An iconic cycle

What has one small wheel, one big wheel, three gears and a bucket full of freaking attitude?

The Raleigh Chopper.

If there’s one iconic item from the youth of my generation this bike is it. You’d see the kids outside of the sweet shop sitting on their choppers, one foot on a pedal and the other on the ground, hand on the gear stick trying to look as cool as possible.

Some would have added tassels to the handlebars and others playing cards clipped to the wheels so that they would make clattering noises as the wheel turned. These kids knew that their bike was more than just a way of getting around. They were hard to ride, a little dangerous (doing a wheely on a chopper was a fine balance between cool points and injury) but the best looking bike on the streets.

So what can we say about the chopper today? What comparisons can we make between the youth of yesteryear and their choice of bike and the youth of today? What insight can we gain from the affect this bike had during its heyday?

None.

The only thing we can say for sure is that this version is worth about £450 quid and I’ve got my old one sitting in my garage. Ha!

Posted by JohnJo at November 3, 2003 10:21 AM | TrackBack