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Monday 28th October 2024

The Story of Reynolds & BMX: Raleigh

When thinking of BMX bikes, Reynolds might not be the first thing that comes to mind. In this series, we are excited to take a look at a lesser-known part of the Reynolds story and our ties to the world of BMX bikes.

When BMX reached the UK shores from the USA in 1980 it was as far away from Reynolds’ usual products as you could ever imagine. Picture, if you will, a 20” wheeled BMX bike, stood next to a Dawes Galaxy or a Bob Jackson race frame.

Reynolds at the time was part of Ti Group and Raleigh were also part of the Ti family. It’s easy to forget now but at the time Raleigh were the dominant force in UK cycling with a 35% market share. Raleigh’s biggest UK customer was the bike retailer Halfords. Halfords were instrumental in promoting BMX in the UK and the first UK BMX track was by their Redditch headquarters.

Raleigh were quick to see the opportunity that BMX presented. Within 2 years Raleigh had the Burner available in the UK in numerous guises. It was not lightweight at 14kg, but notably lighter than the Grifter at 35kg! Raleigh were well versed in the idea of ‘Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday’ with the Ti road race team. They were quick to get a BMX pro race team up and running and signed the UK’s biggest name in BMX – Andy Ruffell. His teammate, Craig Schofield, took the world title in Whistler Canada, in 1985.

The picture above shows a rider, possibly Andy Ruffell, Toby Henderson or Jeff Botema, jumping a Raleigh Burner in front of a bemused line of Reynolds Executives outside the Hay Hall offices in Tyseley. What they thought of this daring act, is anyone’s guess really. It was a far cry from the Ti – Raleigh – Creda pro team.

In the smoke and mirrors world of Pro Bike Racing the race bikes were built in Japan by Tange and bore little relation to the Burner you could buy in Halfords. Reynolds made a lot of tubing for Raleigh and not all of it was 531. A lot of those sturdy Burners started life on a drawbench in Tyseley. The Burner was a raging success for Raleigh and sold some 1 million bikes.

Strangely, Raleigh abandoned BMX in favour of Mountain Bikes. The Burner withered on the vine, rather than being developed. Raleigh saw it as a fad and not a sustained part of cycling. Raleigh BMX is a case of what could have been.

Many of the early pioneers in BMX continue to be successful – Mongoose, GT, and Diamondback are still going strong and racing. Over the years as BMX has developed, the demands of these race bikes have changed considerably.

Nowadays, you need a very strong, light bike. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

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