2012 Raleigh Mountain & Cyclocross Bikes – Carbon 29er, TwinSix Collaboration, More!

Why anyone is introducing brand new CX bikes without disc mounts is beyond me.

i think that a lot of snobs would like to write off raleigh along with motobecane and dawes, but for all my (industry-influenced) skepticism. they have stayed above par with carbon frames, gates belt drive and more. no snob, or noob should be less than proud to ride any of their newer completes. their name may not have the cache of some others, but the rides speak for themselves.

Okay: here we wait for the exclusive evidence that Rob must have.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Anyone can make unsubstantiated claims. It does’t take any spine at all. All it requires is intellectual laziness and the inability to think critically.

Giant TCX-W (Women’s-specific cross bike) has been around for a full model year now. So it’s definitely “one of the” and not “the” first.

It makes me wonder, how many people would buy a car ‘made in China’ , or at least any electrical home device ?
While the same people are willing to spend a few thousands of $ or Euros for a ‘made in China’ bike.
Moreover, I never understood this fad about carbon, ‘it’s the future!’. Maybe, but 1. it is not recyclable & 2. we are not F1 drivers.

Are China made frames bad?
No, most of them are great.

But don’t say this is a exclusive Raleigh mold. Maybe for the US market the have it exclusive…..
This is just a standard open mold frame out of a China factory, and WOW the added Kevlar to it.

Rob, you obviously have no idea what you are talking about and you too quickly throw the word “China” out there. Especially when it says in the article that it’s not an open mold frame. I work in the industry, I know the open molds and this IS NOT one of them. I’m not sure what you are arguing? You cannot get a carbon bike, outside of Parlee, that performs with great durability…in the United States. The reason WHY Raleigh and other companies source China an Taiwan for carbon production is because THAT is what they do. Years ago, we made cars, we WERE the best at it and we sourced them all over the world. These countries make bikes and carbon fiber, hell even NASA buys their carbon fiber from Japan…so why wouldn’t we buy our carbon fiber bikes and parts from Asia? Don’t even try to pull the “what about Italian made carbon?” argument…because the rule of thumb in Italy is that if it’s painted in Italy, you can label it “Made in Italy.” I’m having demo frames for my small upstart company produced in the same factory as Pinarello Dogma’s and Willier Centu Uno’s and you know what, they ARE an open mold. So kill me. Get off your high horse, stop thinking you know better than anyone else and STFU. I’m sick of ignorant people who troll the internet that have not a single clue how this industry even works, in the slightest, try to belittle every small company’s achievement. Get a life Rob.

@Brandon: Note that Fred didn’t say they were the only ones, but the only ones that perform with great durability…

Thanks Mark.

So is there a difference in made in china vs made in taiwan?

Any idea if the Furley will be sold as a frameset? Also, is it made it China, too?

people hate on “made in china’ and ‘made in taiwan’ for all the wrong reasons: it’s a human rights issue. a child labor issue. frames are made overseas and not in country of origin because companies can increase their profit margins based on the fact that most workers are being paid the equivalent of 100-200 a month US$. the quality is obviously there, people that say otherwise are lost. but if you’re mad about overseas bikes, you should be mad for the RIGHT reasons and not for the dumb, insignificant reasons.

on forced labor in taiwan: http://www0.hku.hk/ccpl/documents/AIC-41739ForcedlabourinTaiwan.pdf

child labor in chinese factories were used by HIGH PROFILE corporations…what makes you think they’re not being used by low profile companies…. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7330986/Apple-admits-using-child-labour.html

I am NOT accusing raleigh of anything (they have fantastic bikes), i’m simply stating the facts directed at people with misguided opinions about things made ‘overseas.’

Q: Why are things made in China
A: Laws or the lack of them. From labour to environment, we just can’t compete… for now.

I personally think that China can’t sustain this for ever and will fall eventually.

Whoever says the ‘sweatshop’ line has obviously never seen a bicycle factory in china OR taiwan. Please… don’t put Raleigh and Motobull shit bikes direct stuff in the same sentence.

The Raleigh
looks like this:
http://www.solisbikes.com/mtb/pyrolite/pyrolite.html
But I would own either bike. I rode the Solis Pyrolite. It’s an amazing design, the frame is stiff, the bike is FAST.
I wish more shops sold brands like Raleigh and less of the big name brands.
The costs would come down possibly for the big brands. They are greedy like some of the car manufactures these days. They think if they raise their prices each year and sponsor more and more Pro teams, more people will continue to buy.

It’s about the bike and the rider. –
Buy what you can afford – you can still be a customer of another brand later and upgrade anytime.
These brands are trying to provide affordable alternatives to the mass brands.

Trek = Bose’ (overrated, overpriced, all marketing)
Specialized = wishes they were BMW
Giant = Dodge, Ford, Chrysler

Ted,

If you’re asking about a full suspension Raleigh, then join the gang in asking for a full squish. My rep has been asking them to make such for as long as I have known him (5 years).

If you want to support Raleigh and a full suspension at the same time, get a Diamond Back. They have some good designs on the DB side.

Would be nice if that Furley came with the option of a belt drive.

I agree with comments made by rob starting on 8/3. Made in China, Taiwan Frames should remain there. (Yes I do have a spine-Robbin) I am not going to get into the politics of the reasons that companies are building frames over seas, trust me I understand. First off, if it is an American company offering an elite level bicycle frame or components, it should be made in the USA – supporting the american companies and the craftsmen is important(leads to future innovations by these us companies). Thomson is a perfect example of elite level components made in the USA. Made in USA frames, allows the company to keep tighter quality controls, and make adjustments in the product quicker and easier. Also production can be increased if an out of stock happens. Overseas – We are sold out for the season, sorry buddy. Warranty issues can be addressed in a more timely matter for obvious reasons. And last but not least, custom frame building companies often offer a frame built to your exact size, needs and riding style. (Not everyone of a certain height has the same weight and proportions.) To all those that are up in arms about people hating these overseas produced frames, well I know where YOUR frame is made, sorry to hear that. Visit a NAHBS.

No one has bothered to ask – the cutaway frame pictured for the RXC Pro indicates internal routing on the non-drive side, but the brakes are obviously routed on top of the bike, and teh description of the photos indicates internal shift cables, but they obviously, according to the other photos, run externally as well… the Talus has internal routing, but it’s not that shape… are you sure that isn’t a photo for a militis?

oh, i guess i should weigh in on the other stuff too… Freakin’ China! Blah blah blah! USA! USA! USA! Profit Margins! Human Rights! LBS!

Dudes, RE the debate between Rob and Fred — there are few major name brands that “make” bikes, outside of the custom companies most major brands — Raleigh, Trek, Giant, etc — outsource almost all there production, save for a few top line models. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it means that then the main difference in quality comes from assembly — e.i, your local bike shop, where you can actually go and talk to a person.

I love it when people insist their bike is best because its a Trek, or a Cannondale, or something. Yes, these companies design the bikes, but they do not handle production at US facilities for the bulk of their product line. Don’t knock raleigh — everyone does it, and for one reason; economically, it works. If we had run of the mill entry and mid level frames being made here in the US they would cost twice as much at least. I’m not going to address the issue of fair watges overseas etc — there are valid concerns there from a humanitarian standpoint — but let me simply ask you this: Would you be willing to pay 800$ for a 400$ bike? No? Then building em overseas is good for you. Knock it if you must, but do so with, as Fred said, knowledge of how the industry works. At the same time, to credit Rob, there is often not much difference between different company names made int he same overseas factory — which is where the design of the frame, the parts spect, and the assembly of your local bike shop is given a chance to shine. End of rant.