Once the largest bicycle factory in the world, the Raleigh works in Nottingham was the beating heart of British manufacturing. Today, the site stands as a haunting reminder of what was lost.
In this video, we step inside the history of the Raleigh factory to explore the meteoric rise and the slow decline of this cycling titan. From the iconic Chopper to the final days of UK production, we look at the changing markets, the management struggles, and the heartbreak that brought a hundred-year-old giant to its knees.
Disclaimer:
This video is a researched history documentary. The script and story are based on real events and verified sources to the best of our ability. Some visuals are AI generated and used only as illustrative context when authentic archival photos are limited, they are not presented as real photographs of the exact people or locations unless stated. Any archival images or footage shown belong to their respective owners and are used in a transformative way for commentary, education, criticism, and historical analysis under Fair Use.
47 Comments
My Grandfather and Uncle worked there and were very happy. Such a shame Britain simply let their Industrial might fall apart.
Poor documentary missed out so many classic bikes in the eighties
Raleigh maverick – Raleigh banana – Raleigh burner – bomber – arena …
Can the British get anything right??
I had a Grifter back in the day. It was a tank. You could do anything with it, hurtle down hills onto a ramp and clatter into the ground, and it never flinched. I modded it, personalised it, and it was a fantastic bike. I then got Mag Burner in blue and yellow. A really brilliant company, and they made the bikes that all kids wanted.
The same with the car Industrie
I had a bike that looked exactly like the chopper but it was an Apollo brand.
I GOT RALEIGH LIZARD ORIGINAL TYRES
My Grandad was a night security guard for Raleigh for many decades until he retired, and 'strangely' all us Grandchildren always had new bikes on a regular basis !!
I worked there in that factory. My job was to put brake levers and gear changers on to the handle bars and stack them ready for the production line. Easiest job i ever had. This was right before the factory closed down. It was just an assembly facility really as all the parts came from China.
Raleigh will always have a special place in my heart. My first bike was a Raleigh BMX back in the 80s. I later got a 2nd hand Chopper, and loved it!. Even my Dad and uncles rode it. Then I got a 2nd hand Raleigh Carlton. Its sad that such an iconic brand is no longer with us.
How many so-called "Captains of Industry" destroyed their own companies through greed and stupidity? And why did they all seem to do it through the 1960` and 70`s?
I had an RSP mountain bike and it was genuinely great. Always wondered why Raleigh didn’t use the expertise they obviously had to compete in the world of proper mountain bikes. They could’ve done well at a higher price point, although probably not under the Raleigh brand as it was associated with junk by that point.
They also made pedal and pop mopeds back in the day. I’m currently fixing up a 1970 Raleigh runabout RM6. They also made the wisp as well! They’re funky little mopeds that are good fun to ride.
My first new bike was a Raleigh Europa road bike in 1972. Bright red with an Eddie Merckx sticker on it. Absolutely loved that bike and spent hours polishing it. Had it for 15 years until it ended up at the local dump. Happy days.
like so many British companies – management and boardroom didn't see the writing on the wall – usually one fat cat owner just willing to bleed an institution dry to make a penny – similar to the high street/royal mail/nhs/and most of modern Brittan today too slow to move with the times and hamstrung by bureaucracy
Every summer Raleigh would get students in to do the annual stocktake in the warehouses. I worked there for two summers in the early 1970's. In the film there is a photograph of what is probably a Royal visit to the factory when they were awarded the Queens Award for Industry (or possibly Exports). When stocktaking I found one of the Union Flags hidden away and forgotten in a cabinet. I still have it.
Sturmey Archer was never that good. It wasnt very repairable when it went wrong and the Shimano/ Derailleur gears offered simplicity and greater flexibility
Raleigh is losing £30.1m before tax in 2023 despite the fact that bikes are being manufactured in Taiwan & Vietnam.
i had a blue raleigh budgie as my first bike, loved that bike
I own that space blue Chopper at the end of the video 👍
One would think that British manufacturers intentionally wanted to destroy themselves.
Why didn’t anything British survive? Not even a damn bicycle maker could survive, damn.
The same thing happened with Fords factory in Cork Ireland. It was Henry Fords first over seas factory set up in the 1920's or 30s because his father was from Cork. Everything was going find until management started treating the workers as an expense on the books in the 60s. Instead of modernising and taking a trip for tips to Japan and getting their act together they took the easy but fatal option by stagnating wages and benifits at a time of increasing inflation. The Unions were strong and they were on strike more than they were working. Management lost the goodwill of the workers and the workers lost pride in the job. Towards the end for every car assembled one was going out the back door in parts. Closed down in the 1970's. People liked to blame the workers but it was management mistakes really.
The writing was on the wall when Raleigh closed their chrome plant c1985. The Classic 15 was their last decent cycle. A touring machine with a racing frame, once you got used to it you could cover miles easily. Management was bad, TI Raleigh (Tube Investments) was grim. When you think of the cycle companies that TI swallowed up! Modern bicycles are made of cheese, all from the Far East. If you want a decent bike, but one made between 1965 and 1995.
It was the same as the car industry!
Always the greedy management and shareholders
In the early 90s as a Toddler I had a hand me down Raleigh bluebird . I took off the stabilisers my self with a spanner
Did you know Raleigh had foundry's on Castle Boulevard with press shops too? My late dad worked there in The Metal Finishing Shop Faraday Road Lenton from 1936 to 1984. He always told me it was a better firm before TI took over. He was a senior shop steward and what he contributed during meetings with management turned out to be what other commenters are saying today. Myself I think it was arrogance & being steeped in a tired manufacturing style which was Raleigh's demise alas
We had them in NZ too.
The Torys embarked on industrial genocide of working class life and culture and it was rolled out across England .The price has been to high the madness of neo liberalism has totally destroyed this country you carnt run an economy with Karen and her dangerling id card round her neck?.moving paper from one department to the next ? It will only end in totally economic disaster.
What happened to the Hercules brand of bike , i wonder ? Google will tell me , i think .
AI slop
They could come back. There's a HUGE market out there for commuter bikes. Lots of delivery riders & people just going to work. The price of oil is going up & so is public transport. The government is dragging its heels on personal electric scooters. What people want is zero maintenance, zero punctures bikes. Cheap. Bombproof. We have a lot of pot holes.
Very sad end for an iconic British brand who's bikes I grew up on throughout my childhood….Tomahawk, Grifter then Bomber………I still have my last Raleigh, a Record Sprint.
Shit video noy even a mention of the BURNER
Yet another example of poor British management.
The chopper and MK1 RSW with the rocket rear rack was my favourites
I hate when people use AI for things like this
Interesting, but please stop using AI to curate the images to accompany the narrative. Messy, contrived and very, very distracting, they ruin the video. Shame.
AI verbals?
I worked at Columbia bike in Westfield Mass. in 1978 same stupidity from the owner and the union killed them in the 80's
Heck I had a Raleigh in the states in the 70s- father was british.
Too much AI commentary/content/pictures for my liking !…….
Hand signs
For a wrench
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i dont think theres any BOULEVARD in England !
"the people of Nottingham" – shows 5 blacks