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Hi, I’d like some help identifying the year of 2 Raleigh bikes I own. If I can’t identify the exact year I’d still like to know what year they started making and finished making these types? Just so I have a range at least. There are no serial numbers on these designs. Thanks in advance for any help!
My first bike was a Raleigh Bullet. I loved it! We got it at John Lewis around 1982.
These appear to both be from the 1970s or at most the early `80s. The lettering (font-style) is reminiscent of that time.
The Boxer has cottered cranks, which would have been gone by the 80s. This imply it was a bike of decent quality for the time. The front chainring reminds me of the Raleigh Chopper, which is definitely "collectable" these days.
One thing not clear in your photo is there are two downtubes which is unusual, giving it a "light" appearance. Being steel, its not particularly light though.
The rims are steel based on the light rust, and the brake calipers are the pressed-steel construction normal for that period. Also the pedals look like classic Raleigh rubber block construction.
Only issues I see are flat tyres, the rear brake cable isn't clipped in and the front cable might be a bit long and catch on things.
The Bullet looks nice - not much to say about it though. This dates from a time before balance bikes, so this would have been for a 3~6 year old, with the intention of raising the outrigger wheels over time to encourage 2-wheel riding.
They both look in surprisingly "fresh" condition too. If you know of suitably-aged kids, they'd love these bikes. Otherwise pass them on to someone who will value them. A collector may be interested too - they are absolutely not junk.
More info:
https://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/raleigh/19412
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh_Grifter (the Boxer gets a mention as "the smallest in the range" of "Action bikes" )
