Employment in the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, where I spent most of my working life, attracted the kind of people who would be excited by factory tours and my colleagues and I certainly all have histories commissioned by companies celebrating their heritage and putting the most attractive light on their activities. These kind of books are particularly prevalent in the defence industry but the cycling branch has enough large companies with interesting stories to tell as well. We tend to think of bicycles being made by tiny bands of dedicated artisans in dingy workshops but many of the once-famous names in cycling–for example Opel, Peugeot and Bianchi–were mass market enterprises turning out thousands of finished products each week. The three mentioned were big enough to go into the automobile industry too and there are books of varying quality dedicated to them. The Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham, England, was founded in 1888 (1885, depending on your perspective) and at various points would be considered the largest bicycle producer in the world, and it also produced motorcycles as well as small three-wheeled delivery vehicles (the latter eventually become a separate company, Reliant, whose product would appear often in the comedies of Mr. Bean). Historian Tony Hadland, with access to all of the company’s archives in Nottingham, produced a monumental history of the company which was published in 2012 and is now difficult to find and very expensive when it is. Happily, this book has now been revised reprinted and is available again to cycling enthusiasts and historians of industry.
It is hard to describe just how much material is presented in this book, which is 650 pages in length and profusely illustrated. The detail is impressive, covering every conceivable aspect of the rise and decline of a global commercial giant. From small beginning in Nottingham from three small sheds, under the Bowden family the company was to expand with operations not only in the then-British Empire’s colonies but anywhere it seems a market could be found, either through direct company dealerships or manufactured under license with partners. The vertical integration of the company was impressive as along with steel tubing it manufactured components including Brooks saddles and Sturmey-Archer gear systems. One of these components that seems to have been a good moneymaker was the chaincase, a metal box enclosing the chain and keeping the rider’s clothing clean and lubrication effective, which Raleigh sold to other manufacturers in the UK and Europe.
The book gives insight into what it would have been like working at the huge factory in Nottingham in its heydey, and there is strong evidence of the paternalism of the 1930s, with the company’s benevolent gifts noted at board meetings, and perks such as company outings, a recreation centre and sports field, and even a convalescent home. There are accounts of the contracts the company pursued and entered into, along with balance sheet details reflecting its performance. The products themselves are not overlooked as there are full descriptions of each year’s offerings shown in the company’s catalogues, all elegant practical machines with fenders and a myriad of options, from saddlebags to variable hub gearing. One sees the difference in the world market as the bicycle boom which saw the beginnings of the company and its competitors in the 1880s had become focused on leisure activities for Europeans (where car ownership lagged far behind the USA) and basic transportation in those aforementioned colonies. North American drifts in an out of the picture over the decades, a region with disposable income but having bypassed developments in cycling.
In addition to the financial decisions of management, the skills of individual employees and the innovations in manufacturing, there are sections dealing with the marketing of the bicycles. Raleigh’s eponymous brand was the high-quality one but it sold a range of bicycles to fit every purchaser’s wallet, owning brands such as Humber, BSA, Triumph, Robin Hood and numerous others, even a “Gazelle” which was not related to the famous Dutch one. The advertisements were delightful, with the emphasis perhaps more on the pleasure of cycling (and looking good) than the technicalities. But where was the real sporting element here?
While Raleigh was certainly focused on the mass market, it did try a few approaches to the sporting end, with sponsorship of some long-distance cyclists in the 1930s, the kind of people who would try to break the Land’s End-to-John o’Groats distance record. The author does not really address the timidity of the company in appealing to racers but it may be that for decades the UK lagged far behind the continent in road racing, with an emphasis on semi-secret time trials and internecine combat between regulatory officials. In one area, track racing, Raleigh was able to score big time in the 1950s with World Champion Reg Harris, who was a brilliant sprinter, taking the Rainbow Jersey in that discipline numerous times. Harris would work for Raleigh and proposed that if the company wanted to get into high-end sporting bicycles it should purchase Carlton Cycles, a smaller specialized company, which under Gerald O’Donovan, had a reputation for quality racing bicycles. The Carlton facility in Worksop was used for making quality frames but the very best would come from a small Raleigh workshop, led again by O’Donovan, in Ilkeston, nine miles from the centre of Nottingham. This shop, known as the Special Bicycle Development Unit (SBDU), was staffed by a dozen craftsmen building bicycles to order.
In 1960 Raleigh and its subsidiaries had been purchased by Tube Investments (TI), while already owned most of the British bicycle brands not in Raleigh’s hands, as well as the Reynolds Tube Company, where butted steel tubing had been invented in 1897. TI-Raleigh would support a very successful pro racing team, directed by Peter Post, which would win over 900 races between 1972 and 1983, including the 1980 Tour de France. The book gives an excellent account of the TI-Raleigh team as well as the SBDU works. Framebuilder and team master mechanic Jan LeGrand would come from Amsterdam to build up the bikes for the individual racers. SBDU bicycles were made from 1974 to 1986 and are high-regarded by collectors today.
While TI-Raleigh’s sponsorship of a successful professional team brought welcome publicity, the company was not ignoring market trends. Seeing the success of the small-wheel Moulton bicycle, Raleigh came out with the RSW, which lacked the Moulton’s sophisticated suspension but was far less expensive. It actually put Moulton out of business and Raleigh bought that company in 1967, continuing production until 1974. Starting in 1969 the company had a huge success with the Raleigh Chopper, a motorcycle-inspired machine that was a response to the Schwinn Sting-Ray, that kept Raleigh from going into receivership. The company made forays into mountain biking and BMX models as those styles emerged.
But business reversals are not unknown for even companies that make it through world wars and Great Depressions. In 1987 Ti sold Raleigh to a German firm, Derby Cycles, which was unable to keep the firm from sliding and all UK manufacturing ended by 2003. Derby itself was acquired by Pon Holdings while another Dutch company, Accell, took control of the Raleigh UK, USA and Canada rights, selling the Canadian ones to Canadian Tire in 2019 in light of its own issues in North America. The book goes up to 2012 but from looking at Raleigh developments since there is probably not much more to say about this once-storied company, although a new chapter does include Raleigh motorcycles now and, compared to the first edition, there are interesting reminiscences from former Raleigh employees.
The book launch
“Raleigh: Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand” is an impressive book, with a scope that ranges from social elements to manufacturing challenges to product promotiona and support and, yes, even racing. It is unique in its detailed examination of what made a company, which once employed 8,000 people in Nottingham, such a power and why, all these years later, its names is not forgotten. It is a fine book and it is a welcome thing to see it return to print.
Reg Harris’ track bike
This book has been brought back into print by the Veteran Cycle Club, which was founded in 1955 to promote the riding and conservation of old bicycles, as well as the study of cycles and cycling history. Based in the UK, it has 2,500 members worldwide, making it the largest organization of this kind. For more about the club, look here: v-cc.org.uk). In January 2024 a book launch was held in Nottingham and in addition to the book itself, a number of Reg Harris’ own Raleigh track bicycles were present.
No.1 Reg Harris bike
“Raleigh: Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand” by Tony Hadland
including chapters by Eric Kwiatkowski, Scotford Lawrence, David Moakes and Paul Whatley
Foreward to the Second Edition by David Moakes
660 pp., illustrated, hardbound
Veteran-Cycle Publishing, UK, 2023
ISBN 978-1-9993429-6-8
Available from the publisher directly here: https://v-cc.org.uk/product/raleigh-past-and-presence-of-an-iconic-bicycle-brand/. Please note that there is a VCC member’s price and a non-member one.
Orders may also be placed with with V-C Publications also by contacting:
Roger Postbeschild,
14, Manor Gardens
Grove
Wantage OX12 7JE.
United Kingdom
[email protected]
https://v-cc.org.uk/about/publications
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