Raleigh Bomber

[splodge s4]

Morning chaps, thought i'd post about the 1983 Raleigh Bomber that I have just given a quick brush over. I had one of these when I was 11 so that was 1981 (couple of years before the Kuw ET). Its a big beast for a kid but I soon had it up wheeling down the road. Unfortunatly the front forks are very weak & they soon bent out nearly horizontal. Then whilst jumping it the frame cracked around the head tube. Also the rear wheel was badly buckled but apart from that it was a great cruising bike.

I bought this from Ebay for £55. It has the original gumwall snake bellies which is really important as they arn't available anymore & ive never seen a pair for sale anywhere. The tread is pretty good so thay should last a while.

Heres the pics, its an 83 so slightly different to the one I had, It has a Burner chain ring instead of a plastic grifter type but thats about it. Also someone had put Burner stickers on it







It was a complete bike apart from handlebar grips & the proper stickers. The seat is also a new version of the old one, very similar to the original but its not quite the same, good enough though & very comfy. Soon had it stripped & re sprayed





Everything else was scrubbed with alloy wheel cleaner & it came up lovely, built it then waited for the decals



Then finished with a new set of foam grips, gears work & its a great cruising bike.





All in all a very easy resto, its a bike i'll use so not to worried about keeping it perfect. It cost £55, decals were £20 & paints £25 so £100 all in. Theres Bombers on ebay now for around £200 so still quids in.

Now what next....

[Gizmo!]

Retro

I assume that top tube is supposed to look like that?

[DrMekon]

I recall the cranks on those being very weak.

[Pablo16v]

Wow! That's brought back a lot of good memories. My cousin and I both had Bombers, and we both ended up fitting new forks. Mine were spangly chrome ones. In 1985 I replaced the Bomber with my first "proper" ATB.....a 15sp Raleigh maverick

[mattviatura]

Snake bellies...

If someone re-issued them now they'd clean up. I'd love a set of 20" yellow ones.

[Mars]

splodge s4 said:

I have said before, this was the bike that fired my imagination to the extent that no other bike ever has. It was the single worst bike I ever had too - the forks were hardly strong enough to hold the bike up and would bend outwards when you landed from a wheelie - but despite this and the fact that every subsequent bike I've owned represented some fabulous engineering and technology, I have never been so excited by the arrival of a bike as I was my Raleigh Bomber.

In this last pic, you just need to tilt the handlebars back a bit until the grips are horizontal. That's how we rode them back then. We cruised, sitting upright, and feeling cool.

Love it..!!

[Al Wyn]

Had one of these too...82-83ish iirc...so so wanted the electric blue one they did but they were out of stock so a black beastie it was. Remember jumping it of a small ramp landing it nose first and the forks bending so much the front tyre was wedged up against the downtube...then dragging it home to a happy parental reception

[S1_RS]

I had a Super Bomber, the one with the blue plastic coated chrome frame. Mine suffered the usual fate of busted front forks.

[Y282]

very, very cool.

one of the comfiest bikes i've ever ridden.

[CraigVmax]

when i was a kid my granddad had a bike shop, my 2 memories where this and the first raleigh bmx arriving, awesome

[splodge s4]

Y282 said:

very, very cool.

one of the comfiest bikes i've ever ridden.

Yes its is comfy! Not used to the up right position but after riding choppers to the pub recently this feels so fast. I also ride a specialized Bighit & a Kona Stinky down hill bike with lots of suspension travel so the Bomber feels tight, power direct to the rear with out being soaked up through the suspension. Its a great bike to bomb into town or ride to the post box etc.

Thanks for your comments chaps... i've already got another project lined up & about to start. A bike that made my groin tingle when I was 14...anyone remember R.L Osbourne riding an '84 Redline Prostyler?

White F&F, white skyways, white Skyway EZ mk1 Bars... cant wait

[mattviatura]

splodge s4 said:

Thanks for your comments chaps... i've already got another project lined up & about to start. A bike that made my groin tingle when I was 14...anyone remember R.L Osbourne riding an '84 Redline Prostyler?

White F&F, white skyways, white Skyway EZ mk1 Bars... cant wait

You are a pain in the backside. I'm trying to talk myself out of tracking down an '83 GT Pro and this doesn't help.

[splodge s4]

mattviatura said:

You are a pain in the backside. I'm trying to talk myself out of tracking down an '83 GT Pro and this doesn't help.

Pro or Performer? I'd love a Performer in Flyin banana Eddie Fiola yellow? mmm.... trix r4 kids. I've got a later version, the Vertigo but its not the same, not at all.

You know you want to, & that want will never go away

[Mars]

The Skyway sold. I actually ended up with slightly more than I paid for it. Lost a bit on some bits but won a bit on others.

I still have the tyres, pedals, seat and seatpost. I'll keep the pedals for my new (not yet arrived) MTB.

[mattviatura]

splodge s4 said:

Pro or Performer

Pro. Must be 1983, must be chrome, must have the NORA Cup decal and must NOT have GT stamped in the top-tube extension.

Not that I'm a geek about such things.

My main want is still of course an ET but it'll be a long wait. Might do another Burner over the winter.

Mars how much did the F&F go for out of interest and what did you get for the brakes if you don't mind me asking?

[splodge s4]

Mars said:

The Skyway sold.

I was watching the frame, you did well by re listing it!

mattviatura said:

Pro. Must be 1983, must be chrome, must have the NORA Cup decal and must NOT have GT stamped in the top-tube extension.

My main want is still of course an ET but it'll be a long wait.

Not a geek my ar#e!

I've slowly been buying things for the Kuw, new pad set (though not ET but i like these) & a new front wheel & proper OGK bar grips. Got a proper set of dia compe 890s to go on soon so thats it pretty perfect, here it is now





Looking forward to The Prostyler

[Mars]

^^^ That is so lovely. BMXs have absolutely no character these days.

[mattviatura]

splodge s4 said:

Not a geek my ar#e!

[Al Wyn]

mattviatura said:

You are a pain in the backside. I'm trying to talk myself out of tracking down an '83 GT Pro and this doesn't help.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1983-GT-handlebars-old-school-bmx-/150679474389?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item23153250d5 hth

[Al Wyn]

mattviatura said:

You are a pain in the backside. I'm trying to talk myself out of tracking down an '83 GT Pro and this doesn't help.

Heres some bars to get you started http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1983-GT-handlebars-old-s... hth
This wont help though as its an ols ad...but have a quick little peeky anyway http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1231...

Edited by Al Wyn on Wednesday 19th October 22:13