Manufacturing Processes
Raleigh was so sure of the quality of their bicycles that in 1907 they launched a guarantee scheme against defects of the frame without any time limit. They were able to make this guaranteee as all their bicycles used pioneering new brazing techniques to join the frame, thereby creating an 'All-Steel Bicycle'. Even in 1955, Raleigh was still using their slogan of the All-Steel Bicycle. The slogan was a valuable selling point at a time when all rival firms were still using more old-fashioned methods.
Brazing joints on a bicycle frame was a technical development pioneered by Raleigh. In the early days the procedure of dip-brazing was perfected, and led to the introduction of the 'All-Steel Bicycle'. This technique replaced the method of making joints over a blacksmith's forge, which meant even the slightest error could lead to a weakening of the frame. With dip-brazing, the parts were joined by simply dipping them into liquid brass. It saved an enormous amount of time and was another vital step towards mass production. By the 1970s, the method of ring-brazing was being used to increase productivity.
The frame and fork shop was where the frame was assembled on a jig, ensuring that it was built exactly to the design specification. It would then be drilled and pegged in various vital spots, in preparation for dip-brazing. Once all the joints had been brazed, the frames and forks would be 'stripped' or polished to remove any adhesions, prior to leaving the department.
All component parts of a bicycle including lamps and chain guards were made on the factory site. The only items Raleigh did not manufacture were saddles (made by Brooks) and tyres (made by Dunlop).
Once the strips of steel which form the wheel rims have been bent into necessary shape, and welded into hoops they still need some tidying up before they can move onto the next stage. Workers remove the surplus metal from the welding process by using two different grades of abrasive: a coarse one to begin with and a finer one to finish. Once the valve and spoke holes have been made, the final operation in the rim shop is polishing.
