Back in the late 60s and 70s, before BMXs hit the market, the Raleigh Chopper bikes were the coolest thing around and many children dreamed of having one, including me.
It was the era of freedom, change and breaking boundaries, the time of free love, Woodstock, long hair, the Beatles and the moon landing. As a teenager, after the confines of boarding school, it was my chance to break some of my own childhood boundaries and buy a ticket to freedom.
The shape of vehicles was changing to longer fronts and shorter backs. Influenced by the ‘dragster’ cars used in drag racing, ‘chopped’ motorcycles and beach buggies, Raleigh produced the Chopper in 1969 giving it a smaller wheel in the front (good for wheelies!), a large back wheel, a high-back ‘banana’ seat with an anti-roll (or ‘sissy’) bar and high ‘ape hanger’ handle bars. Its unique design became a hit and a cultural icon that featured in movies and TV series.
The Chopper became the bike of the time, selling millions. It was especially popular in the US and the UK, where it was marketed as ‘The Hot One’ and ‘The Smooth One’, a ‘must-have’ item that scored high on the coolness barometer for children and young adults.
I was over the moon when my father finally agreed to lend me the money for a Chopper, on condition that I paid him back. When the time came for our family holiday to Swakopmund, I couldn’t bear to be parted from it and insisted that it had to be loaded into the family car and come with us. I thought that I had joined the ranks of the cool cats and would be able to impress all the girls, but with a banana seat, ape handle bars and my long holiday hair streaming in the wind, was probably far from it.
By the time my Chopper came to me, the Raleigh name had already been around for a while. In 1890 Sir Frank Bowden had purchased a small bike company in Raleigh Street, Nottingham, and established the Raleigh Bicycle Company, taking its name from the street. It merged with the TI Group in 1960 and would over the next century become one of the largest manufacturers of bikes worldwide.
My Chopper days were short-lived, however, and before long I swapped it for a more conventional bike that would be lighter, faster and more stable over long distances. I decided to sell it after an unfortunate incident when I was riding off road, hit a bump and fell off. The gear lever that was poorly positioned on the middle bar caused me a good deal of pain and gave my friends much opportunity for laughter. It was an early lesson in my life that coolness comes at a price.
The good memories live on and when I saw a Chopper advertised on an online auction, I immediately bought it as decoration for Gondwana’s Canyon Roadhouse. It is now part of the vintage automobile collection in the Roadhouse’s colourful restaurant, which shines with the romance and adventure of yesteryear.
(Reference: Raleigh Chopper - Wikipedia; History - Raleigh SA (raleighintl.com)