Raleigh Chopper
The unique design became a cultural icon and is fondly remembered by many[quantify] who grew up in that period.
[citation needed] The design was influenced by dragsters, "chopped" motorcycles, beach buggies, and even chariots, as can be seen on the centre page of the 1969 Raleigh US catalogue.
[1][2][3][4] Alan Oakley's archive was sold in 2018 (Mellor & Kirk Auctioneers, Nottingham, August 2018) and reveals valuable insight into this debate that until 2018 had not been seen in public.
The Oakley archive contains an account from the then managing director and Chairman of Raleigh that reveals the reasoning for Raleigh sending their chief designer to America for a three-week fact-finding mission, it describes the trip, the 'envelope sketch' that provided the inspiration for the eventual product and the months following the trip.
The Chopper featured in numerous TV series and movies throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including "Back to the future".
In 2014 a 1980 MK2 Raleigh Chopper gifted to US President Ronald Reagan sold at auction for a record $35,000.
The Chopper was designed in response to the Schwinn Sting-Ray,[1][2] and an earlier attempt, the Rodeo, which was not commercially successful.
Other features that appealed to the youth market were the unusual frame, long padded high-back seat, sprung seat at the back, high-rise (ape hanger) handlebars, 'bobbed' mudguards (fenders) and differently sized wheels: 16 in (41 cm) front and 20 in (51 cm) rear.
[6] Tyres were wider than usual for the time, with a chunky tread on the rear wheel, featuring a red line around the sidewall.
The frame was subtly revised, and the seat shortened, bringing rider weight forwards of the rear axle (and thus the fulcrum point of balance) to help prevent the front of the bicycle lifting 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 GT, was produced 1972 - 1973 and this differed from the standard Mk 2 as it had a slightly taller frame.
[10] However, the Chopper almost single-handedly rescued Raleigh, which had been in decline during the 1960s, selling over a million of the model worldwide.
Rather than steel, the frame was made from aluminium alloy tubing to make the bicycle lighter.
[11] In 2012, all unsold stock was brought back in-house, re-liveried (new colours and decals) and then sold off up to and including 2018.
Based upon and reverse engineered from the Mk2, the MK-IV Chopper is an updated version that complies to contemporary safety standards as at time of manufacture, with a frame that is stronger than any previous model through use of modern tube materials with thicker walling.
There are a number of differences between the mk2 and the MK-IV, most notably the saddle, which, as per contemporary regulations and safety standards, is slightly shorter in height at the rear end.
The other most notable difference is the low height sissybar, which is the same style as was used on the mk2 Sprint GT as well as some USA models of the chopper from the late mk1 onwards.
It was, therefore, designed in such a way as to be made from laser cut steel which includes the slider table as part of the shifter base itself whilst also having cable guides.
One set of these plate packs on one side of the shifter lever house the indexing plate, bearing and spring which gives the shifter mechanism the ability to correctly set the cable position for each gear of the SRF3 rear hub.
Union previously produced the pedals as used on late mk1 and all mk2 models as well as other Raleigh bicycles of the period.
On mk1 and mk2 models, the "S" bend of the chainstays started 1+1⁄2 inches (38.1mm) behind the saddle post tube of the frame.
Decals are slightly smaller due to the new tubing sizes and were reduced proportionately to suit during the design process.
From this point onwards both Raleigh UK and the two members of the enthusiast movement who were working with and on the design team provided information on and about the new model being released.
With many attendees of the show choosing to test ride them, it proved a great method of further promoting the new model, along with those on display by Raleigh UK.
This was expected to be the last of the inventory, however, a further 50 unsold MK-IVs were released for sale through the website on 24 August 2023.
Dating the new MK-IV is relatively easy as it uses a slightly modified form of the 1974 onwards frame numbering system.
In 1971 there was a ban on tall sissy bars so the chopper was only sold with a low back rest.
These included BSA, Hercules, Humber, Malvern Star, Phillips, Robin Hood, Rudge and Speedwell Fireballs.
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" as well as a Portuguese variant called the Chapparal, 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.
