Chopper re release and special edition

[loudlashadjuster]

Lionsden said:

I had a Budgie as a kid. I had it stored at my Nana's for years and one day she just gave it away.

My younger brother had a Budgie and ripped his face open in a quite alarming manner doing pretty much what you picture

Great machine for wheelies, you could pretty much just ride around on the back wheel.

That new Chopper is an abomination though. A CSO (Chopper-Shaped Object) if ever I saw one.

[Watchman]

loudlashadjuster said:

That new Chopper is an abomination though. A CSO (Chopper-Shaped Object) if ever I saw one.

I think that's unfair. It's an alloy frame with v-brakes, massively superior to the original. I'm sure it'd be no big deal to find an original seat then you have a choice to stick with the grip shift or make something yourself. I fancy putting an Alfine into the rear wheel and my own T-bar shifter. There's a mk3 frame on EBay for 15 quid. I am tempted.

[With these feet]

Watchman said:

think that's unfair. It's an alloy frame with v-brakes, massively superior to the original. I'm sure it'd be no big deal to find an original seat then you have a choice to stick with the grip shift or make something yourself. I fancy putting an Alfine into the rear wheel and my own T-bar shifter. There's a mk3 frame on EBay for 15 quid. I am tempted.

Its a bit like the classic Mini vs the BMW Mini. The first one will be held with a certain amount of affection, whereas the second - different in every way bar the name and may be head and shoulders over the original for some, but will never be seen as a true Mini, regardless of its name .

Yes, it is a special edition of a MK3, but that bike, as my mate found out, has not been received well by the people it was aimed at for all the reasons stated by others.

Will an original seat fit? Are the geometry and tube size the same?

[Watchman]

With these feet said:

Its a bit like the classic Mini vs the BMW Mini. The first one will be held with a certain amount of affection, whereas the second - different in every way bar the name and may be head and shoulders over the original for some, but will never be seen as a true Mini, regardless of its name .

Yes, it is a special edition of a MK3, but that bike, as my mate found out, has not been received well by the people it was aimed at for all the reasons stated by others.

Will an original seat fit? Are the geometry and tube size the same?

A seat tube from a Mk3 could be made to fit an original seat... it would only need a hole drilling in it. The original only had a bolt holding it in place - no clamp (other than the one on the seat tube) at the seat.

The sissy bars might be a different diameter but you could use the Mk3 sissy bars with an original seat easily enough.

[loudlashadjuster]

Watchman said:

loudlashadjuster said:

That new Chopper is an abomination though. A CSO (Chopper-Shaped Object) if ever I saw one.

I think that's unfair. It's an alloy frame with v-brakes, massively superior to the original. I'm sure it'd be no big deal to find an original seat then you have a choice to stick with the grip shift or make something yourself. I fancy putting an Alfine into the rear wheel and my own T-bar shifter. There's a mk3 frame on EBay for 15 quid. I am tempted.

Fair enough. Missing one iconic bit of kit might be excusable, but three? (shifter, seat and gears)

Apart from the chopper (small c) frame and bars, that's pretty much everything that made a Chopper a Chopper.

[Fugazi]

I used to have a red Tomahawk, the little brother to the Chopper, back in 1985. Seeing those photos of ramps made me remember when my dad once tutted at our poorly constructed ramp made from bricks and wood and came along with a set of car ramps. At five years old your dad is a hero so watching him hit the car ramp then seeing him somersault through the air and land head first really dented that hero status. The ramp had a little lip at the end so the car tyres didn't roll straight off and meant the bike didn't roll straight off either..

[Watchman]

loudlashadjuster said:

Fair enough. Missing one iconic bit of kit might be excusable, but three? (shifter, seat and gears)

Apart from the chopper (small c) frame and bars, that's pretty much everything that made a Chopper a Chopper.

No, you are right. I was looking at it as something I could buy and make work for me. Whilst I can see obvious improvements and modernisations in regard to the material of the frame and effectiveness of the brakes, the whole USP of the bike was the seat and shifter. Missing those is inexcusable from Raleigh's perspective and is the reason I wouldn't buy a new one.

[prand]

Fugazi said:

I used to have a red Tomahawk, the little brother to the Chopper, back in 1985. Seeing those photos of ramps made me remember when my dad once tutted at our poorly constructed ramp made from bricks and wood and came along with a set of car ramps. At five years old your dad is a hero so watching him hit the car ramp then seeing him somersault through the air and land head first really dented that hero status. The ramp had a little lip at the end so the car tyres didn't roll straight off and meant the bike didn't roll straight off either..

I used to have a tomahawk too (a smaller framed version of the chopper, no gears).

The things I could do on it as a 9 yr old was pretty impressive thinking about it. My cousin printed me up a t-shirt with iron on lettering and a Yamaha crest on the back saying "Prand Jr Stunt Club" because i used to wheelie, ollie and jump over everything in sight.

[gazza285]

Tomahawk, pronounced "Tomorawk" by everybody I knew that had one.

[croyde]

I wanted one when I was a kid but my parents said it was too expensive at £29.99. Come one of my birthdays in the 70s I got a tiny present, it was the key to the garage.

'Great! I have my own key' I thought, but my parents encouraged me to go out and use it. I was an up and over door and as the light spread into the darkest recesses of our garage, I saw first a glint of chrome and suddenly there she was, my own bright red Raleigh Chopper.

Lord knows what happened to it, must of sold it for my first racer but the Chopper is what I passed my Cycling Proficiency Test on and I went everywhere on it.

Here's a pic taken with my brothers.




PS. Why on Earth would the banana seat be a safety issue, the bloody seats on my Giant and my Brompton are more of a safety issue

Edited by croyde on Tuesday 2nd September 18:17