2023 New Raleigh Chopper: Iconic Bike Relaunched!

Perhaps it should stay in the 1970s along with Shawaddywaddy, Spangles and white dog turds.

I am seeing more white dog turds around in the last couple of years, it must be a nutrition thing so maybe the world is ready for a new Chopper

I didn’t much like them at the time as they were slow compared to my Puch Pathfinder.

I was into the gravel scene, well, there was a disused railway line nearby at any rate.

Totally agree with Fenboy, owned a chipper, then my dad bought me a purple Raleigh Hustler!

For all you waxing lyrical about the Grifter did you never experience “slip gear”?
The cause of many a blunt force trauma to adolescent testicles. Usually occuring as a result of standing up to apply extra power to the pedals 😬

For all you waxing lyrical about the Grifter did you never experience “slip gear”?
The cause of many a blunt force trauma to adolescent testicles. Usually occuring as a result of standing up to apply extra power to the pedals

I certainly did Phil but at that age it can’t have been worse than the ‘trauma’ I was inflicting on myself.

For all you waxing lyrical about the Grifter did you never experience “slip gear”?

On several painful occasions. My grifter was a ss in 2nd and 3rd for more of its life with me than it was geared. I put my SSing down to that early abuse! 🤔😬😁

@pjay yep I still have a scar on my right elbow underside where I took it down to the bone sliding downhill while using my elbow as a brake until I wedged under a parked car.
Such great memories 😬

What a 60’s/70’s hall of fame there is in this thread: Sid James, Dave Bickers, Badger Goss, Dennis Hopper, …

British bike manufacturer

Are they? Are just thought ‘Raleigh’ was a brand name owned by Accel (this week).

A new chopper you say? Hooray for nostalgia! Perfect for all those tubby 50-somethings with rose tinted memories of the 70s to trundle to the pub on twice over the summer then throw in the shed till these too become a collector’s item.

I had an orange one. I remember getting chased by a gang in Linn park in Glasgow. Couldn’t get up the hill fast enough and was shoved off the bike. The wheel was buckled so had to push it home. I did love mine at the time but 18kg and calliper brakes, bikes have moved on so much, so I’m out my money will go on something more usable

@Devash – maybe with a smaller gear as I seem to remember the Klunker was a bit hard work to pedal.

My main recollection of the Transition Klunker was Lars Sternberg absolutely shredding one in the promo video, throwing huge air and high speeds at Whistler Bike Park and then loads of people buying them and bumbling along like old men (myself included when I borrowed one).

There were a few Choppers in my street. I had a Raleigh Wayfarer. Far better at being an actual bike. Stable. Handling good enough to stop with a skid sideways locking the rear wheel. Chrome steel rims so lethal braking in the wet. All steel components so not light. But a better bike than the Chopper. Good enough to jump a few feet and land safely.

Raleigh Wayfarer – A late introduction.

I don’t think the Chopper was ever really that cool at the time – just a retro marketing job. The Chipper and Tommahawk were awesome because you had them when you were 6 and 8 and then something that looked like an American motorcycle with playing cards in the rear wheels was not cool because we didn’t know what cool was but definitely what we wanted.

I was a kid in the 70s early 80s but by the time you were big enough to ride a chopper most kids I knew ( me included) wanted a ‘proper’ racing bike with drops and 5 gears. The really rich kids had ‘gasp’ 10 gears!

Funnily enough choppers were mainly for girls and kids that never actually cycled anywhere

like others have said if you wanted to dick about in the woods or do jumps on the rec over your mates all laying down like Evil Kenivel then a Grifter was where it was at.