Pedalling Dreams: The Raleigh Story

[choke]

An hour long BBC documentary on Raleigh....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty-subi1qRg

[DarkStar]

Long time lust for a Raleigh Professional, thanks for the link.

[roguedog]

Thanks! Put it in my watch list.

[Black Dog]

Great stuff. Thanks.

[91Bear]

When I was 13, I bought a Raleigh Rambler MX - the first bike I bought with my own money.

[alancw3]

thanks for sharing. my first "racing" bike was a 1958 raleigh lenton grand prix. benelux derailleurs. front was shifted by a rod attached to the seat tube. one of the most popular "out of the box racers" back then. i remember shoveling snow and mowing lawns all year to buy that bike. $112 complete with tool kit, rear saddle bag, brooks saddle, weinman brakes and large flange hubs.

[charliedid]

Thanks

Like

[bluesea]

Cool, my first real road bike was a green Super Course.

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by bluesea

Cool, my first real road bike was a green Super Course.

My first real bike was a Raleigh Grand Prix, 1972 I believe. Dark metallic red with black panels, Simplex shifters.

Tim

[quattro]

Originally Posted by DarkStar

Long time lust for a Raleigh Professional, thanks for the link.

As a 13 year old I had a crush on the Raleigh Professional and International. Both beautiful bikes in the early '70's.

I am hoping to sell this Raleigh 3-speed that belonged to my Uncle. It was purchased New in about 1939-39, has been in his basement unridden for the last 50 years, a nice piece of history. Does anyone know who much something like this is worth and the best place to list it for sale?
Thanks,
quattro

[alancw3]

you might try selling on classic rendezvous:

http://www.classicrendezvous.com

[BdaGhisallo]

1:40 in - how do I get my hair to do that?

[mcteague]

I'm surprised they didn't cover the bike boom in the early 70s in the US. That must have helped the bottom line.

Tim

[alancw3]

Originally Posted by mcteague

I'm surprised they didn't cover the bike boom in the early 70s in the US. That must have helped the bottom line.

Tim

they did. raleigh was a huge player in the bike market in the 60's, 70's and 80's.. actually either number 1 or number 2 with schwinn. interesting how both companies ended up in the same situation selling off to conglomerates that then cheapen the bikes by exporting production to achieve reduced costs in effect lowering the companies to the huffies and columbias of the world which had also gone through this medamorphisis several years earlier. they where two great bike companies that struggled with changing times. that being said who knows if any bike company could have survived in it's original form back then with union regulations and increasing overhead. ashamed for history as they were the two dominant bike companies that gave consumers great choices of quality built bikes. i think that was when consumers became more interested in price than quality. have we not seen that in all other areas of our lives since then. what i call the walmart or kmart effect. actually in some ways it is almost hard to find a quality product today but that is the life that we have all come to.

[mcteague]

Originally Posted by alancw3

they did. raleigh was a huge player in the bike market in the 60's, 70's and 80's.. actually either number 1 or number 2 with schwinn. interesting how both companies ended up in the same situation selling off to conglomerates that then cheapen the bikes by exporting production to achieve reduced costs in effect lowering the companies to the huffies and columbias of the world which had also gone through this medamorphisis several years earlier. they where two great bike companies that struggled with changing times. that being said who knows if any bike company could have survived in it's original form back then with union regulations and increasing overhead. ashamed for history as they were the two dominant bike companies that gave consumers great choices of quality built bikes. i think that was when consumers became more interested in price than quality. have we not seen that in all other areas of our lives since then. what i call the walmart or kmart effect. actually in some ways it is almost hard to find a quality product today but that is the life that we have all come to.

They seemed to jump right to the Ti Raleigh days which were late in the 70s and early 80s. I was thinking more around 1970 when "10 speeds" really stated to take off in the US.

Tim