MY DREAM BIKE.... ONE DAY.... ONE DAY SOON .... (Raleigh Chopper Bike)

Member Name: saramac

Product:	Raleigh Chopper Bike
Date:	21/09/09 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pure "style" on wheels.

Disadvantages: Could be dangerous if not handled correctly.

The Raleigh Chopper bike is a 1970's cultural icon and for me no bike since has come anywhere near being as wonderful. I can't express to you how desperate I was to own one, they were are a "must have"!


Did I get one? No because my Mum deemed them dangerous, unsafe etc....
Have I ever got over it? No, sad as it may seem, still to this day I have a desperate yearning for a Raleigh Chopper, there is definitely a gaping void in my life that only a Raleigh Chopper can fill.....


I never forgave my Mum, especially when she presented me with a Raleigh Shopper, complete with nerdy shopping basket, I set about trying to "lose" it, but alas everytime I left it somewhere, some "kind" person would return it, that flippin shopper haunted me. Eventually I left it in the shed to rust and thank goodness Dad gave it to a lovely little girl who cherished it, as a lesson to ungrateful me Yipeeeee!......


One day I will own a Raleigh Chopper, I have been promised one, probably to stop me plotting to steal the one on the wall in TGI's near us, I wouldn't really, Honest.....


History~

The Raleigh Chopper was made suprisingly by Raleigh bikes in Nottingham England and they eventually sold over 2 million.

The Raleigh Chopper MK1 was launched in USA in 1968 and had no success so it was launched in UK in 1970 and sold like hot cakes, it was "the must have" for children and it single handedly saved the Raleigh bike company. This lead to smaller versions for younger children being produced Chipper, Tomahawk and Budgie. Right up till 1984 Choppers were snapped up, then BMX and then Mountain bikes took over.


The bike was based on the customised Chopper style motor bike and was influenced by films of the time such as "Easy Rider" it was billed as "The Ultimate Bike For Coolness".


Style~

With it's high rise (ape hanger) handlebars which you could undo and incline them backwards which rendered it almost unridable a challenge for any child, we never ever participated in this dangerous activity, honest.....


The long, high backed black leather padded seat was the ultimate in cool features and also enabled me to ride with my friend, back to back, affectionately known as a "backie" which I might add was much more dangerous than having my own Chopper all to myself.....


It featured a 3 speed "Sturmey Archer" gear hub with a frame mounted gear lever ( a stick with a knob on the end, only way to describe it) in the middle of the frame. Sprung suspension at the back and "bobbed mudguards".


The wheels were different sizes, the back 20" with a wide tyre and chunky tread, the front 16", both with a red line round the side wall. A hoop above the seat similar to the motorcycle "sissy bar" and a kickstand again modelled on a motorbike were more special features.


It came in bright sunny yellow, racing red and glowing orange. Later models came in a vast array of colours black, blue, silver....


All this wonderfulness for the sum of £32 and I got a Raleigh Shopper!


Chopper MK2 was launched in 1972 featuring 5 speed derailleur gears with a T-Bar style gear stick. The seat was slightly more forward and the handle bars were welded to stop the shenanigans of turning them backwards ~ spoilsports.


Chopper MK3, with a normal seat,( no backrest )and handle bar gears was launched with an alluminium frame to replace the original steel frame, not as good as the original in my opinion....


Why was it deemed dangerous?

To be honest in my opinion, the Chopper wasn't designed to ride long distances, but which children want to ride long distances? Bikes for children are for a ride round the block and to their friends house, the park etc. They were tricky to ride with the high handlebars and high back seat, the weight didn't seem to be distributed very well, partly due to the fact it was made of steel and therefore a heavy bike to begin with. This resulted in a "wobbly" ride much of the time but the sheer joy of riding this stylish machine made up for any wobbles a hundredfold.


If you fell off on to the original style gear stick, that little knob on the end could really hurt, especially where it hurts if you know what I mean...


Im told it was a fabulous design for pulling wheelies with the chunky larger tyre at the back but, of course I can't comment as I never pulled wheelies, Honest.... if you believe that you will believe anything....


To complete the look you could buy "tassles" to hang out of the end of the handles, they really completed the style of ultimate coolness for me as my friend and I took turns to peddle her bright yellow Chopper with the other on the back. When I think how dangerous that was, the 2 of us lived on that bike and I can tell you it was flippin hard work pedalling with the weight of both of us.


So there you have a true icon from the 70's and one day just one day, I will have my own but it's got to be a red original the price varies massively depending on the condition, I've seen them for approx £189 and upwards~ 5 stylish stars from me.

Summary: A true cultural icon from 1970