My First Bike back in 1970 ish

[GrandPaBrogan]

Erm... 22 mins before ya

Hey, I type slow!
Either that, or I think even slower!

 

[Supratad]

Its' speed wobble totally was recoverable.
The main reason most riders who got spat on their faces when it happened was that they were sat down with all their weight rearwards on that big long seat rather than weighting the centre of the bike through the crannks and the front wheel through the bars.

Well forgive me for not having the l3et skillzorz, I was like, eight years old.

 

[Gary]

There's still time.

 

[penguinni]

I was 11 years old when I got my metallicy green Chopper. It had been used as bait to encourage me to do well in the 11+ ( UK educational selection tests) and I was told if I passed I would get one in March. Imagine my surprise on Christmas morning when I walked into the lounge and it was sitting there! Best Christmas ever. I loved that bike. Spent hours and hours riding it for miles and miles and always felt I was just the coolest dude. And I passed the 11+!

Not mine, unfortunately.

 

[Supratad]

That’s the mk1 if my memory serves me. Straight seat stays as mentioned earlier, longer seat and no “backie-rack”. My brother had that in blue but by the time I got one, it was a purple mk2. The gloss black with reflective decals was the bees knees though.
The cast-as-one stem and bars used to break quite easily, usually when slamming down the front end after a rad wheelie.
I bought (probably my parents, begrudgingly “why do you have to break stuff? You can’t have anything nice”) a new stem and bars which meant the bars could be leant backwards for even dodgier handling.

 

[Steve38]

Gloss Metallic Purple Chopper for me - would have been approx 1975

#oldfartreminiscing

 

[Beekeeper]

My parents wouldn’t buy me a Raleigh Chopper saying it was far too expensive. I thought they looked amazing.

On a slightly different subject, we sold our Carrera hardtails (5 years old) recently on Facebook for not far off the price we paid new. We had requests for them within a few minutes of posting the adverts. Incredible demand for bikes at the moment

 

[Beekeeper]

The seat of the chopper reminds me of two Bosch 500wh powerpacks at right angles.

Now there’s a thought!
In theory the seats would be heated which is an added bonus!

Anyone for crowdfunding an E-Chopper? ?

 

[Supratad]

Yes, did that a few months back with my wife’s Carrera Krakatoa. £300 for a £450 bike from 2014 seemed OK.

 

[Supratad]

Anyone for crowdfunding an E-Chopper? ?

You can buy them already, from, erm, specialist shops.

 

[Doomanic]

I had a Grifter. I think it was made out of repurposed oil tankers, probably weighed more than my eeb!

 

[Beekeeper]

The bike I used for School. Raleigh Arena.

4 miles a day for 6 years. I don’t remember ever oiling or replacing the chain. A few punctures but that was all. I’m sure it had 5 gears. Who really needs more than 5? ?

 

[cozzy]

Yeah I had the arena. Massive wide cowhorn handlebars were the order of the day
I remember the day I bought it from halfords & all the bolts loosening beneath me as i rode it home. Nothing changes

 

[Beekeeper]

Yeah I had the arena. Massive wide cowhorn handlebars were the order of the day
I remember the day I bought it from halfords & all the bolts loosening beneath me as i rode it home. Nothing changes

I’m sure if I bought a bike from Halfords now I’d rather attempt to assemble it myself

 

[Beekeeper]

my record was clearing five of my mates who were lying on the ground just past the rickety timber ramp we'd built...

My record would be actually just having five mates ?

 

[Trig]

Popped up in my recommendations. Slightly modified his chopper

 

[Billy1mate]

I had one of these in about '81-82
Halfords interpretation of what a bmx was....
View attachment 43473

They weren’t actually bad bikes as I remember, mate of mine had one.

 

[Billy1mate]

What did the throttle in the middle do?

Really, you are a sprog.?? That was the Sturmey Archer hub gear change, for some reason they used to jump in 2nd gear and one would end up impaled on the handle.

 

[Monkey Dog]

The bike I used for School. Raleigh Arena.

View attachment 43753
4 miles a day for 6 years. I don’t remember ever oiling or replacing the chain. A few punctures but that was all. I’m sure it had 5 gears. Who really needs more than 5? ?

Me too. I used to try & beat the bus home as it would leave around 15 mins after me.

 

[Supratad]

The bike I used for School. Raleigh Arena.


4 miles a day for 6 years. I don’t remember ever oiling or replacing the chain. A few punctures but that was all. I’m sure it had 5 gears. Who really needs more than 5? ?

After my Chopper, I was given a Kalkhoff Coupe Du Monde, virtually identical to your bike there. At some point I changed it to 10 speed though. In my home time there was a lovely old toy shop but the front section was a small bike shop with wood & glass counter, hand written receipts that came out of a sort of grey/silver Hammerite finish machine like a huge iPad and everything you bought was wrapped in brown paper by one of the three men who worked there, 2 old guys and a younger chap in dark blue overcoats. (join me on my nostalgic reverie...). I went in to ask how to do it and the chap told me I needed a longer axle, 10 speed chainset (cotter pinned), a band-on front mech, a BB cable guide and a set of twin levers.
I think I bought the bits, week by week with saved pocket money until I had it all and set about changing the bike. If I was about 10 maybe (1979-80), it was a good learning curve.
Years later when I built my first wheels, I took them to the shop to be trued and the chap was mightily impressed that such a young lad was building his own wheels.

That shop remained till 2014 .

It is now, perhaps unsurprisingly, a Chinese restaurant.

 

[Akiwi]

I have quite a few scars on my elbows and knees from a crash I had on my Cousins chopper.
I was so jealous he had one and I didn't.
I was blasting down a hill with my younger cousin on the seat behind me. On a sharp corner at the bottom of the hill, the front wheel just slipped out and we skidded down the road on my elbows and knees with my cousin still klinging to my back!

About that time, my parents gave me a Raleigh 20 with a banana seat to try and make it look like a chopper.
It was better than a plain Raleigh 20, but not a cool as a chopper.

 

[KeithO]

My weapon of choice for many a year back in its day! I think 1992 to 95 I had this.......went miles on it ?

Certainly took a while to ‘grow into the frame’

thanks mum and dad ??

 

[Elsketcho]

Never had a Chopper as I was a bit young but my mum and dad did buy me a Tomahawk. Loved that bike but my god it was dangerous.
Remembered watching some ”70’s nostalgia tv show” and in it they stated that the original Chopper ended up bringing in loads of British Satefy Standards for bicyclEd as they were so inherently dangerous. Looked cool AF though.

 

[routrax]

What did the throttle in the middle do?

Caused unspeakable pain when you crashed.