Mmmmmm....Hey all,
I'm trying to compile a list of British E-Bike brands - could you help?
I'd also be interested in which ones you rate most highly.
Cheers
Background:I think Raleigh is hardly British at all. Dutch owned, almost all the frames and components from Far East (including the Bosch motors), I'm not sure where they are assembled.
Derby Cycles is called Derby Cycles because when the guys from the company were on there way to buy Raleigh they decided they needed a more English sounding name for the company, at the time they were on Derby Road, & the rest is history.Background:
In 1960 TI Group (formerly Tube Investments) bought Raleigh.
In 1987 TI sold Raleigh to the Derby International company, later Derby Cycles gmbh, Germany.
In 2001 the management of the UK Raleigh operation bought the Raleigh group companies from Derby Cycles, but still leaving Derby Cycles with rights to use all the Raleigh brand names like Raleigh, Univega etc. That UK management set up the Eastwood location as their main distribution centre for the various products they were buying in.
On 26th April 2012 the UK Raleigh company was bought by the giant Dutch Accell Group who now wholly own the operation.
At that time Accell wanted to buy Derby Cycles gmbh as well and reached 22% of the shares, but since it was a hostile bid situation they changed their mind and sold those shares to a rival Dutch company Pon Holdings. Pon Holdings have since wholly acquired Derby Cycles gmbh, hence both Pon and Accell group selling Raleigh branded bikes and e-bikes as rivals.
.
Indeed. I still find it odd that it's now Germanically named Derby Cycles gmbh rather than Ltd or plc.Derby Cycles is called Derby Cycles because when the guys from the company were on there way to buy Raleigh they decided they needed a more English sounding name for the company, at the time they were on Derby Road, & the rest is history.