
I think to be fair a lot of the Raleigh mountain bikes (I remember the Apollo I think it was) was basically just a road bike with wider knobbly tyres and flat bars.
I have a 1983 Raleigh Sprint 1984 Raleigh Chloe A mid 80s Raleigh Mercury 1989 Raleigh pro race 1990 Raleigh Avalanche 1992 Raleigh Pioneer Prestige 1995 Raleigh Max 1995 Raleigh Cassis 1997 Raleigh Siren And a 2000s Raleigh Altere
Here's the thing I can never understand about Raleigh and most British bicycles back then why in the world do they have 40 spoke rear wheels and 32 spoke front wheels unlike the American bicycles and most other bicycles and other countries use 36 spoke wheels that I cannot understand?
@@garyquail4996 when I started wheel building I was told more spokes doesn’t equal stronger wheels. I have never noticed that fine detail, but I wonder if it was thought to support the rider better maybe from the power of the freewheel or the overweight aristocrats riding them?
I've still got my 80s Mag Shock. Love that old bike.
The biggest bicycle factory in the world employed 50 thousand people in Nottingham and made all there own parts cranks pedals handle bars brakes chains rims spokes gears saddles everything....
Raleigh had a race division they used to build road bike frame and forks mainly built with reynolds tubing and if you ever had a problem with your frame or needed some new decals etc you could just call them and they would always answer your calls and help you out plus the Raleigh burner bmx bikes were cool bikes those were the days
@@delboy868 they used to be one of the very best bike companies.
A few years ago I got a book called 1001 classic bikes (or something similar), and it was amazing to see how many classic bikes Raleigh made, they certainly knew how to stick a few bits of plastic on a kids bike to make it cool, they made the Burner, Grifter, Chopper, bomber, Chipper - and loads more.
My Granddad worked there and was very happy.
Back in the day I had a Raleigh Budgie and the Grifter. Around 2005 I had a Matrix reverb which proudly stated it was part of Raleigh heritage. In the last couple of years I've seen MTB helmets and accessories with the Raleigh name & I've bought a Raleigh dropper post.
I think you're off to a good start here, keep it up. And my understanding of the founding is that the wealthy gent had just returned from Hong Kong, where his health had been turned around through cycling and he wanted to make bikes available to all so he started production of Raleigh bikes after returning and buying a local bike-building shop. And the cycling world as the world would know it did begin with Raleigh, so a big thanks to all y-all for that. and O on the Chopper, cool bike, no question, but it was more Schwinn Krate, a show-off bike with a bouncy ride here in the States, than Schwinn Sting-Ray, the bike that could take such a pounding that it got kids racing each other in what would become BMX. Plus, well, a lot of us just had to do the Evel Knievel thing, too. 😀
Last month, my brother was public spiritedly performing a beach clear up at Rhossili, on the Gower. He turned up a cartridge from an Oerlikon gun, dated 1941. The manufacturers code showed it was made by Raleigh.
Grifter frame out of a skip, BMX parts, dad welded a N at the steerer tube...it was ace! Got nicked from my house...Next Maverick, rode that till it fell apart! Used to carry a 15mm socket for when the right hand crank arm fell off. Had me M-Trax STX-RC for over 20 years! Fosters in Sheffield and Rotherham was the place to go for Raleigh!
Rayleigh doesn't exist anymore, it's now just a Dutch manufactured brand, the Dutch holding company having more recently been taken over by an American hedge fund.
Raleigh Lizard was a cool bike when i was a kid.
@@Brookes79 I feel like it was the inspiration or inspired by klen, such an awesome paint job.
@bikefilth was such an iconic bike in the early 90's 👊🏻🚲
Had a purple/white fade Raleigh mustang. Weighed about 40kg, had chrome rims and canti brakes, but as a 10 year old it was absolutely mint. My little brother had a red/yellow fade one. Was always deeply jealous of a buddy who had an Activator 2.
@@SteveKimbo I can even remember chrome rims being the cause of most brake related accidents. When they had Raleigh Special Products division they did make some truly game changing bikes.
English people speaking American is so normal now that it's considered odd to question it. But for me, it's like nails on a blackboard.
Raleigh will never die, There are thousands spread around the world and in peoples sheds just waiting to be restored. The company however kept missing the boat, ie small wheeled adult bikes, BMX and then MTB,s and got left behind. Still plenty of spare parts though.
Unless it’s for a chopper
Bob,s only new bike was a Raleigh Trent Tourist bought at Rattrey,s in Glasgow in 1963 !
I still usey Raleigh mountin bike I bought from halfords in the late 80 s.
I love it its steel weights a ton but love takeing it out now again my comute bike is a Peugeot road bike. I was on the understanding g when Raleigh closed in Nottingham it moved to brum . All the best😊
There have been many take overs of Raleigh and they have brought many other companies as well, to be honest the video could have gone on a lot longer, there is so much going on with this company.
Yet another story of a once great British company!
I thought the Chopper was a bit silly at the time Kinda wish I had one now Wanted a Carlton but got a 5 speed Arena I rode the wheels off it even attempted touring Still have a Gran Tour that someone gave me Mostly ride Dawes nowadays
Love Dawes, so underrated
I think my late Mother and Father both worked/met whilst working at the Raleigh bike factory in Nottingham,circa early 1940s ??..... Either there or Players.
I was taken to Halfords to choose my birthday treat, and the BMX had literally just been released.
Having older siblings, I was aware or Raleigh bikes, and so chose a blue Grifter.
Of course, the BMX took off like wild fire, with all the kids eventually having one. Regretted my choice for years to come, with my slow old bike that weighed a ton, and was so not cool. My parents never upgraded me either - ever. But who's bitter about it? 😆
Raleigh is such an icon, I love all these memories. Life was more simple when we were kids.
was there such a bike as raleigh robin hood?
Yes, now a bargain on eBay
They still are in Nottingham at Eastwood. Very small compared to previous premises..
The mid 90s mountain bikes killed Raleigh for me. The Raleigh Max was utter utter rubbish. Particularly the steel one.
Then randomly they started making the RSP full suspension bikes that were legitimately quite good. Then just as randomly they didn't anymore.
Those MAX bikes were over built and heavy, the RSP range was brilliant and before its time and sadly I’m told made them loose lots of money.
@bikefilth the Matt Farmer ridden DHO was the highlight of that period. I can't help but think if they'd stuck at it they'd have rebroken into mountain biking.
@@esm7708 your probably right, I rode the blue one once and it was so smooth over rocks
I had an Activatior with the front fork suspension (that never seemed to move). I love that bike until the day it was nicked. Replaced it with a Max and hated it, so so heavy.
I think to be fair a lot of the Raleigh mountain bikes (I remember the Apollo I think it was) was basically just a road bike with wider knobbly tyres and flat bars.
Chopper was a great looking bike but I preferred my grifter , it felt stronger and faster and was better for jumps and wheelies 🚲
Raleigh have been around since sliced bread? It's actually been around 43 years before sliced bread was first sold 😅 love the video👍
Great video unless you skipped the RSW models from the 60's.
I have a 1983 Raleigh Sprint
1984 Raleigh Chloe
A mid 80s Raleigh Mercury
1989 Raleigh pro race
1990 Raleigh Avalanche
1992 Raleigh Pioneer Prestige
1995 Raleigh Max
1995 Raleigh Cassis
1997 Raleigh Siren
And a 2000s Raleigh Altere
Amazing collection
Here's the thing I can never understand about Raleigh and most British bicycles back then why in the world do they have 40 spoke rear wheels and 32 spoke front wheels unlike the American bicycles and most other bicycles and other countries use 36 spoke wheels that I cannot understand?
@@garyquail4996 when I started wheel building I was told more spokes doesn’t equal stronger wheels. I have never noticed that fine detail, but I wonder if it was thought to support the rider better maybe from the power of the freewheel or the overweight aristocrats riding them?
@bikefilth that is what I'm wondering?
I just visited the Raleigh site, pathetic. It wasn't that long ago where they were still relevant.
It’s a sad story really, but there’s more to it than just Raleigh not being relevant, some people say it’s self inflicted.
I can't stand the opening music.
Sorry.