Did I imagine owning a Raleigh Harlequin...?

[Chrissy_J]

Hi folks, I'm hoping some of you nice people will be able to help me out here...

Back in 1992 or thereabouts, I bought an MTB from Brian Rourke Cycles in Stoke-on-Trent; I'm certain that it was a Raleigh Harlequin, but Googling it makes me think the name is something else...

It was definitely a Raleigh (I've never ridden anything else apart from a Claud Butler ARC), no suspension in those days, and it was an yellowy-orange colour, with many other colours printed on a clear decal covering the frame and fork tubes. The handlebars and stem were black, as was the chainset, and it was probably a 15-speed.

I'm not looking to buy one right now, I just want to know that I didn't imagine owning this bike for 3 years...

 

[velomaniac]

A colour scheme like that is definitely up Raleighs street, they were not afraid to damage their customers eyes.

I'm sure I've heard of a Harlequin although not sure it was a Raleigh but then there were so many names.

Good Luck

 

[Charlieboy28]

was it fugly and looked like this

 

[Chrissy_J]

Yep, that's the one... how could I forget the blue bottle carrier???

Thanks for the Blast From The Past, Charlieboy!

 

[big.eck]

i have one of them in the shed waiting to be built up

 

[zigzag]

It's a British Ritchey Commando!

Damn these wine goggles...

 

[pete_mcc]

Name doesnt sound right for Raleigh. They gave their bikes real manly, roughty-toughty names like Magnum, Orge, Mustang, the sorts of names that people in 80s Tom Cruise films would have as their nicknames. I don't think that a type of camp, brightly painted clown fits into that group (although maybe when Tom Cruise dreams a dream ...).

Was it a Raleigh Amazon? A Raleigh Chuck Norris? A Raleigh Throbbing Grissle? (I may have made one or two of those names up but they were probably the 1980s line up of Raleigh bikes on the drawing board)

 

[Charlieboy28]

I agree pete, with the manly name thing, but i think the colour scheme was known as harlequin, dont quote me on any of this though

 

[pete_mcc]

I agree pete, with the manly name thing, but i think the colour scheme was known as harlequin, dont quote me on any of this though

Harlequin was a colour scheme but on Fat Chance bikes back in the 80/90s

http://www.mombat.org/88fatjump.jpg

Not subtle either...

Raleigh colour schemes were of the 'explosion-in-a-paint-shop' ilk, so I know what you mean!

 

[legrandefromage]

Another weapon in the Raleigh 'it looks like a mountain bike so we'll flog it as a mountain bike' role call of awful pressed steel bikes