The Raleigh Chopper is a children's bicycle, a wheelie bike, manufactured and marketed in the 1970s by the Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham, England. Its unique design became a cultural icon and is fondly remembered by many who grew up in that period. The design was influenced by dragsters, "chopped" motorcycles, beach buggys, and even chariots, as can be seen on the centre page of the 1969 Raleigh US catalogue.
Design
The Raleigh Chopper's design has been a constant debate, with claims by both Tom Karen of Ogle Design and Alan Oakley of Raleigh. The Chopper was designed in response to the Schwinn Sting-Ray, and an earlier attempt, called the Rodeo, which was not commercially successful. The popularity of the Chopper also led to a range of smaller bikes following a similar design theme. These included the Raleigh Chipper, Tomahawk and Budgie models, aimed at younger riders.
History
Mk 1
The Chopper's patent was applied for in the US in 1967. The Chopper was introduced at American trade shows in January 1969 but it was not until April 1969 when Raleigh Choppers were available for public to purchase. The bike featured a choice of a single-speed coaster hub, or a 3-speed or 5-speed Sturmey Archer gear hub, selected using a frame-mounted console gear lever. Other features that appealed to the youth market were the unusual frame, long padded high-back seat, sprung seat at the back, high-rise handlebars, 'bobbed' mudguards and differently sized wheels: front and rear. The rear hoop above the seat resembled a dragsteranti roll bar "sissy bar". Even the kickstand was designed to give the stationary bicycle a lean reminiscent of a parked motorcycle. Tyres were wider than usual for the time, with a chunky tread on the rear wheel, featuring a red line around the sidewall. In 1969 the Raleigh Chopper was launched in the UK market this was a triple launch for Raleigh, with the Chopper branded as THE HoT oNE, alongside the Moulton Mk3, and the RSW Mk3. The Chopper bike was sold as a "must have" item and signifier of "coolness" for many children at the time.
The Mk 2 Chopper was an improved version sold from 1972. It had the rarely-purchased option of five-speed derailleur gears, and the gear lever shifter changed from a knob to a T-bar-style shifter. The frame was subtly revised, and the seat moved forward, to help prevent the front of the bicycle tipping up. A small rear rack was added. The handlebars were welded to the stem to stop children from inclining the "ape hanger" bars backward, thereby rendering the bicycle almost unsteerable. A drop-handlebar version, the Sprint, was also produced, this differed from the standard Mk 2, as it had a slightly taller frame. The Chopper Mk 2 remained in production until 1980, by which time the BMX craze had taken over its market. However, the Chopper almost single-handedly rescued Raleigh, which had been in decline during the 1960s, selling millions worldwide.
Handling and safety
The original Chopper is fondly remembered, though it was not without problems: It was less stable than a conventional bicycle and trickier to ride. The Chopper was not suitable for cycling long distances as it was slow and heavy, the wide tires creating significant rolling resistance. At moderate speeds it suffered speed wobbles. After several reported accidents, it was attacked in the press as a dangerous toy. The long seat lent itself to giving lifts to others, and accidents were not uncommon. It could perform involuntary wheelies readily, again a frequent cause of accidents. The position of the gear lever could also contribute to injuries sustained in a crash.
Original models
UK market
MK1 - available only as a 3 speed model, Brilliant Orange, Golden Yellow, Flamboyant Green, Targa Mustard, and Horizon Blue.
Sprint GT - available in either Bronze or Flamboyant Green.
MK2 - standard 3 speed models available in Infra Red, Ultra Violet, Fizzy Lemon, Quick Silver, Space Blue, and Jet Black.
MK2 - SE with cast alloy mags to commemorate 750,000 choppers
US market The North American market had a much wider spectrum of models and colours available. In 1971 there was a ban on tall sissy bars so the chopper was only sold with a low back rest. A summary of models:
MK1 1969 'Tall Frames'; available as a single speed coaster, 3 speed, and 5 speed.
MK1 1970-1972 available as a single speed coaster, 3 speed 5 speed 5 speed and 10 speed. The single and three speed models were also available as a Girl’s model without crossbar.
MK2 available as a 3 speed and 5 speed.
The Eatons connection The Raleigh Chopper was also sold through Eaton's in Canada, badged as Gliders, and sold as the Fastback 100, Fastback XT101, SS357, ULT, Princess and MACH-2 models. Worldwide sales Raleigh sold the Chopper to many countries worldwide. In some countries Raleigh chose to sell Choppers with alternative brands. These included BSA, Hercules, Humber, Malvern Star, Phillips, Robin Hood, Rudge and Speedwell Fireballs.
Imitators
The success of the Chopper led to similarly styled imitators, such as the Pavemaster Trusty Tracker, Triang Dragster, Dawes Zipper, Panther and Vindec High Riser in the UK as well as the very close copy of an Mk 2 named "Cincoa" and in more recent years the Ground Cruiser which was sold in the UK at the same time as the release of the MK 3.
A new version of the Chopper, the Mk 3, was launched in February 2004 firstly in red then purple, the Chopper having being out of production for almost 25 years. The Mk3, in deference to modern safety concerns, adopts a more conventional saddle design to discourage "backies", and has dropped the groin-catching gear lever in favour of handlebar mounted gear controls; to commemorate this former feature the Mk 3 has a sticker where the lever once was located. The frame is made from aluminium alloy tubing, rather than the originals' steel, to make the bicycle lighter. The wheels are again 20 inches for the back wheel and 16 for the front wheel. The MK3 remained in production until 2009 when it was replaced by the slightly changed mk4 model. Since then there have been multiple editions of the Chopper - the Beano edition, JPS, Hot One and Mod. Instead of the 3 speed Sturmey Archer hubs they changed to 6 speed shimano derailleur gears. All these were considered mk5, production of which ended in summer 2018.
