Technical & Reference Section > Tech and Restoration

Some Raleigh BMX history

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FuNMoNsTeR:

--- Quote from: RATTY on July 25, 2007, 01:51 AM ---Trev, that was the other thing that annoyed the fook outta me, Skyway factory riders rode production bikes, so kids could ride the same machines as the big guns. Andy never rode a poxy night burner, or a mag burner, no his frames were high end frames imported from ?japan?

--- End quote ---

Ruff did get a fat paycheck and Star treatment.... All Aero pros were imported from Japan as they were made by Tange  ;)
 Like Trev says... Raleigh are a 'family' bicyle company and they folloe the market trend wherever the seam of cash is thickest.

Here is the nail in the coffin for BMX as far as Raleigh is concerned:

The mountain bike boom

Alan Finden-Crofts believed that timing was everything and no sooner had Derby acquired Raleigh than mountain biking in the UK finally took off. Raleigh’s UK sales increased for the next four years running and by 1990 were 31% on 1986. Eventually, more than 3m Raleigh MTBs were sold. The move to profitability surprised many and confounded the widely held view that Derby was only interested in asset stripping.

Initially dubbed ‘Dad’s BMX’, mountain bikes had a much wider age profile than their smaller cousins: not 7 to 17 but more like 9 to 90. Eventually MTBs became the replacement conventional bicycle, the equivalent in the UK of the now virtually extinct sports light roadster. Nonetheless, the mountain bikes offered by Raleigh still had a product life cycle. After four very good years, most people who wanted a first generation Raleigh mountain bike, had bought one. Consequently, in 1991, Raleigh’s total UK sales dropped by 16%, a level at which they were to remain for five years.

RATTY:

--- Quote ---it's true, kids want to ride the same bikes as their heroes. so ratty, when you getting a Proper..
--- End quote ---

I think proper would pay me not to ride one Trev  :2funny:

Do they do a race frame then?

FuNMoNsTeR:
I bet you are quick these days m8  :daumenhoch:   I will be watching your arse getting smaller at MK as i choke on your dust  ;D

Trev:
That would be the biggest problem with the Raleigh brand.  Because they are basically the jack of all trades and master of none.  I think it would have got to a point where people buying a bike then thought about going for a make that was concentrated on that certain area. a bmxer would have gone with haro, skyway, gt etc and MTBers would have gone with their equivilents.  In the same way as supermarkets like tesco for example, will have their own brand for almost everything in their store. But you would rather buy Heinz ketchup than Tesco's ketchup. You'd rather buy Lynx than Tesco's own brand deodrant. McVities jaffa cakes instead of their own brand.  Etc etc.

FuNMoNsTeR:
Very True.... Raleigh did have a specialist division also. They produced the MTrax and Dynatech titanium bikes....  I am about to list a 1990 Dynatech MTB on eBay  ;)

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