Raleigh serial

He concluded that the company had a profitable future if it promoted its innovative features, increased its output, cut its overhead costs and tailored its products to the individual tastes and preferences of its customers. In Frank Bowden's own lifetime, Raleigh publicity material stated that the firm was founded in , [5] which was when Bowden, as he himself confirmed, first bought into the enterprise. Thus, Raleigh's 30th anniversary was celebrated in The company established by Bowden in December was still privately owned with unlimited public liability.

In January , it became the first of a series of limited liability companies with Raleigh in its name. Paul Angois was appointed director responsible for product design, Richard Woodhead was made director responsible for factory management, and Frank Bowden became chairman and managing director. Some shares were made available to small investors and local businessmen, but take-up was minimal, and Bowden ended up buying most of the public shares. He subsequently supplied virtually all the capital needed to expand the firm.

When Frank Bowden got involved with the enterprise, the works comprised three small workshops and a greenhouse. As Woodhead, Angois and Ellis, the firm had expanded round the corner from Raleigh Street into Russell Street, where also stood Clarke's five-storey former lace factory.

To enable further expansion of the business, Bowden financed the renting of this property and installation of new machinery.

Under Bowden's guidance, Raleigh expanded rapidly. Bowden created a business which, by , was the biggest bicycle manufacturing company in the world, occupying seven and a half acres in purpose-built premises completed in at Faraday Road, Lenton, Nottingham.

Sir Frank Bowden died in and his son Sir Harold Bowden, 2nd Baronet took over aschairman and chief executive, guiding the company through the next 17 years of expansion.

There was a resurgence in domestic and export demand for pedal bicycles and by February Raleigh had acquired all the Humber Limited trade marks. Manufacture was transferred to Raleigh's Nottingham works. In , Raleigh opened a bicycle factory at 6 Hanover Quay, Dublin, Ireland and commenced bicycle production there.

The plant produced complete bicycles and Sturmey-Archer hubs, and remained in production until , when the factory burned down. Models produced there latterly were the Chopper and Triumph The head badges changed in the late s, possibly after the passing of the Trade Descriptions Act in the UK. Dublin-made machines no longer had 'Nottingham England' on the Heron or Triumph head badge, the panel being left blank instead. In , Raleigh started to build motorcycles and in , introduced the Raleighette, a belt-driven three-wheel motorcycle with the driver in the back and a wicker seat for the passenger between the two front wheels.

Financial losses meant production lasted only until In , the company acquired the rights to the Ivy Karryall, a motorcycle fitted with a cabin for cargo and a hood for the driver. Raleigh's version was called the Light Delivery Van and had a chain drive. A two-passenger version was followed by Raleigh's first three-wheel car, the Safety Seven.

A saloon version was planned, but Raleigh shut its motor department to concentrate on bicycles again. Chief designer T. Williams took the equipment and remaining parts and moved to Tamworth, where his company produced three-wheelers for 65 years. The leftover parts from Raleigh carried an 'R', so Williams chose a matching name: Reliant. Raleigh also made mopeds in the late s and s as the bicycle market declined.

The most popular of which was the RM6 Runabout. This model featured unsprung front forks and a cycle type calliper front brake which made it a very affordable mode of transport. Because of its success, production continued until February ; 17 months after Raleigh had stopped manufacturing all other mopeds. After World War II, Raleigh became known for its lightweight sports roadster bicycles, often using Sturmey-Archer three and five-speed transmissions.

These cycles were considerably lighter and quicker than either the old heavy English utility roadster or the American 'balloon-tire' cruiser bikes. Raleigh's sports roadster , or British racer bicycles were exported around the world, including the United States. The company continued to increase imports to the United States until , when a rate increase in foreign bicycle tariffs caused a shift in imports in favour of bicycles from West Germany and the Netherlands.

However, this proved only a temporary setback, and by , Raleigh was again a major selling brand in the US bicycle market. The new Raleigh shared several important features with the Moulton, including small wheels, an open frame and built-in luggage carrying capacity. However, the RSW lacked the Moulton's suspension, which compensated for the bumpy ride that comes with small wheels. Nevertheless, the RSW was pleasant to ride, and Raleigh's extensive retail network ensured its success.

The success of the RSW took sales away from the Moulton and put the maker into financial difficulties. Raleigh then bought out Moulton and produced both bikes until Raleigh also produced a sister model to the RSW, the 'Twenty', which was more successful and remained in production well into the s. While bicycle production had steadily risen through the mids, the British market began to decline with the increasing affordability and popularity of the motor car.

For much of the postwar era, British bicycle manufacturers had largely competed with each other in both the home and export markets, but saw the formation of the British Cycle Corporation by the Tube Investments Group which already owned Phillips, Hercules, Armstrong, and Norman. Raleigh also already owned the Robin Hood brand, and Three Spires with Triumph cycles also at their disposal.

Ti Raleigh gave total control of its cycle division to Raleigh and soon set about marketing many of the acquired names as budget ranges, though with Raleigh frames.

The old British Cycle Corporation factory at Handsworth continued to produce non Raleigh branded product well into the s, with Raleigh branded models built in the main plant at Nottingham.

However, the Sun branded bicycles were made in the Carlton factory at Worksop, England. As a vertically integrated manufacturer in the mids, TI—Raleigh owned Brooks one of the oldest saddle makers in the world , Sturmey-Archer pioneer of 3-speed hubs , and Reynolds maker of tubing. Carlton, which had been unable to make inroads in the USA market after a failed rebranding deal with Huffy, found success in the late s by recasting itself as 'Raleigh-Carlton', a Raleigh-logo'd bike with some Carlton badging, and using the US dealer network to import and distribute bikes.

The bike was the 'must have' item and signifier of 'coolness' [23] for many children at the time. It went on sale in the UK in and sold well, and was a key factor in reviving the company's fortunes.

The Chopper featured a 3-speed Sturmey-Archer gear hub, shifted using a top-tube mounted gear lever reminiscent of the early Harley-Davidsonsuicide shifter — one of its 'cool' features. Other differences were the unusual frame, long padded seat with backrest, sprung suspension at the back, high-rise handlebars, and differently sized front 16' and rear 20' wheels.

Tyres were wider than usual for the time, with a chunky tread on the rear wheel, featuring red highlights on the sidewall. Two smaller versions, the Chipper and Tomahawk , also sold well. The Mk 2 Chopper was an improved version from It had the option of five-speed derailleur gears in the United States, but all UK bikes had the 3 speed hub, with the exception of a model introduced in and only available in a bizarre shade of pink.

This model was discontinued in The Mk 2 had a shorter seat and the frame modified to move the rear of the seat forward, this helped prevent the bike tipping up. The shorter seat also made it harder to ride '2 up' 2 people on the bike at a time. The Chopper remained in production until , when the rising popularity of the BMX bicycle caused sales to drop off.

A serial number is used to identify individual appliances or tools. It is NOT the same as a model number. If your serial number is coded into your bios it will appear here on the screen.

Most serial numbers have at least six or seven characters, and some serial numbers have twenty or more. The 10th character in the character VIN represents the vehicle model-year. This standard applies to vehicles built in or after The Raleigh Militis eTap is a special-edition bike that will only be produced in very limited quantities.

Raleigh bicycle is now a division of the Dutch corporation Accell. Raleigh Bicycle Company. Most bicycle serial numbers are located under the bottom bracket where the two pedal cranks meet. If there is no serial number there then check places like the headset at the front of the bike or the rear stays. A second bicycle insurer corroborates the finding; PedalSure also name the two brands as their most wanted by thieves. Tandems can have more than two riders — tandem refers to the arrangement of the riders one behind the other rather than the number of riders.

Enter Serial Generation in the Name field. AX Serials " AV," " AW," and " AX" may stand for both a late model, or early '51s built with frames built the previous year AV through BG BG through BI BI through Serial System: In addition to the two serial types above, a third system appears to have been established in , or at the earliest, ; terminating in the early-mid '60s - the most recent example I have on hand is from , though I suspect the official cutoff may date to or ' This system follows a similar pattern to Convention 2 above, and uses a prefix or suffic of "RA" or "RB," followed by 4 or 5 digits, but never exceeding 5.

Location is on the side of the seat lug, as with the earlier serials above. Neither it is not out of the question that other letters may exist, representing Raleigh's other factories. This seems to have happened around , and it is reasonable to assume that all "RB" symbols represent bikes produced post The system consists of a seven-digit serial - beginning with in - running up to the range by , at which point, it was discontinued. Numbers will be duplicated between each system.

Serial location: These serials will be located on the bottom bracket on both ladies' and men's Superbes, Sprites, and Sports. The extent of this system's use on other models is unknown.

BB photo courtesy "w1gfh" - Bikeforums. At least 4 or 5 different systems were used. I have uncovered two of them to a reasonable extent; both of which ran concurrently to each other during this time period: "System " The first system consists of 7 digits, beginning with This system showed its face in I have named it accordingly , and was phased out in mid This is the only explanation I can suggest regarding this issue.

This system never exeeded 6 digits, and the reason for its introduction remains a mystery. Regardless, it is here, and it will stay. Serial location: The serials from this era, specifically for general production machines Sports, Superbe, Sprite , will be located on the seat lug.