Current aluminum and carbon fiber frames such as "Professional. International, and Competition" do not compare to the original 531 and 753 framesets. The Raleigh tradition with its British steel heritage died when the Raleigh brand name and trademarks moved to the USA and outsourced manufacturing to Asia.
Witness the slow decline into darkness where Raleigh USA distribution to LBSs in the USA is declining and fading to black. The Raleigh name has become disposable like so many carbon frames when they suffer stress fractures.
The Raleigh name has now become a traded commodity between manufacturing nations instead of a tradition in the United Kingdom.
Regards, Steve Neago
Cincinnati, OH
> snipped from below:
> "When Raleigh stopped making machines in Nottingham, it died..."
>
>
> why?
> e-RICHIE
> chester,ct
>
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>
> kohl57@starpower.net writes:
>
> > those who succeeded at it in various eras should be allowed the
> > opportunity of profiting from the market they helped create. to a
> > builder, i never met any italian who believed it was a virtue to stand
> > at a bench when the option to "grow the business" was possible.
> > e-RICHIE
>
> Sure, why not. It's great to see proud old names used to profit people
> and
> employ folks. No worries. Then again, it's mainly our, shall we say,
> disappointment, at what is being produced under those famous names that
> inspires us to cherish and collect that which, we think, MADE the name
> famous and thus profitable in the first place. I trust this isn't called
> Classic Rendezvous for nothing
>
> I'll say it right here that what Raleigh makes now is, in my personal
> opinion, utter crap. Maybe it's a combination of being made anywhere as
> long
> as it's cheap or maybe because I intensely dislike modern bikes. But if I
> were a heron, I'd take considerable offense at being stuck on this
> rubbish.
>
> So Raleigh (and indeed Masi) can and will do as they wish and good on
> them.
> But I am sure not going buy 'em or be inclined to like 'em or even accept
> 'em because it "keeps the name alive". When Raleigh stopped making
> machines
> in Nottingham, it died. Full stop. End of story.
>
> Oh, I don't know a thing about Masi's.. sorry. But that thing on eBay
> looked
> a lot like a Vietnamese-made Raleigh. The only issue is which once proud
> marque is more insulted by the comparison.
>
> Peter Kohler
> Washington DC USA