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My first trip to a real bike shop resulted in the purchase of a brand new Raleigh. I remember straddling the bike in the shop, tilting from side to side as my toes reached for the ground but the training wheels caught me first. I remember the spokey dokes and streamers I selected from the pegboard display and the gleeful feeling that a bike such as this proved without a doubt I was growing up. The bike that my father and I wheeled away from the shop was blue and beautiful, made even worthier in my eyes by the jealousy of my older neighbor Stephen who insisted that “Raleigh bikes are the best bikes in the world.” Soon after, dad removed the training wheels.

The feeling of freedom that bicycle gave me, the speed that whipped my ponytail into knots as I rode, the badges of honor resulting from crusted blood on my post-crash knees – those memories and feelings engrained that Raleigh, my first bicycle, in my memory, and founded an obsession for the bicycle that has followed me into my adult life. Given the history of the Raleigh, I’m sure I’m not alone.

Perhaps one of the most recognized bicycle brands in the world, the Raleigh Cycle Company emerged from a modest twelve-person operation on Raleigh Street in Nottingham, England in 1886 producing 3 bicycles a week. Frank Bowden, an ill lawyer and businessman given less than 6 months to live, purchased a bike from the workshop under advice from his doctor, “If you want to save your life, take up cycling”. With that one sentence the course of the bicycle’s history changed for the better.

Impressed with his purchase, Bowden not only recovered from his illness but also decided to purchase interest in the small company that made his bike. In December 1887, the Raleigh Cycle Company was established and the bicycle began its journey towards mass production.

9 years later Raleigh moved into a 7.5-acre factory in the town of Radford, and became the biggest bicycle manufacturing plant in the world. The newly public company employed 850 workers and pumped out over 30 000 bicycles per year. In 1902, with the purchase of Sturmey Archer, Raleigh set itself up to offer 3 speed internal gearing on its bikes. Sturmey Archer’s 3 speed internal hubs, feared today by mechanics worldwide due to their complexity and intricacies, were to become a legend in their own right.

Although the 1930’s brought depression to much of North America and Europe hitting industry and export sectors particularly hard, Raleigh fared well, purchasing Humber Cycles in 1932 and continuing to profit as the Depression years pressed on towards the war. The three-speed bicycle was gaining popularity as a vehicle for transportation and the bicycle truly settled into a utilitarian role. During the 30’s Raleigh also tried its hand at car and motorcycle manufacture, but by 1938 the company dropped its motorized products and once again turned its concentration to pedal power.

During the war years the Raleigh production facilities were relinquished to munitions manufacture but as the war ended Raleigh boosted its bicycle production and despite, or perhaps because of shortages in fuel, achieved an annual export of nearly 750 000 bikes. This trend continued into the 50’s when prosperity changed the bicycle market and Raleigh sales plummetted. Suddenly Raleigh found itself floundering and turned once again to motorized vehicles, this time building mopeds and motorized scooters to try and bump up sales. Things didn’t start improving until Raleigh took over Triumph and Birmingham Small Arms and then joined forces with Tube Investments. The acquisition of Carlton Cycles, a specialty race bike manufacturer, occurred in 1960.

A need to increase sales pushed Raleigh to consider and try new bicycle designs. The 60’s saw Raleigh come through with a version of Moulton’s small-wheeled cycled, marketed with the slogan “World’s most sophisticated His and Hers Bicycles.” The RSW and RSW Compact featured 16” wheels with “wide profile tires to cushion bumps”, 3-speed gearing with twist grip shifting, a quick release saddle and stem, fenders and a detachable carrier bag. The compact model folded for easy storage. The RSW was sold as a commuter and shopping vehicle and proved to be a popular design. Unfortunately for Raleigh and Moulton, the direct competition between the companies meant that neither enjoyed much profit from the commuting bike design. In 1967 Moulton threw in the towel as Raleigh purchased the company. The following year Raleigh’s Twenty Folder, an RSW-like model with caliper brakes, a kickstand and pump, became the sales booster Raleigh was waiting for.

Raleigh’s next bold design move came in the form of the Chopper. Following on the coat tails of companies like Schwinn, Raleigh entered into the high-rise handlebar market with the cycle it touted as a “Wild New Fun Bike”. A sales pitch that read more like a car ad than a bike promotion pushed the chopper into the public eye and rocked the British bicycle world. The Chopper featured “extras” unlike any of it’s predecessors – an dragster seat designed to provide a “Rocking chair ride”, Single or Dual Stick shifting in a top tube mounted “console” to change the 3 or 5 speed Sturmey Archer Hub gearing, different sized wheels with slick and studded tires, chromed roll bars and fenders, and a variety of colors and styles. As Raleigh moved into the recreational bicycle market it saved itself from the decline of the commuter bicycle force that had previously sustained it. Raleigh, the “traffic-beating, mind-blowing, body-building, shop-hopping, fare-saving, Tour-de-France winning, boot-fitting, rip-roaring bike” was working its way into every age group and niche.

In 1976 Raleigh continued its innovative foray into bicycle creation with the Grifter, a bike that is now seen as the precursor to the BMX. The heavy-framed bike with its motorcycle styling influences and throttle-like shifting became the next fad in bicycles. Unfortunately for Raleigh it banked on the Grifter’s 3-speed setup and missed out on the initial boom of BMX. The company may have missed out entirely but for a cycle-savvy secretary by the name of Yvonne Rix took an interest in marketing and brought the company into the BMX era with the Burner.

The Burner series moved Raleigh into the 80’s with a re-launch that emphasized lightweight rigidity. Extensive use of oval Cro-moly tubes made the Burner a seriously desirable BMX bike and millions were sold. The bike was even featured in its own board game produced by Waddingtons in 1985.

While BMX was making a mark amongst the youth of Europe and North America, a smaller revolution in the bicycle world was firing up from the west coast of the USA. In Cupertino, California, a group of bikers known as the Morrow Dirt Club began experimenting with modifications to old one-speed bikes that rendered them worthy of friendly competition on dirt. Joe Breeze, one of the legendary Repack riders of Mt. Tamalpais, is credited by many as the first actual builder of a mountain bike. Tom Ritchey, Gary Fisher and Charlie Kelly were amongst the innovators who helped Breeze bring mountain bikes to public acceptance during the late 70’s and early 80’s, starting a trend that continues to diversify and grow even today.

On a trip to the USA, Yvonne Rix picked up the notion that the mountain bike was the next hot thing. Despite the fact that Raleigh saw a mountain bike as a ridiculous product in a mountain-less country such as England, Rix persevered for several years until finally the company agreed to give the genre a go. Unfortunately, mountain bikes were not a popular item for the company until things changed drastically in 1987 when a private company called Derby bought Raleigh. Derby dismissed many of Raleigh’s upper management, promoted Yvonne Rix and saw mountain bike sales climb into the millions as buyers of all ages jumped on the bandwagon.

Rix, with her marketing ingenuity, predicted a shift in the needs of bicycle buyers. She anticipated that average cyclists would appreciate many of the features offered by mountain bikes such as the upright position and wide gearing range, but that they’d quickly lose patience with the weight of the bikes and rolling resistance of knobby tires. Rix envisioned a road-worthy bicycle that combined the upright position and comfort of a mountain bike with a lighter frame and skinnier tires. With the Pioneer line, the hybrid bicycle was born.

The next push into the commuter market came in the form of Yvonne Rix’s final innovation – the electric bicycle. Before retiring in 1988 Rix introduced the battery-assisted bicycle. The product was, unfortunately, a short-lived flop which retired not long after Rix.

Mountain bike popularity grew rapidly in the late 80’s and early 90’s, especially in the US. Raleigh noted a market for higher-end mountain bikes for off-road riding and racing. Raleigh’s M-Trax brand of mountain bikes was launched as a competition line and in 1989 a team was established to support the brand. Raleigh changed it’s marketing tune to reflect a belief that the bikes it created must include the highest end available and a Special Products development unit was set to the task of creating the ultimate race machines for Raleigh’s mountain bike team.

In the 1990s it was becoming apparent that the facilities at Nottingham were no longer efficient for the level of production that Raleigh had achieved. A look at restructuring the company led Derby to announce in 1999 that the Nottingham facilities would cease to manufacture bicycles, limiting its operations to painting and some assemblies. The change was seen as a blow to the workers and residents who saw Raleigh’s place as monumental in the history of their town. For Derby, however, the closure was just one step in a plan to make Raleigh a company that could compete globally, not just on a national basis.

Today Raleigh produces bikes in Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Near Nottingham Raleigh maintains a distribution center but bicycle production and assembly there has ceased entirely. As the quality of bicycles produced in the Far East improved, Raleigh joined many other bike companies in a push to farm out manufacturing in an effort to improve price points, increase sales and remain competitive. Raleigh’s image is no longer sexy or innovative – rather the company produces bikes that make a name for themselves based on value. According to Bike Magazine “Raleigh USA’s brand identity has always centered on value. For years now, Raleigh has been the brand that gave consumers the most bang for their buck.” Undoubtedly that same bang for the buck enticed my quality-conscious father to buy my first Raleigh and Frank Bowden to purchase the company that ultimately led the industrial revolution of the bicycle.

In the Gallery:
Raleigh Album

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