Opinions on Raleigh

Nice to see a few with a soft spot for the brand. Same here.

I'm a recent convert to road riding; my first road bike, built up from a rolling chassis, is a very late Raleigh RSP 853. These were made in Nottingham by RSP and sold as the R700 bike, but according to someone who worked there at the time, mine was sold as a frameset to an employee.. anyway my experience with the 853 led me to wonder about a new Raleigh and the Militis caught me eye.

Unfortunately, despite e-mails to customer services, the local sales manager and even exchanges with an employee on this very website, I have yet to actually see a Militis (and to be totally honest, I've stopped trying), and despite reassurances from the sales team that I would "love it!", I am not about to splash two and a half grand on a bike I've never even seen, let alone had the chance to ride.

My current impression of Raleigh is that they have some nice bikes on offer, but they seriously need to consider how they communicate with prospective customers.

Anyone over a certain age has to get sentimental about Raleigh. I had a Rudge (Xmas upgrade was a Sturmey Archer 3sp!), Banana Racer and a Pioneer Trail over the years.
I currently have a Genesis Equilibrium 20 in copper which I've added a Brooks Swift saddle to; looks great, but then I think you should have a 'relationship' with your bike ;-).
My wife's just about to get a road bike and we were in a Specialised shop and it was all about carbon and frame features etc. I felt like we were buying golf clubs or skis which you trade in after a couple of years. Spotted the new Genesis Equilibrium Disc the other day and felt those 'yearning' feelings again. As I was walking out of the shop with the Genesis I was asked, "What's its name?". Thinking fast, I'd recently pulled up the Genesis website to show my Mum a picture and she said, not having her glasses on, "it's called Dennis!?". So that's its name.

I kind of get it about Raleigh.

My Grandfather worked their and I would really love to get one.

lol thought this was me.

Vo2 is the coolest British brand.

Kinesis? Not British.

A club member has the SP Race with Ultegra and loves it. He upgraded the wheels to Mavic Cosmic Carbones and it absolutely flies. My only objection is that the one he bought has a very cool retro colour scheme (remember the old Raleigh stripes?), but the more recent ones could be any brand you like from an aesthetics point of view.

They are owned by a foreign (Dutch?) parent company now. If you value British, there are PLENTY of other brands you could choose. Most manufacture in the Far East, but they are throroughly British brands... oh, and some of the paint jobs are outstanding.

Genesis
Kinesis
Condor
Pearson
etc etc

I thought you meant our forum member now that would be a question!