Raleigh Bicycle Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a British bicycle manufacturer originally based in Nottingham. It is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. From 1929 to 1935 Raleigh also produced motorcycles and three-wheel cars, leading to the formation of the Reliant Company.
Raleigh produced three-speed bicycles which it sold round the world. It later made lightweight machines and, in the 1970s, produced the Raleigh Chopper bicycle for children. It was a success and revived the company's fortunes. The company's special products division made race frames, including those used by the Raleigh professional team of the 1970s. Presently Raleigh as a company owns the Diamondback Bike brand as well.
Contents |
[edit] History
Raleigh's history started in 1887, in Raleigh Street, Nottingham. A prosperous 38-year-old, Frank Bowden bought a bicycle made by Messrs Woodhead, Angois and Ellis because his doctor had told him to ride a bicycle for his health. Bowden was impressed by his bicycle and went to Raleigh Street to find the makers. Woodhead, Angois and Ellis were making three bikes a week. Bowden made them an offer and bought the business. Production rose and three years later he needed a bigger workshop, which he found in a four-storey building in Russell Street. He changed the company's name to Raleigh Cycles to commemorate the original address.
In six years Bowden created a business which became the biggest in the world and occupied seven and a half acres in Faraday Road, Nottingham.
[edit] The motor experiment
In 1899 Raleigh started to build motorcycles and in 1903 introduced the Raleighette, a belt-driven three-wheel motorcycle with the driver in the back and a wicker seat for the passenger between the two front wheels. Financial losses meant production lasted only until 1908.
In 1930 the company acquired the rights to the Ivy Karryall, a motorcycle fitted with a cabin for cargo and a hood for the driver. Raleigh's version was called the Light Delivery Van and had a chain drive. A two-passenger version was followed by Raleigh's first three-wheel car, the Safety Seven. It was a four-seat convertible with shaft drive and a maximum of 55mph. A saloon version was planned, but Raleigh shut its motor department to concentrate on bicycles again. Chief designer T. L. Williams took the equipment and remaining parts and moved to Tamworth, where his company produced three-wheelers for 65 years. The leftover parts from Raleigh carried an "R", so Williams chose a matching name: Reliant.
Raleigh also made mopeds in the late fifties and sixties as the bicycle market declined.
[edit] Expansion and merger
Production rose but the market declined in the 1950s and 1960s as the sale of cars rose. Raleigh began to buy failing rivals. In 1956 it bought BSA Cycles. Raleigh also acquired Carlton Cycles, Phillips Cycles, and Hercules.
In turn, Raleigh Industries became TI-Raleigh when it became part of the Tube Investments Group in 1960. By 1984, all Raleighs for the American market, except the top-of-therange Team USA and Prestige road bikes, were produced in the Far East.[citation needed] Bridgestone produced most of these machines.
Derby International bought Raleigh in 1988.[citation needed]
Today, Raleigh parts and frames are mass-produced in China and Taiwan for Derby and assembled in shopsle. Only Raleigh of Denmark still offers traditional rod-brake models.[citation needed] Raleigh Canada has had a factory in Waterloo, Quebec since 1972 which produces 300,000 bikes a year.[citation needed] It employs 320 people, the last manufacturer of this scale in North America.[citation needed]
The bird on the head badge represents a heron.
[edit] The Chopper
The Chopper was launched in the USA in 1968 but was not successful. It went on sale in the UK in 1970 and did better. The bike featured a 3-speed Sturmey Archer gear hub, selected using a frame-mounted car-like gear lever — one of its "cool" features. Other differences were the unusual frame, long padded seat with backrest, sprung suspension at the back, high-rise handlebars, and differently sized front (16") and rear (20") wheels. Tyres were wider than usual for the time, with a chunky tread on the rear wheel, featuring red highlights on the sidewall. The price was from approximately £32 for a standard Chopper to £55 for the deluxe. A smaller version, the Tomahawk, was also popular.
The Mk2 Chopper was an improved version from 1972. It had the option of five-speed derailleur gears, but kept the gear lever. The Mk2 also moved the rear wheel further back, to help prevent the bike tipping up. The Chopper remained in production until 1980, when BMX took over its market. However, the Chopper almost single-handedly rescued Raleigh , selling millions worldwide.
[edit] Sport
Raleigh had a long association with cycle sport. Most notable is the TI-Raleigh team of the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980 Joop Zoetemelk won the Tour de France on a Raleigh. The company also supplied bicycles to the French Système U team in the late 1980s. Raleigh has also supported small British teams including Raleigh Banana in the 1980s. It sponsored a mainly mountain bike team in the early 1990s.
[edit] Archives
The Raleigh archives, including the Sturmey-Archer papers, are at Nottinghamshire Record Office.
[edit] External links
- Forum Dedicated to Raleigh Bikes - Global.
- Raleigh Bicycles - Africa
- Raleigh corporate website - U.K.
- Raleigh Bicycles - U.S.A.
- Raleigh Bicycles - Canada
- Raleigh Bicycles - Denmark
- Raleigh Burner BMX Resource
- Raleigh Bicycles - Aus & NZ
- The Headbadge - Vintage English Bicycle Information
- Raleigh in the Last Quarter of the 20th Century
- Made in Birmingham-- Birmingham's industrial history site including cycles and motorcycles
- Menotomy Vintage Bicycles - Databases of antique bicycle photos, features, price guide and research tools. Very large archives.
- Carlton Cycles Enthusiast pages from the Veteran Cyclist Club of the U.K.
- Retro-Raleighs - models and year identification for high-end USA Raleighs, 1960-1980, maintained by Sheldon Brown.
