Raleigh Bomber

The Raleigh Bomber was a bicycle aimed at the boys/youth market which first appeared in 1981.[1] The Bomber had wide balloon tyres, a low slung frame and a sprung saddle with wide "cowhorn" style handlebars in the general style of a "cruiser" bicycle.

Concept

The Bomber was visually based on the American "clunkers", a homemade style of bicycle used on a Californian downhill course known as Repack during the late 1970s. These bicycles were fitted with wide tyres, wide motorcycle handlebars and a rear coaster (back pedal) brake. (The name Repack came from the need to repack the rear hub with grease after a downhill run). Many of the original riders of this course became the big early names in what became the genre of Mountain Bikes. [2] Meanwhile in the UK, another homemade genre known as the Tracker (or Cruiser) was popular. But owing to the lack of low slung frames and wide tyres, the UK bikes were adapted from old "sit up and beg" roadsters or road bikes. As a result, they had a less agricultural appearance, but were essentially of the same ilk. Indeed, this style of bicycle and rough, technically difficult, off road riding had been featured on television in England as early as 1961, when the Darlington "Bogwheelers" were interviewed by the BBC complete with their homemade bikes. [3] It is therefore perhaps surprising that Raleigh took as long as they did to consider making their own version of these bicycles for the UK market. The prototypes included the 1980 Cruiser, which had the basic Bomber frame that Raleigh had created from two of their old designs, the rear half of which was from an old Nigerian roadster. This prototype was fitted with the typically slim UK tyres but the eventual Raleigh Bomber was shod with huge 26 x 2 1/4" tyres, on virtually unheard of 559mm rims. [4] These wheels would soon become the standard for Mountain Bikes which would sweep Britain a few years later. However, Raleigh decided not to fit a rear coaster brake to the Bomber which was a popular American standard but a very rare fitment in the UK. Instead it had either a single speed or Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub. It was also fitted with the Chainset from the Grifter and other generic Raleigh items like brakes and pedals. The Bomber was successful enough to soon be accompanied by a Super Bomber version and later a 5 speed derailleur geared model. However the rise of the Mountain Bike in the mid 80s ensured the Bombers demise.

Reception

With BMX about to explode into Britain, taking over the Chopper/Grifter market completely, the Bomber had limited appeal. Whereas the riders of the Chopper and Grifter automatically progressed to a "ten speed" or a "tracker" as they outgrew them, BMX riders generally did not, but instead continued to ride the same bicycle into their mid teens or even beyond. The Bomber had a limited market, which consisted mainly of kids who had already been riding their own homemade Trackers, or perhaps some Grifter riders who shunned BMX. A Raleigh Bomber was quite a rare sight on UK streets by comparison to the BMX, or even the dropped handlebar "ten speeds".

Status today

The Raleigh Bomber has now found respectable values on the second hand market and is gaining in popularity within the Raleigh Facebook community, being generally accepted as a part of the Raleigh "Action Bike" range of the early 80s. It is generally regarded as a desirable piece of nostalgia,despite being a relatively slow and heavy bicycle. Perhaps most pleasing is its rarity, because its short lifespan in the Raleigh range together with the huge sales of BMX bicycles during that time has left comparatively few Bombers surviving.

References

1. Raleigh Action Bikes catalogue
2. Richards New Mountain Bike Book by Richard Ballantine
3. Raleigh: Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand by Tony Hadland chapter 35 BMX and MTB
4. Raleigh: Past and Presence of an Iconic Bicycle Brand Tony Hadland chapter 35 BMX and MTB