The Rise and Fall of the UK’s Bicycle Empire: The Silent Raleigh Factory

Sloppy shit

An interesting video thankyou.

Yes all a terrible short sighted shame they didn't Grade List the original buildings. I spent a good chunk of my career as their Public Relations Manager and enjoyed a deep knowledge of the workings of the factory, and its history. I have many original souvenirs from my days in that job. I suspect they may be unique now.

born and bread Nottingham remembered the factory back in the day sad its all gone like all British industries. had lots of Raleigh bikes as a kid never see any theses days so rare.

They thought they were clever by shifting production to china but instead killed the brand.

The three speed Sturmey Archer hub gear wouldn’t get you up a hill at all, unless you put a bigger sprocket on the back, they were useless really

I think the film "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning" is set in the factory.

Interesting take on the demise of Raleigh. I worked for the company between 1970 – 2000. My parents and grandparents also worked for the company. The bicycle industry is similar to most other industries that were based in the UK towards the end of the last century. We witnessed the demise of UK motorcycle and motor car manufacturing, steel making and a number of other industries and manufacturers that had to show a return to their owners and investors.
Bicycles are a relatively low-tech, labour-intensive products with some overseas countries paying very low wages to their workforce – in some cases providing a roof over workers heads and a bowl of rice a day in payment. In addition towards the end of the eighties/nineties, China was subsidising the export of products overseas to obtain foreign currency. This wasn't just a problem here in the UK. In the early nineties, the EEC introduced anti-dumping duty with up to 50% tariffs to try and protect the majority of European manufacturers that were under attack from the Far East. However circumventing anti-dumping duty became a challenge and ways were found to evade the tax for masses of shipments right across Europe.
We live in a free market economy where "the customer is king". Retailers, irrespective of the type of product, strive to give customers the best value for money products available. With global production of bicycles significantly exceeding global demand and the ability to bring new (or copied) products to market in exceedingly short time spans, trying to increase prices and margins between the manufacturer and ultimate consumer has never been more challenging. An alternative is to aim for the higher end of the market: technically advanced products – like electric bicycles or carbon fibre frames for performance bikes. But here, price elasticity comes into play and not all consumers want or need bicycles costing thousands of pounds.
When I started as a Commercial Apprentice in 1970, Raleigh was the biggest cycle manufacturer in the world employing 12,700 people in Nottingham and outlying factories in Worksop and Birmingham. It is now simply a brand name primarily owned by a Dutch bicycle group employing a small handful of employees in the UK operating from a small office in Eastwood, Nottingham. Other major employers based in Nottingham in the seventies – Boots and Players have also seen their manufacturing operations moved overseas in recent times. I'm proud to have played a part in the many successes Raleigh enjoyed during my time there. The Chopper revolution, the Burner BMX boom, the Mountain bike era. I hade the privilege of working with some amazing and talented people, some of whom I am still in touch with today.

I live round the corner of the former factory, the area is now the Jubilee campus of the University of Nottingham.

Thousands of people worked there and at Players cigarette factory. Britain and Nottingham have never been the same since these great factories were closed. They have replaced work with education, leaving unacedemic people to find work wherever they Can. Raleigh made billions of bicycles 🚲 in that factory.

Its pronounced "Ral-lee". Im 60 and was born and raised in Radford. My Mum and Dad both worked there. I had friends who worked there and my dad was there shop steward. I walk around the area today with my sons and think its amazing how its been transformed. It hasnt done much for the community as its all student based…progress

A real radford pronuciation would be Rah-layye

Great video. I had the pleasure of working at Sturmey Archer from March 1991 until its closure in September 2000. I have never known a place with so much skill, knowledge and companionship that was allowed to just shut. Nice to have been a part of history.

Just like Leyland the downfall of Raleigh was the idiots in Management.
In the mid 70's to early 80's we would often go to the Raleigh ballroom on Lenton Boulevard and the Raleigh club (can't remember whether that was on Faraday Rd or Triumph Rd). Raleigh also had a large sports complex and fishing pond on the Old Coach Rd. I dare say that there isn't one company in the whole of Britain now that provides this kind of leisure entertainment for its workers.

The hq building is empty. Go and have a walk round it, its a travesty.

I am in my late 80's now and had ridden Raleigh bikes for a large part of my life, and they were always reliably. But one question, when did the badge change I can only remember on my bikes it was a badge depicting Sir Walter Raleigh

We are sick of your american crap
Your talking about British buildings & stuff , but you stick your american buildings in the clips ….why
& Why is it always an american explaining our British waes
Can you please talk english because your dialogue is crap, now someone that is British would be great instead of an false american

My dad worked at raleigh,from leaving school
When they were sliming down the business in the late 1980s, 90s ,he helped develop the chopper bike.and i am proud to to wear his gold watch he received for his long service ,miss you dad😊

Now do the shipyards around the River Wear in Sunderland….

There were eight huge shipyards that I know of (and I'm not from Sunderland – there could have been more), along with a marine engine works (Doxfords) and a crane factory on the banks of the river (Coles, which eventually became Leibher – sp?), along with a Colliery at Castletown/North Hylton, along with the huge Wearmouth Colliery, which employed over 2,500 men towering over the river.

The Grifter was the must have bike for Christmas