vincev

has anyone seen or have any imput on the old english roadster offered for sale on www.hiwheel.com ?

sailorbenjamin

Chinese, not a bad deal but maybe better to find a real Raleigh close to home rather than ship a cheap replica for about the same money.

mackerel

I bought pedals and a saddle from hiwheel.com.
I suspect they were made in India.
Poor quality, but the price was right.

StephenH

There are Raleigh-style bikes made in both India and China. I don't know about the quality on specific models. I've got an Arpan low-gravity bike made in India, and it is fairly low quality.

If buying disassembled, check what all you have to put together (example: wheel building).

Also look up Yellow Jersey which sells a similar bike.

Note that these bikes are not made as replicas, they are simply riding bicycles made for the domestic markets in those countries, that just happen to be based on an old bike design.

SouthernGothic

I bought an Indian made roadster as a sacrifce to bad weather to preserve my Raleigh DL1. It wasn't even worth the hundred dollars I spent on it.
The frame was no where near straight and had a disconcerting twist to it when viewed from behind.
The parts where ill fitted and is some cases screw holes drilled at odd angles and unfinished - this gave one of the pedals a unique slant.
After one trip in wet weather - one trip, mind you - all the black finish on the seat peeled off, the drop-outs rusted and delaminated(yes, the dropouts actual looked like a metal version of wet plywood), and all the screws and spokes rusted up - heavily so.
Save your money - even buying a junked Raleigh roadster and fixing it up will be well worth your time and effort comparatively.
The Indian bike did have a nice bell with a good deep ring...I kept that.

cbr2702

If you are considering a 3rd world made roadster, have a look at the chinese made flying pigeon. I have one and think highly of them. Nothing like the terrible build quality issues people are describing with the indian ones.

mackerel

I wonder what happens to all the bikes in India when the monsoon arrives.