Raleigh

[pete75]

Something very pleasing about this.

[Bonzo Banana]

I know most of the current Raleigh bikes are pretty low end coming out of fairly low end factories but still the Raleigh brand has a certain magic to it I guess because my first bikes were Raleigh. I had a Raleigh Chopper and my first new bike was a Raleigh Arena. When I started work one of the first larger purchases I made was a Raleigh Royal Export from the cycle shop which was next door to where I worked.

[sjs]

When I was 11 I rescued my 14-years-older brother's abandoned all-steel bicycle from the back of our garage, and with the help of some mates got it back on the road. I rode it for more than 10 years, including some quite long rides, before he unexpectedly asked for it back. That was around 40 years ago. If he still has it I might try to get it back and repeat the process.

[Bonzo Banana]

My brother used to have a lovely Carlton road bike which I think he swapped for a Puch Maxi moped. I wish I could have nabbed that as it was a lovely bike with centre pull brakes and beautiful lugged frame.

[pete75]

My first proper bike was the Space Rider Junior which was £15 9s 6d on the poster. Would have been about 1959-60. Quite expensive because dad only earned about 20 quid a week back then.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
I think around about 59 60 a labourers wage was about £8.50 a week.
My first bike had rod brakes, It was probably a single speed with the Free Wheel, 10 shillings secondhand, I had to share it with my other sibling, You can imagine the falling out over whose day it was to ride the bike.

[francovendee]

Although no longer made in the UK I still get pleasure when I see one on the road, even the modern ones.
Nostalgia for the carefree days spent on mine in the 50's.
I still ride a Raleigh and although it's nothing special I'll hate it when it gets beyond repair.

[Oldjohnw]

My only bike today is my almost 20 year old Raleigh. Used most days and several camping touring holidays each year. The last of the British 'made'.

It may be boring and may be the object of ridicule by some ("I wouldn't be seen dead on one of them"), but it is all I need. I ride a bike for gentle, laid back pleasure. I don't break speed records or enter beauty competitions. I'm old and thick skinned.

[pwa]

The main thing I get from that advert is the memory of a time when people were materially poorer than they tend to be these days, and a bicycle was a really special thing that meant something. Perhaps it is because I was young and things make more of an impression when you are young, but I have stronger memories of a humble second hand Raleigh that I had around the age of eight than I do of expensive bikes that I had as an adult. The Raleigh wasn't a great bike when looked at objectively. I remember the speckled rust on the chromed steel bars, for example, and the poor brakes, and the weight. All that is the past, of course, and it is gone. Raleigh was about British made bikes produced in high volumes and anything made outside the UK carrying that badge is just a sham. I wish they would kill off the brand and leave us with our memories.

[CliveyT]

Mrs T still rides (and loves) her 80's Richmond lady . It's altered a bit over the years- up to 18 speed from the original 5, dynamo lighting. It'll be up on teh stand this weekend for an overhaul. Hopefully we'll get another 30 years out of it.

[pete75]

Hi,
I think around about 59 60 a labourers wage was about £8.50 a week.
My first bike had rod brakes, It was probably a single speed with the Free Wheel, 10 shillings secondhand, I had to share it with my other sibling, You can imagine the falling out over whose day it was to ride the bike.

That's why people were so keen to get their sons into an apprenticeship back then. Skilled men earned a lot more.

[squeaker]

My brother used to have a lovely Carlton road bike which I think he swapped for a Puch Maxi moped. I wish I could have nabbed that as it was a lovely bike with centre pull brakes and beautiful lugged frame.

A bit like this? (sold long ago: I didn't get on with drops, and had a thing about hub gears...)

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

Hi,
I think around about 59 60 a labourers wage was about £8.50 a week.
My first bike had rod brakes, It was probably a single speed with the Free Wheel, 10 shillings secondhand, I had to share it with my other sibling, You can imagine the falling out over whose day it was to ride the bike.

That's why people were so keen to get their sons into an apprenticeship back then. Skilled men earned a lot more.

I just looked it up and the average wage was £12-£14, but of course I was talking of the south-west which is always very much lower.
Ciny eight cameras I worked out once were about three months wages in the 60s.
So if you've got a home video from back then it's obvious that you were pretty well off.

[Bonzo Banana]

My brother used to have a lovely Carlton road bike which I think he swapped for a Puch Maxi moped. I wish I could have nabbed that as it was a lovely bike with centre pull brakes and beautiful lugged frame.

A bit like this? (sold long ago: I didn't get on with drops, and had a thing about hub gears...)

I've just had a look out of curiosity to see if I could find a similar bike and this looks very similar.

[Si]

I know that they have a very special place in many people's hearts - they weren't necessarily the very best bikes but, like for me, they were the first 'proper' bikes we had (grifter then Arena for me).

Modern raleighs aren't viewed in the same way (as mentioned, far Eastern products now), but they still hold a special place in my heart. I have a modern raleigh hybrid and really like it, but more importantly, I worked on a project with Raleigh that gave away, free of charge, over 5000 bikes to some of the most needy people in our local communities.......loads of which I still see being used today. As said up thread....bikes for people who are materially poorer, for whom a bike is a special thing that means something.