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I have been upgrading my rowing trike (see avatar) that is based on a Raleigh Stowaway along with bits from a modern BMX bike. The quality of the Raleigh is far superior. The shopping and town bikes available today are rubbish compared to a Raleigh built before 1980.

I am looking for a Raleigh, Hercules or BSA 20 (all same) shopper bike to make a mk2 rowing trike, if anyone has one? The rougher the better because I only use the frame and some bits. It would be a shame to chop a good machine that has a place in history.

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Here is a photo of me on my one and only bicycle. It's on Grainger Street and behind me is the Railway & General office entrance on Meadow Lane.

Tompa, the first thing that I noticed about your post (#14) was how you refered to your foster father as 'Mr Joseph (Joe) Coxon' which seemed rather correct and formal. I then read your post (#21), '.

This young lad at Raleigh was putting a bike together and couldn't find his spanner. He says to his mate, ' ay yer gorra spanner worral fit this nut? ' His mate says ' yo ignorant bogger, yer shunt sa

My daughter rides a 1956 Triumph Palm Beach to and from work every day - she acquired it from her Grandma when she dtopped cycling. Absolutely bullet proof (the bike, not Grandma) if a bit heavy and the 3 speed Sturmey Archer gears have not got quite the range of modern bikes. However, how many Raleigh imported bikes made in 2016 will still be around in 2076?

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I have been upgrading my rowing trike (see avatar) that is based on a Raleigh Stowaway along with bits from a modern BMX bike. The quality of the Raleigh is far superior. The shopping and town bikes available today are rubbish compared to a Raleigh built before 1980.

I am looking for a Raleigh, Hercules or BSA 20 (all same) shopper bike to make a mk2 rowing trike, if anyone has one? The rougher the better because I only use the frame and some bits. It would be a shame to chop a good machine that has a place in history.

I've got a Raleigh 20 I'm selling but it is rather good, probably too good to mess up.

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Will be getting on my Raleigh Transcend in about 15mins for another adventure cycling the lanes around Skeggy. My poor cycle has so many war wounds it looks quite neglected, and I have had the bruises to match. People tell me to have a new one, but I wouldn't swap it unless it fell to pieces. For all it's scars it is brilliant to ride. The last few days we have covered approximately 180 miles and two more days to go, so will top the 200 mile mark. Love my Raleigh Bike.:biggrin:

 

Transcend model is now discontinued, so i couldn't have another anyway. :(

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Mrs Reds got a quite old Raleigh 'Misty' Dutch style step though, have to admit when she asks for a repair & I have to ride it, it is the easiest, nicest bike to ride, you can tell when you have a Raleigh between your legs? Stick with your Transcend Carni.

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On 1 May 2013 at 10:32 AM, OLDACE said:

When I joined in the Cycle Design department of Raleigh in 1969, Alan Oakley was head of the Concept Design department. Access to this department was severely restricted, although I was able to have a peek now and then.

As head of his department, Alan Oakley was a member of the senior management at Raleigh, and as such he probably would not have expected extra payment for doing what was in fact, his job.

The US was a huge market at that time, but it was the S.L.R's that were the main export. although many thouands of Choppers went to the States as well. The S.L.R's (sports light roadsters) had the self adjusting brakes. these brakes were not a huge success.

I recall that in 1972 a whole bunch of us from the design department had to go to Marshall's Transport depot in Bulwell for several weeks in order to alter the brakes of the bikes waiting for transportation to the U.S.

I see that old ace is no longer active which is a shame as I may well know him. I joined Raleigh in about April 1970 straight from school and went into the Concept Design office that had only recently been setup. I was the go-for office runner. It was based just behind head office on Lenton Boulevard and Alan Oakley was indeed the overal boss although my hands on immediate boss was a lovely Scot, John Gordon. Alan was a nice guy and now is not the time or place to tell the full story but don't believe that the chopper was designed by him on an envelope on a airplane. It wasn't. That was marketing hype. Nor as is claimed did Tom Karen design the Chopper despite wikapeadia crediting him so. He did some drawings and detail work but the main design was done by others. It's amazing how this folk law is taken as fact. When I joined as a young lad the Chopper seemed utterly brilliant. I'd seen nothing like it before. The Concept design staff could have a bike on 'test' as a perk and so naturally I had a Chopper several months before their general release so can honestly claim to have the first Chopper in the UK although I beleive there may have been a small issue in Scotland to test the water so to speak but that is unsubstantiated. The frame broke on mine and I was so worried I'd knackered it but they were delighted as this proved to be a design weakness as well as safety concerns for flipping over too easily and was present one afternoon when the Mk2 'arrow wedge' was thrashed out and sat on the prototype while they tried various configurations and as a youngster consulted me on what I thought. Don't suppose they took much notice of me but it was nice to be asked. I didn't have a Mk 2 as I'd grown out of it by then and preferred the a Mk1 anyway so had a Raleigh 20 instead a much under rated brilliant bike. I had the best 3 1/2 years there. Some fabulous talented people but more money at Players won and I moved on.

 I still have about 6 or 7 Raleighs dating from 1940 to 1980, 3 of them early Raleigh Record Aces and have the original Raleigh 20 folding prototype given to me by the designer George Ellis a few years ago who I'm still in touch with. I used to go all over the factories and am lucky that I saw and new every inch of the place in its hay day a few years before its demise. Such a shame it's all gone. 

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14 hours ago, radfordred said:

Discounted to entry to museum if you keep your cycle clips on

 

Did you hear about the bloke that went to the doctors and said "Doctor you have got to help me I have got a very bad case of diarrhea"

The doctor replied "When did you first notice the symptoms?"

The  bloke replied "When I took my bike clips off!"

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On ‎25‎/‎01‎/‎2007 at 7:44 AM, Stan said:

...have just finished re-reading `Saturday night and Sunday morning.' What brilliant descriptions of Raleigh are to be found there. I am starting to read everything Silitoe wrote,-a grossly underestimated writer. abouttime

my dad worked at Raleigh for 34 years as a toolsetter. He told me that Alan Sillitoe was an apprentice there, but that he spent most of his time pulling practical jokes, and only stayed a few weeks.

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Saw this nice advertising sign at the National Rail Museum in York,thought it might be worth posting here

 

Mary_at_the_NRM_17.jpg

 

Rog

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I had a red Raleigh Trent Tourist all steel frame heavy as hell. Dynamo in the front hub for the lights and a bloody useless Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub. Probably due to the weight of the frame more that a failing in the hub.  I see they are now making 8 speed hubs, now that may have been useful

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6 minutes ago, Oztalgian said:

Probably due to the weight of the frame more that a failing in the hub

My partner has a Dutch style bike (Birmingham made). Steel frame and three speed S/A. She complains of weight and lack of gears. I've ordered a titanium bottom bracket (to reduce unsprung weight) and the new five speed "sport" S/A.

Will see if that works before moving to a more drastic, and costly, lightweight frame.

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I still have a Raleigh Mustang which my wife brought me 35+ years ago  , it now lives in the shed but is cleaned and oiled regularly and is in great condition. They certainly knew how to make them in those days. The only problem with them is the weight , my grandson used it one day when his was broke when he returned it,

it had a new name the Tank, he never used it again.

Raleigh was a great Nottingham Company that made quality products for many years , its a shame now that it has bikes made in different countries.

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I've had several Raleigh bikes over the years but never thought of them as 'heavy'. Maybe because I've not ridden a modern Chinese machine

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I cycled every day for a week with a Dutch cycling club and the only hill that we encountered was a canal bridge :biggrin: A decent range of gears was needed though, due to the strong winds and whether you were on the front or back of the bunch.

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