Originally Posted by roccobike
Good point Kurt. Given that every bike company is trying to fill every niche their marketeers can think of, I find it amazing that Raleigh has not thought of its roots and gone back to basics...Given Raleigh's position in bicycle sales, what do they have to lose?
Don't expect the current Raleigh USA management to provide them. It's quite obvious that they're only interested in filling the current trends - C-F & Alum. roadbikes, MTBs, Hybrids and 'Beach Cruisers' - with a dozen variants on each of these. Heck, just HOW many Raleigh Retroglide variants do they need? Frankly, the current Raleigh line is fleshed out with a considerable number of overpriced cheapo machines, IMHO.
Oh, Raleigh has tried bringing back the old names on their road machines though - note the Super Course, Grand Prix, Grand Sport, Competition and Prestige.
Surprisingly, Cannondale does carry one model that can be considered based loosly on the classic English design - their Street 600. The Street is still plauged with a derailer drivetrain though, when the only proper modern substitutes are either the Shimano Nexus-3 (or 7) or one of the current Sturmey-Archer hubs.
That's not to say that reasonably priced, steel frame, English style designs are not being produced. There are tons of Chinese and Tawanese companies producing various traditional and modernized forms of the English Roadster right alongside modern MTBs. Guess which ones are imported to the U.S...the MTBs.
Originally Posted by John E
You should work in marketing, roccobike. (Maybe you do.
) With aluminum rims, cranks, mudguards, and bars and modern brakes which can actually stop the bike, your concept has alot of merit. Black and British racing green would be logical colors ...
I suppose the current owners of the Raleigh marque figure that hybrids and comfort bikes have pretty much usurped their traditional market.
A nutty side thought, probably not economically feasible, would be to salvage old Raleigh frames and to outfit them with updated wheels, brakes, cranks, pedals, etc. It could be a fun project for someone, and it takes me back to my starving student days of putting Cyclo-Sturmey Archer hybrid derailleur/epicycle transmissions on old 3-speeds, turning them into 9-speeds and 12-speeds.
See above about modernized variants of the English machines.
I love the idea of upgrading vintage Raleigh machines, and have considered doing such conversions before, but monetary restrictions (and a lack of local Raleighs) have prevented me from doing so.
However, if some folks here could cough up a few frames, another some alloy rims, and we'd share the profits...well, it still wouldn't work, for shipping costs would eat out our profits!
Oh well...
-Kurt