The Raleigh Professional was one of the first bikes to come with Campagnolo brakes, and was also one of the first to feature a 6 speed freewheel. --SCB From the 1969 catalogue: From the 1970 catalogue: From the 1976 catalog: From the 1977 catalog: White 1970 Professional 'E' serial number, oval headbadge.

• Raleigh Professional Serial Numbers
• Raleigh Serial Numbers Bicycles

• Sep 07, 2008  Note that the serial number information below is fragmentary and incomplete, and many bikes have proven to be much newer than the serial numbers would suggest. It appears that Raleigh recycled many of the older serial numbers in later years, so there are lots of bikes from the 60s and 70s that have serial numbers that would suggest much greater age.
• Nov 09, 2004  Date Raleigh by serial number? A couple of days ago I posted an inquiry about a Raleigh steel frame I have that has been painted by amateurs, and has no decals or anything on it. I suspect it is a premium quality frame due to several things.
• Serial Numbers Bicycles (except children's bicycles) are almost always required to have a frame or serial number. Many manufacturers use a date-code as part of the serial number.
• The Headbadge is a data and information source for vintage lightweight roadbikes, such as the Schwinn Paramount, and English 3-speeds. We host the most extensive Raleigh Sports and Raleigh serial database available on the internet. Try our all-new, online vintage bicycle Appraisal Services.
• Best Answer: There should be a serial number on the frame somewhere, the location depends on the year and model. Then find an online database and use the serial number to find out the year the bike was made.

This is a canonical question that will hopefully encompass all of the questions we get asking us to determine what year a bicycle was manufactured (how old is my bike, how old is my frame, etc.). Each 'answer' should address a different way to determine the manufacturing year of a bicycle. To some extent, these will also help you narrow down the model as well as it will tell you what distinguishing features to look at.

The span of answers would include things such as:

• Skiptooth cranks

• Cartridge bottom brackets (BB30/90 etc)

• Elliptical chainring

• Quick releases versus contemporary through-axles

• How the steerer attaches to the fork (quill vs. threadless)

• Braking system (especially with mountain bikes: v-brake, direct pull, etc.)

• Shifting ramps and pins on cassettes/sprockets and chainrings (versus flat sprockets)

• Frame material (e.g., shift from tubular steel to use of CF and hydroformed aluminium)

• Frame tubing type (e.g. Reynolds 531 tubing introduced around 1934, still used today; Reynolds 501 tubing introduced around 1983). So a frame with an original 501 decal can't be from the 70', 531 decal doesn't help as much because of the range of years produced. Also, see Decals.

*Decals: style/design, amount, placement, color, etc. can help not only determine models, but also year of manufacture. Many changed decal design for the same model bike often yearly, with special/limited editions even more specific. This applies only if decals are original or have been replaced with the identical design. Tubing decals (Reynolds, Columbus, etc.) also changed designs for same tubing made in different years, although the changes aren't made as often, and manufacturers didn't always put tubing Brand decals on every model. Earlier bikes tended to have less fancy, less colorful, less quantity of decals.

• Headbadges: most early bikes had actual 'badges', often quite detailed and fancy, made of metal, then plastic, and finally just using decals on the headtube. Most bikes lost their metal badges in the 60's and early 70's, although some brands still have actual badges to this day, but in general a real badge indicates an earlier model bike.

• Dropout style (including the later inclusion of lawyers lips)

• Presence or absence of CPSC reflectors (USA only)

• Manufacturing method (shift from lugs to TIG welding, for example)

• Number of gears (shift from 2x5 ten-speed to 3x8, 2x9, 1x11, etc.)

• Inspection of lug design: pantographs, cut-out, stampings, custom brazing/filing, chrome, fork crow n sweep, etc.

• Frame/Fork Braze-ons. Race bikes tended have less braze-ons the earlier the year of manufacture. Most 60's racers and earlier had few or none with cable guides/stops, shifters, bidons, etc. being clamp-on. By the 80's if it was clamp-on, it was a sign of very cheap models and most frames had braze-ons for all cables, with multiple bottle and accessory bosses depending on style and use.

and so forth. Please edit this question if you have an answer that isn't in the index above.

A couple of caveats:

1. A previous owner could have replaced or upgraded components on a bicycle, so this guide only applies to original equipment

2. There is a delay between the introduction of a technology (such as indexed shifting) and when manufacturers start selling products that use it. Low-end manufacturers may continue using technology that is severely outdated (such as one-piece cranks, freewheels, or quill stems) because it is cheaper to do so.

3. A number of bikes are built in a Retro style, but with modern components. Dutch bikes, trendy coffee cruisers, and beach cruisers may be modern but appear to be 1950s styling. These tend to have modern rims and brakes as a giveaway.

_{Note that bicycles.stackexchange does not do valuations of bicycles. How much your bicycle is worth depends on the location of the buyer and seller, how much the buyer wants the bike, etc. etc. etc.}

8 Answers

Serial Numbers

Bicycles (except children's bicycles) are almost always required to have a frame or serial number. Some manufacturers use a date-code as part of the serial number.

For example, a Brompton uses YYMMXXX as their serial code, so a Brompton with a serial number of 1306123456 was manufactured in 2013.06 or June 2013

Surly is another manufacturer who uses date codes, this time in their stamped frame numbers.

Manufacturers who don't use date codes

However, many bicycle manufacturers don't use date codes and so you can't easily decode their serial numbers. Some of these manufacturers will provide their own serial number lookups on their websites. Some of the other ones have been reverse-engineered by their rider communities. The best way to find out is to google 'manufacturername bicycle serial number date of manufacturer.'

See also the Mongoose answer is below

.

Literature (old catalogues, fan websites, etc.)

I managed to date my old Raleigh by finding scans of old catalogues online. That model was only sold in one particular year, but more often you'd get it to within a few years this way. There are many old cycling documents at Veteran-Cycle Club Online Library, including plenty that can be accessed for free. Searching for a brand and plausible year with 'catalogue' can often turn up sites dedicated to scans of that brand's literature; you may need to check more than one such site for good coverage.

This will only really work for a major brand that has a bit of a following, as it relies on someone uploading the catalogues. You also need a rough idea (e.g. from the components) to know which catalogues to look in.

Bikepedia is also useful, but mainly for confirming when you think you know a year, and only goes back to 1993.

This would also include fan websites, such as for:

• Mongoose - uses design features and serial numbers to date

Indexed and Electronic Shifting

Shimano introduced Shimano Indexed Shifting (SIS) in 1984. If a bicycle has indexed shifters, then it is model year 1985 or later -- assuming that the shifters and derailleurs haven't been replaced.

The first Shimano Di2 electronic shifters were introduced on a production bicycle by Giant in 2009.

Ask the Seller/Owner

A simple thing if you're receiving a bike is to ask the person selling it. Take their info with a grain of salt though - some sellers may lie to increase the perceived value of a bike.

However if someone gives you a bike, they might say 'I remember my dad riding this to work in the 80s while I was at school'

So this information may be authoritative, or it may be an indicator to be combined with other factors.

Style of Shifter (friction shifter, brifter, grip shifter)

Downtube or handlebar mounted friction shifters were common on bicycles until the early 1980s when indexed shifting was introduced by Shimano in 1984 (see Indexed Shifting).

Mountain bike trigger shifters were introduced by ... in ...

The first Grip Shifters were introduced by SRAM in 1989 for mountain bikes.

Brifters (combination brakes and shifters on road bikes) were introduced in 1990 with the Shimano Total Integration (STI) system.

Freewheel or Cassette (Freehub)

If your bicycle uses a cassette freehub for the rear sprockets, then it was likely made in the late 1980s or later. Shimano came out with the first commercial freehub in 1978 in the Dura-Ace series, but it took about a decade for it to make significant inroads.

Like many other technologies, cheaper bicycles (and notably, many e-bikes) have continued to use freewheels even today so only the presence of a freehub/cassette can be used as a positive indication of date:

• Freehub-cassette present as original equipment: the bike was likely made in the late 1980s or later
• Freewheel present as original equipment: you can't determine anything about its age just from this

Cottered Cranks

The use of cottered cranks was popular on bikes until the mid to late 1970s until they were replaced by square taper and splined bottom bracket designs.

Raleigh, for example, introduced square tapers on some models in 1973 and phased cotters out on all their models around 1978. Like many things, the shift to square tapered and splined brackets took some time so there were still some mainstream bike companies still using them in the early 1980s. However, a cottered crank is generally a good sign your bike is pre-1980.

In some factories in China and India that are still working off old blueprints, cottered spindles may still be in use in the manufacture of new bikes.

Mongoose specific

if you have mongoose this may be if some help..

Older Mongoose bikes made through the 1980’s had pretty easy serial numbers. Generally the year and month of build was stamped as the first part of the serial number. For example my 1986 Mongoose Expert has a serial number M6EG0652. The first number (6) relates to the year – 1986. The next letter relates to the month (E) is May based on the convention January (A), February (B), March (C), April (D), May (E), June (F), July (G), August (H), September (I), October (J), November (K), December (L). It is assumed that the G0652 is the production number. There were a few variations on this type of serial number, but usually they were pretty easy to work out.

There are much more difficulties when looking at Mongoose serial numbers through the 1990’s and 2000’s. I spent quite a bit of time looking into these numbers on a few of my bikes as well as checking against other Mongoose BMX owners to see if my serial number crack was right. It seems to hold up and here it is.

Mongoose serial numbers are usually found stamped on the bottom of the bottom bracket. This is not always the case and there will be some bikes that do not fit into this formula.

Mid-school Mongoose BMX bikes built through most of the 90’s have a serial number that begins with 4 letters. The 3rd letter corresponds to the year of manufacture.

The 4th letter indicates the Month

A few serial number examples are:

HFGB00000 – 4 letters, GB are the dates. G is the year (1997), B is the month (Feb)

HFBH00000 – 4 letters, BH are the dates. B is the year (1992), H is the month (Aug)

Raleigh Professional Serial Numbers

New-school Mongoose BMX bikes built through most of the 2000’s have a serial number that begins with 5 letters. The 4th letter corresponds to the year of manufacture and follows on from the mid-school serial numbers.

A few serial number examples are:

HAMME00000 – 5 letters, ME are the dates. M is the year (2003), E is the month (May)

SAJPJ00706 – 5 letters, PJ are the dates. P is the year (2006), J is the month (Oct)

Please note: The Mongoose serial number will give you the build date of your BMX. Frames were normally manufactured the year before being sold in bike shops. So a build date on a frame of 2003 usually means the bike was sold in stores in 2004. This is the case with the 2003 Mongoose Brawler 24 below. The Serial has a build date of 2003, the 2004/004 on the stickers indicate this was a 2004 model.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged identify-this-bikereference or ask your own question.

The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a British bicycle manufacturer based in Nottingham, England and founded in 1885 by Woodhead and Angois in 1885. Using Raleigh as their brand name, it is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. After being acquired by Frank Bowden in December 1888, it became The Raleigh Cycle Company, which was registered as a limited liability company in January 1889. By 1913, it was the largest bicycle manufacturing company in the world. From 1921 to 1935, Raleigh also produced motorcycles and three-wheel cars, leading to the formation of Reliant Motors. Raleigh bicycle is now a division of the Dutch corporation Accell.

In 2006, the Raleigh Chopper was named in the list of British design icons in the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the Design Museum.

• 1History

History[edit]

Early years[edit]

The history of Raleigh bicycles started in 1885, when Richard Morriss Woodhead from Sherwood Forest, and Paul Eugene Louis Angois, a French citizen, set up a small bicycle workshop in Raleigh Street, Nottingham, England. In the spring of that year, they started advertising in the local press. The Nottinghamshire Guardian of 15 May 1885 printed what was possibly the first Woodhead and Angois classified advertisement.

Raleigh Serial Numbers Bicycles

Nearly two years later, the 11 April 1887 issue of The Nottingham Evening Post contained a display advertisement for the Raleigh ‘Safety’ model under the new banner ‘Woodhead, Angois, and Ellis. Russell Street Cycle Works.’ William Ellis had recently joined the partnership and provided much-needed financial investment. Like Woodhead and Angois, Ellis's background was in the lace industry. He was a lace gasser, a service provider involved in the bleaching and treating of lace, with premises in nearby Clare Street and Glasshouse Street. Thanks to Ellis, the bicycle works had now expanded round the corner from Raleigh Street into former lace works on the adjoining road, Russell Street. By 1888, the company was making about three cycles a week and employed around half a dozen men.^[1] It was one of 15 bicycle manufacturers based in Nottingham at that time.^[2]

Frank Bowden, a recent convert to cycling who on medical advice had toured extensively on a tricycle, first saw a Raleigh bicycle in a shop window in Queen Victoria Street, London, about the time that William Ellis's investment in the cycle workshop was beginning to take effect.^[3] Bowden described how this led to him visiting the Raleigh works:

In the early part of 1887, while looking for a good specimen of the then new safety bicycle, I came across a Raleigh in London. Its patent changeable gear and other special features struck me as superior to all the others I had seen, and I purchased one upon which I toured extensively through France, Italy and England during 1887 and 1888. In the autumn of the latter year, happening to pass through Nottingham, and with the idea of, if possible, getting a still more up-to-date machine, I called upon Messrs. Woodhead and Angois, the originators and makers of the Raleigh …^[1]

It is clear from Frank Bowden's own account that, although he bought a Raleigh ‘Safety’ in 1887, he did not visit the Raleigh workshop until autumn 1888. That visit led to Bowden replacing Ellis as the partnership's principal investor, though Bowden did not become the outright owner of the firm. He concluded that the company had a profitable future if it promoted its innovative features, increased its output, cut its overhead costs and tailored its products to the individual tastes and preferences of its customers. He bought out William Ellis's share in the firm and was allotted 5,000 £1 shares, while Woodhead and Angois between them held another 5,000 shares.^[4]

In Frank Bowden's own lifetime, Raleigh publicity material stated that the firm was founded in 1888,^[5] which was when Bowden, as he himself confirmed, first bought into the enterprise. Thus, Raleigh's 30th anniversary was celebrated in 1918.^[6] The 1888 foundation date is confirmed by Bowden's great-grandson, Gregory Houston Bowden, who states that Frank Bowden 'began to negotiate with Woodhead and Angois and in December 1888 founded 'The Raleigh Cycle Company'.'^[7] The December 1888 foundation date is also confirmed by Nottinghamshire Archives.^[8] In recent years, the Raleigh company has cited 1887 as a foundation date but, whilst this pre-dates Bowden's involvement, the Raleigh brand name was created by Woodhead and Angois and the enterprise can, as demonstrated above, be traced back to 1885.

The company established by Bowden in December 1888 was still privately owned with unlimited public liability. In January 1889, it became the first of a series of limited liability companies with Raleigh in its name. It had a nominal capital of £20,000, half of which was provided by Frank Bowden. Paul Angois was appointed director responsible for product design, Richard Woodhead was made director responsible for factory management, and Frank Bowden became chairman and managing director. Some shares were made available to small investors and local businessmen, but take-up was minimal, and Bowden ended up buying most of the public shares. He subsequently supplied virtually all the capital needed to expand the firm.^[9]

When Frank Bowden got involved with the enterprise, the works comprised three small workshops and a greenhouse. As Woodhead, Angois and Ellis, the firm had expanded round the corner from Raleigh Street into Russell Street, where also stood Clarke's five-storey former lace factory. To enable further expansion of the business, Bowden financed the renting of this property and installation of new machinery.^[10]

Under Bowden's guidance, Raleigh expanded rapidly. By 1891, the company occupied not only Clarke's factory but also Woodroffe's Factory and Russell Street Mills.^[11] In November 1892, Raleigh signed a tenancy agreement for rooms in Butler's factory on the other side of Russell Street.^[12] Shortly after this, the company also occupied Forest Road Mill.^[13] (Forest Road junctions with Russell Street at the opposite end from Raleigh Street.)

Bowden created a business which, by 1913, was the biggest bicycle manufacturing company in the world, occupying seven and a half acres in purpose-built premises completed in 1897 at Faraday Road, Lenton, Nottingham.^[14] It subsequently became very much bigger.

Sir Frank Bowden died in 1921 and his son Sir Harold Bowden, 2nd Baronet took over aschairman and chief executive, guiding the company through the next 17 years of expansion.^[15][16]

Humber Cycles

There was a resurgence in domestic and export demand for pedal bicycles and by February 1932 Raleigh had acquired all the Humber Limited trade marks. Manufacture was transferred to Raleigh's Nottingham works.^[17] Raleigh-made Humbers differed from Raleighs only in chainwheels, fork crowns and some brakework.^[5]

During the Second World War, the Raleigh factory in Nottingham was used for the production of fuzes. Bicycle production was reduced to approximately 5% of its peacetime capacity.^[16]

In 1939, Raleigh opened a bicycle factory at 6 Hanover Quay, Dublin, Ireland and commenced bicycle production there. The Raleigh (Ireland) business expanded and moved to 8–11 Hanover Quay, Dublin in 1943. The plant produced complete bicycles and Sturmey-Archer hubs, and remained in production until 1976, when the factory burned down. Models produced there latterly were the Chopper and Triumph 20. The head badges changed in the late 1960s, possibly after the passing of the Trade Descriptions Act in the UK. Dublin-made machines no longer had 'Nottingham England' on the Heron or Triumph head badge, the panel being left blank instead.

Motor vehicles[edit]

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 speed of 55 mph (89 km/h). 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 1950s and 1960s as the bicycle market declined. The most popular of which was the RM6 Runabout. This model featured unsprung front forks and a cycle type calliper front brake which made it a very affordable mode of transport. Because of its success, production continued until February 1971; 17 months after Raleigh had stopped manufacturing all other mopeds.

Post-war U.S. export market[edit]

After World War II, Raleigh became known for its lightweight sports roadster bicycles, often using Sturmey-Archer three and five-speed transmissions. These cycles were considerably lighter and quicker than either the old heavy English utility roadster or the American 'balloon-tire' cruiser bikes. In 1946, Raleigh and other English bicycle manufacturers accounted for 95% of the bicycles imported into the United States.^[18]

Raleigh's sports roadster, or British racer bicycles were exported around the world, including the United States. The company continued to increase imports to the United States until 1955, when a rate increase in foreign bicycle tariffs caused a shift in imports in favour of bicycles from West Germany and the Netherlands. However, this proved only a temporary setback, and by 1964, Raleigh was again a major selling brand in the US bicycle market.^[19]

Raleigh RSW[edit]

In 1965, Raleigh introduced the RSW 16, its long-awaited competitor to the hugely successful Moulton Bicycle. The new Raleigh shared several important features with the Moulton, including small wheels, an open frame and built-in luggage carrying capacity.

However, the RSW lacked the Moulton's suspension, which compensated for the bumpy ride that comes with small wheels.^[20] Instead, Raleigh fitted the RSW with balloon tyres, which effectively smoothed the ride but at the cost of increased rolling resistance. Nevertheless, the RSW was pleasant to ride, and Raleigh's extensive retail network ensured its success.

The success of the RSW took sales away from the Moulton and put the maker into financial difficulties. Raleigh then bought out Moulton and produced both bikes until 1974. Raleigh also produced a sister model to the RSW, the 'Twenty', which was more successful and remained in production well into the 1980s.

Expansion and mergers[edit]

While bicycle production had steadily risen through the mid-1950s, the British market began to decline with the increasing affordability and popularity of the motor car. For much of the postwar era, British bicycle manufacturers had largely competed with each other in both the home and export markets, but 1956 saw the formation of the British Cycle Corporation by the Tube Investments Group which already owned Phillips, Hercules, Armstrong, and Norman. In 1957, Raleigh bought the BSA Cycles Ltd., BSA's bicycle division, which gave them exclusive use of the former brand names New Hudson and Sunbeam. Raleigh also already owned the Robin Hood brand, and Three Spires with Triumph (cycles) also at their disposal.

BSA had itself acquired Triumph Cycle Co. Ltd. only five years previously. Ti added the Sun bicycle company to their stable in 1958, and with two 'super groups' now controlling a large portion of the market, it was perhaps inevitable that in 1960, Tube Investments acquired Raleigh and merged the British Cycle Corporation with Raleigh to form TI–Raleigh, which now had 75% of the UK market. TI–Raleigh then acquired Carlton Cycles in Worksop, England that same year, at the time one of the largest semi-custom lightweight makers in the UK. Ti Raleigh gave total control of its cycle division to Raleigh and soon set about marketing many of the acquired names as budget ranges, though with Raleigh frames. The old British Cycle Corporation factory at Handsworth continued to produce non Raleigh branded product well into the 1970s, with Raleigh branded models built in the main plant at Nottingham. However, the Sun branded bicycles were made in the Carlton factory at Worksop, England.

As a vertically integrated manufacturer in the mid-1960s, TI–Raleigh owned Brooks (one of the oldest saddle makers in the world), Sturmey-Archer (pioneer of 3-speed hubs), and Reynolds (maker of 531 tubing). Carlton, which had been unable to make inroads in the USA market after a failed rebranding deal with Huffy, found success in the late 1960s by recasting itself as 'Raleigh-Carlton', a Raleigh-logo'd bike with some Carlton badging, and using the US dealer network to import and distribute bikes.

The Raleigh Chopper[edit]

The Raleigh Chopper was designed by Nottingham native Alan Oakley,^[21] though this has been disputed by Cambridge designer Tom Karen.^[22] The Chopper was patented in the UK in 1967 and patented in the US in 1968. The bike was the 'must have' item and signifier of 'coolness'^[23] for many children at the time.^[24][25] The Chopper was first available for sale in June 1969 in North America. It went on sale in the UK in 1970 and sold well, and was a key factor in reviving the company's fortunes. The Chopper featured a 3-speed Sturmey-Archer gear hub, shifted using a top-tube mounted gear lever reminiscent of the early Harley-Davidsonsuicide shifter — 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. Two smaller versions, the Chipper and Tomahawk, also sold well.

The Mk 2 Chopper was an improved version from 1972. It had the option of five-speed derailleur gears in the United States, but all UK bikes had the 3 speed hub, with the exception of a model introduced in 1973 and only available in a bizarre shade of pink. This model was discontinued in 1976. The Mk 2 had a shorter seat and the frame modified to move the rear of the seat forward, this helped prevent the bike tipping up. The shorter seat also made it harder to ride '2 up' (2 people on the bike at a time). The Chopper remained in production until 1982, when the rising popularity of the BMX bicycle caused sales to drop off.

Raleigh revisited the chopper design in recent times, with great success although the new version has had some changes to conform to modern safety laws. Gone is the top tube shifter and long integrated seat, but the look and feel of the bike remain.

1979-present reorganisations[edit]

In 1979, production of Raleigh 531 butted-tube bicycles reached 10,000 units a year. In 1980, the former Carlton factory at Worksop closed and production was moved to a Lightweights facility at Nottingham. However, all bicycles made there afterward still carried the W for Worksop frame number designation. In 1982, rights to the Raleigh USA name were purchased by the Huffy Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, Raleigh of England licensed Huffy to design and distribute Raleigh bicycles in the US,^[26] and Huffy was given instant access to a nationwide network of bike shops. The renamed Raleigh Cycle Company of America sold bikes in the US while the rest of the world, including Canada, received Raleigh of England bikes. At that time, production of some U.S. Raleigh models were shifted to Japan, with Bridgestone manufacturing most of these bikes. By 1984, all Raleighs for the American market, except the top-of-the range Team Professional (made in Ilkeston) and Prestige road bikes (made in Nottingham), were produced in the Far East.^{[citation needed]} Meanwhile, in the home market, Raleigh had broken into the new UK BMX market with their Burner range, which was very successful.

In 1987, the leading German bicycle manufacturer Derby Cycle bought Raleigh from Ti and Raleigh USA from Huffy. In 1988, Derby opened a factory in Kent, Washington manufacturing two Raleigh lines, the bimetallic Technium road bike line, which used heat-treated aluminum main frame tubes, thermally bonded and heat-cured to internal steel lugs using a Boeing-developed proprietary epoxy — along with chromoly steel head tube and rear stays. Kent also manufactured the off-road chromoly steel Altimetric line (Tangent CX, Traverse CX, Tactic CX and Talon CX 1991-1992). The factory closed in 1994. All Raleigh Cycle Company of America parts and frames from 1995 on were then mass-produced in China and Taiwan and assembled in other plants.

The high-end framesets offered for sale in Raleigh catalogues together with the frames built for Team riders were produced in Ilkeston by the Special Bicycle Developments Unit (SBDU) from 1974 to 1989 under the guidance of Gerald V O'Donovan; this production was moved to a new 'Raleigh Special Products' division in Nottingham on closure of the Kent factory.

Raleigh Canada had a factory in Waterloo, Quebec from 1972 to 2013.^[27] Derby Cycle acquired Diamondback Bicycles in 1999.^[28] In the same year, Raleigh ceased volume production of frames in the UK and its frame-making equipment were sold by auction.^[29]

In 2000, Derby Cycle controlled Raleigh USA, Raleigh UK, Raleigh Canada, and Raleigh Ireland. In the latter three markets, Raleigh was the number-one manufacturer of bicycles.^[28] Derby Cycle began a series of divestitures, because of financial pressure and sold Sturmey-Archer's factory site to the University of Nottingham and Sturmey-Archer and saddle manufacturer Brooks to a small company called Lenark. Lenark promised to build a new factory in Calverton but failed to pay the first instalment and the company entered liquidation. It was reported that the reason for selling the business, after extracting the cash for the factory site, was to have Lenark declare it insolvent so that neither Derby nor Lenark would have to pay the redundancy costs. Sturmey-Archer's assets were acquired by SunRace of Taiwan who relocated the factory to Taiwan and sales to the Netherlands. Sister company Brooks was sold to Selle Royal of Italy.

In 2001, following continuing financial problems at Derby Cycle, there was a management buy-out of all the remaining Raleigh companies led by Alan Finden-Crofts.^[30]

By 2003, assembly of bicycles had ended in the UK with 280 assembly and factory staff made redundant, and bicycles were to come 'from Vietnam and other centres of 'low-cost, high-quality' production.'^[29] with final assembly takes place in Cloppenburg, Germany.

In 2012, Derby was acquired by Pon, a Dutch company, as part of their new bicycle group, which also owns Gazelle and Cervélo. Pon now sell Raleigh under licence throughout Germany.^[31]

In April 2012, Raleigh UK, Canada and USA were acquired by a separate Dutch group Accell for £62m (US$100m), whose portfolio includes the Lapierre and Ghost bicycle brands.^[32]

Sport[edit]

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. In the mid-1980s the Raleigh team was co-sponsored by Panasonic. In 1984, riding Raleigh-badged bicycles, Team USA scored several impressive victories at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The company also supplied bicycles to the French Système U team in the late 1980s where Laurent Fignon lost the 1989 Tour de France to Greg LeMond by 8 seconds. 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. During the 1980s Raleigh also supported British professional teams, including Raleigh Banana and Raleigh Weinmann. Raleigh's most notable riders were Paul Sherwin, Malcolm Elliott, Mark Bell, Paul Watson, Jon Clay and Jeff Williams.^[33] It also sponsored a mountain bike team in the early 1990s that also raced in road events.

In 2009 it was announced that the company would be creating a new Continental-level cycling team called Team Raleigh.^[34] The Team were co-sponsored by the global shipping and logistics firm GAC in 2012 and were known as Team Raleigh-GAC. The season was notable for Team Raleigh's first victory in the Tour Series Round 6 and a succession of Premier Calendar wins, which resulted in team rider Graham Briggs finishing the season at the top of British Cycling's UK Elite Men's standings. Raleigh once again became the sole headline sponsor of the team in 2013 and the team re-paid the investment with high-profile wins in the Tour de Normandie, Tour of the Reservoir and Tour Series Rounds 1 and 2.

Archives[edit]

The Raleigh archives, including the Sturmey-Archer papers, are at Nottinghamshire Record Office.

Historic models[edit]

• Tangent CX 1991-92
• Traverse CX 1991-92
• Tactic CX 1991-92
• Talon CX 1991-92

In media[edit]

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, the 1958 debut novel by Alan Sillitoe, is partly set in Raleigh's Nottingham factory, Sillitoe himself being an ex-employee of the firm. Several scenes for the 1960 film adaptation starring Albert Finney were filmed on location at the factory itself.^[35] In the 1985 movie American Flyers, David Sommers played by David Marshall Grant, is seen riding through St. Louis, Missouri, on a Raleigh bicycle from that same era. Later in the film, specialized bicycles are used for the race scenes in Colorado and training. In the 1986 bike messenger film Quicksilver a variety of Raleigh USA bicycles are used. 1984–85 road bikes^[36] are used throughout by notable players in the movie. Kevin Bacon's bicycle is a singlespeed '84 Raleigh Competition. While no differentiation is made in the film, at least three different configurations are seen on Bacon's bike during the movie: fixed-gear, singlespeed, and outfitted with 0-degree trick forks during various scenes in Bacon's apartment. A possible freewheel is suggested early in the film when Bacon dismounts while in motion and a distinct clicking sound is heard until the bike stops moving. A 1984/5 Raleigh Grand Prix is used for the opening chase sequence, and a 1984 or '85 Super Course makes a brief appearance in the opening credits.^{[citation needed]}

See also[edit]

• The Fun Zimbabwe Ride 2009 – Raleigh donated bicycles to ensure the ride would take place.

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abBowden F, ‘To the Public’, The Book of the Raleigh, Raleigh, Nottingham, 1903, p.8
2. ^Harrison A E, ‘The Competitiveness of the British Cycle Industry, 1890–1914’, The Economic History Review, News Series, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Aug 1969), p.289
3. ^‘Rutulan’, Souvenir of the Raleigh Works, Raleigh, 1922, p.4
4. ^Lloyd-Jones R & Lewis MJ with Eason M, Raleigh and The British Bicycle Industry, Ashgate, Aldershot, 2000, pp.47–49
5. ^ ^abHadland T, Raleigh: Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand, Cycle Publishing, San Francisco, 2011, fig.8.3
6. ^Hadland T, Raleigh: Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand, Cycle Publishing, San Francisco, 2011, p.52
7. ^Bowden GH, The Story of the Raleigh Cycle, Allen, London, 1975, p.16
8. ^Dorrington M et al, Turning Back the Pages of Raleigh Cycles of Nottingham, Nottinghamshire County Council, 2007, p.2
9. ^Lloyd-Jones R & Lewis MJ with Eason M, Raleigh and The British Bicycle Industry, Ashgate, Aldershot, 2000, pp.49–50
10. ^Lloyd-Jones R & Lewis MJ with Eason M, Raleigh and The British Bicycle Industry, Ashgate, Aldershot, 2000, p.50
11. ^Raleigh catalogue, 1892, p.1
12. ^Nottinghamshire Archives DD/RN/1/1/1
13. ^Raleigh catalogue, 1893, p.3
14. ^'£5.2 million University of Nottingham deal will build on business heritage'^{[permanent dead link]}. Nottingham Post. Retrieved 4 May 2016
15. ^'Raleigh: Cycles'. gracesguide.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
16. ^ ^ab'Wheels of Fortune - The Story of Raleigh Cycles of Nottingham'. nottinghamshire.gov.uk.
17. ^Roger Lloyd-Jones, Myrddin John Lewis, Mark Eason, Raleigh and the British Bicycle Industry: An Economic and Business History, 1870-1960, Ashgate Publishing, 2000. ISBN1859284574
18. ^Petty, Ross D., Pedaling Schwinn Bicycles: Marketing Lessons from the Leading Post-World War II U.S. Bicycle Brand, Babson College, MA (2007), pp. 5–6 ArticleArchived 14 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
19. ^Petty, Ross D., Pedaling Schwinn Bicycles, pp. 5–6
20. ^Conolly, Brian. 'Small wheel obsession'. bootiebike.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
21. ^'Raleigh Chopper designer Alan Oakley dies from cancer'. BBC. 20 May 2012. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2012.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
22. ^'I designed the Chopper, argues Cambridge inventor'. BikeBiz. 21 January 2004. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
23. ^'Chopper bike'. Bike Hugger. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2009.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
24. ^Finlo, Finlo (15 January 2004). 'Design classic that entranced kids'. BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
25. ^'Raleigh Chopper'. DoYouRemember Ltd. Archived from the original on 14 June 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2009.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
26. ^'Raleigh Museum'. Mombat.org. 21 August 2001. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2009.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
27. ^'Raleigh quitte définitivement Waterloo'. Granby Express. 3 December 2013. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
28. ^ ^ab'Raleigh in the Last Quarter of the 20th Century'. Hadland.me.uk. Archived from the original on 18 April 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2009.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
29. ^ ^ab'Raleigh in the last quarter of the 20th century'. Archived from the original on 18 April 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2006.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
30. ^'Non-Australian manuf articles'. Canberrabicyclemuseum.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
31. ^Steve Frothingham (19 February 2012). 'Cervélo's White: We can grow by delivering'. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
32. ^'Raleigh sold to Accell for $100m'. Bike Radar. 26 April 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2012.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
33. ^Cycling. 'Raleigh - Weinmann 1986'. cyclingarchives.com.
34. ^Hedwig Kröner. 'Raleigh back in the peloton from 2010'. Cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2015.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
35. ^'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning - visiting some of the filming locations'. ciaranbrown.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)
36. ^'1984 Raleigh USA catalog'(PDF). bulgier.net. Archived(PDF) from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)

Further reading[edit]

• Hadland, Tony (2011). Raleigh: Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand. Van Der Plas Publications. ISBN9781892495686

A much expanded version of the text of this book, with full academic referencing, is held by the National Cycle Archive at Warwick University for the benefit of serious researchers.

External links[edit]

• Raleigh Bicycles The Raleigh Heritage Timeline.
• Raleigh Denmark Makes older Raleigh bikes.
• Raleigh Germany, part of Derby Cycle, produced for German-speaking countries only.^[1]
• Raleigh bicycle at the Open Directory Project
• Retro-Raleighs – models and year identification for high-end USA Raleighs, 1960–1980, maintained by Sheldon Brown

1. ^Bikes, Raleigh. 'Raleigh Bikes: Best of Britain'. www.raleigh-bikes.de. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.Cite uses deprecated parameter |deadurl= (help)