Raleigh describes the new Chopper as a limited edition, so it remains to be seen how many it plans to manufacture or if the Chopper will take off with kids (and their parents who remember riding the original) and again becomes a blockbuster bicycle. That’s quite a jump from the £32 for which the Chopper originally sold. The recommended retail price for the new Chopper is £950. The new Raleigh Chopper frame comes in one size, 37cm and the bike is available in two colours, Infra Red and Ultra Violet, again reflecting two of the colour options of the original Mark 2 Chopper. Infra Red and Ultra Violet colour options replicate two or the original colours available for the Mark 2 Chopper (Image credit: Raleigh) Snow points out that despite its beefed-up frame and components, the modern bike's 18.4kg weight is similar to the original. For example, rather than braised joints, the new bike is welded, but to retain the authentic look the head tube has been CNC machined to a fine detail." "There have also been some concessions to modern manufacturing techniques but all key features from the original bikes, we have tried to keep with this new model. It then built a prototype in the UK and worked with Raleigh's Taiwan-based manufacturing partner to manufacture the frame and components.Īccording to Snow: "We had to change the height dimension of the saddle and sissy bar (saddle support) to meet modern safety standards and increase the gauge (thickness) of the frame and fork tubing to allow the bike to pass physical force testing. Of course, there’s no sight of disc brakes, with rim brakes responsible for stopping power.Īdam Snow, Head of Product Management at Raleigh, says that the company purchased a number of MK 2 Chopper frames, which, alongside the original hand-drawn technical drawings, were scanned for new CAD design templates for the new bike and to build up an accurate scale model - a necessity for modern-day manufacturing processes and techniques. As with that model, there’s the short rear rack to carry your frisbee or whatever and that funny mount in the headset to push your Ever Ready front light onto. The "sissy bar" behind the saddle is there too, although it’s a few inches lower than on the original bike. The Mk2 Raleigh Chopper, lot 459, was sold in Hansons Auctioneers June 25 Toy Auction. The one we are selling, in amazing condition given its age, is extra special because, inevitably, these bikes were so well-loved and well-used many didn’t survive or, if they did, they weren’t in great shape.” Mr Fulford said: “Whoever played their part in creating the Chopper it was a stroke of genius. The Chopper was designed in response to the Schwinn Sting-Ray bicycle first manufactured in 1963. However, its design has sparked debate with claims made by both Tom Karen of Ogle Design and Alan Oakley of Raleigh. The Chopper, manufactured by Nottingham’s Raleigh Bicycle Company, stood out in the 1970s because of its ground-breaking good looks. In 1973 a Mk2 Raleigh Chopper cost around £34 – equivalent to around £361 in today’s money.” “Such is the power of childhood nostalgia a good vintage Chopper is now worth more than its original retail price. It was the coolest of bicycles and great for doing wheelies. The design, influenced by dragsters and ‘chopped’ motorcycles, was so popular Raleigh sold over 1.5 million of them. Steve Fulford, toy valuer at Hansons, said: “These days kids crave the latest smart phones but if you grew up in the 1970s there was only one thing any self-respecting youngster wanted – a Raleigh Chopper. The other, in need of some restoration, had a guide price of £250-£350. The top-notch bike includes accessories, speedo, lamps and mirrors and is one of two Mk2 Choppers being sold by the same vendor. I’m only parting with it now because I need to thin out my collections.” I bought it eight years ago but I really had to persuade the owner to sell it. But when you got there they were never as good as described. You could travel the length and breadth of the country for years and never come across a vintage Raleigh Chopper as good as this one. The 54-year-old seller, who owned a Chopper as a child, said: “He’d kept it in his bedroom for years and said it had never been ridden. Its Derby owner, a keen toy collector who wishes to remain anonymous, bought it from a Leicestershire man seven years ago. The iconic MK2 Chopper, which is in ‘amazing condition’ given its age, went under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers on June 25 with a guide price of £400-£600 – but sold for £1,250. A vintage 1970s Raleigh Chopper bicycle soared to success at auction to sell for double its estimate.
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