Raleigh Bicycle Company used by the Raleigh professional team of the 1970s. Presently Raleigh as a company owns the Diamondback Bike brand as well. During the 1980s Raleigh also supported British professional teams, including "Raleigh Banana" and "Raleigh Weinmann". Raleigh's most notable riders were Paul Sherwin, Malcolm Elliott, Mark Bell, Paul Watson, Jon Clay and Jeff Williams. It also sponsored a mountain bike team in the early 1990s that also raced in road events. In 2009 it was announced that the company would be creating a new Continental-level cycling team called Team Raleigh. The Team were co-sponsored by the global shipping and logistics
Merlin (bicycle company) Merlin (bicycle company) Merlin Metalworks, Inc. was a pioneer in titanium bicycle design and construction. Merlin introduced the first titanium alloy mountain bike, oversized tubesets, s-bend chain and seat stays for mountain bikes. For road bikes, Merlin commercialized the first titanium butted tubing and many other innovations. The company was founded in 1986 by Gwyn Jones, Gary Helfrich, and Mike Augspurger in Cambridge, Massachusetts They were the first to manufacture bicycle frames constructed solely from titanium. Merlin became known for their meticulous and visually pleasing puddle welds. The first Merlin frame was a mountain bike frame custom-built for the defending