Matt Richardson smashed his way up the Giant of Provence on a bog-standard MkII Chopper, claiming to have overtaken 41 cyclists on the way up. The Chopper cemented its cult status when tricked-out versions were ridden by members of Oxford-based Britpop band Supergrass in the video for their breakthrough 90s single ‘Alright’. “For my partner’s birthday, we rode along Worthing promenade, six of us, parked up at a chippy, sat on the seafront and had some chips.”ġ967: Initial designs for the Chopper are sketched on the back of an envelope by designer Alan Oakley while returning from a research trip to America.ġ969: First-version Raleigh Chopper released in the UK, featuring a choice of single speed, three or five-speed Sturmey Archer hub gears.ġ972: MkII Chopper released, including five-speed derailleur option and modified gear handle.ġ972-3: Chopper Sprint released, featuring drop handlebars.ġ976: Gold-plated Chopper marks the production of the millionth Chopper.ġ976-77: Production of the Raleigh Chopper Special Edition.Ģ004: The MkIII Chopper is reintroduced, featuring aluminium tubing and handlebar mounted shifters.Ģ014: Halfords begins selling the limited edition Chopper ‘Hot One.’ The Chopper's Greatest Hits “Oh yeah, I still ride them,” Sykes adds. But don’t for one moment think they’ll spend eternity gathering dust.
It’s unlikely that many of today’s kids will actually get to experience the thrill of riding one of the brand new Choppers most of the limited edition new models have already been sold to collectors. I paid a hell of a lot of money for that: £5,500.” “Bearing in mind that Alan Oakley came back on November 3, 1968, I’ve got a hub-dated MkI Chopper which is from December 11, 1968. “I’ve got one which nobody has beaten yet,” he adds. Of alloy wheels, so a few came out with steel wheels on them. “768 special edition jubilees were made,” he explains. The holy grail of Chopper collecting, according to Sykes, is a certain version of the special edition Chopper released for Christmas 1976 to commemorate the Queen’s silver jubilee the following year. “Some of them come with pictures of the kid next to the Christmas tree, and some have the original receipt with them showing how much they paid down at Halfords.” Also, since they were handmade in Raleigh’s Nottingham factory, the odd ‘Friday afternoon job’ with upside-down stickers sometimes crops up too. The cult of Chopper even has its own creation myth: the late Raleigh designer Alan Oakley, flying back from a research trip to the US to see the Chopper’s pre-cursor, the Schwinn Stingray, famously sketched designs for the first prototype on the back of an airmail envelope. Raleigh made three ‘marks’ but hundreds of different options three, five and 10-speeds dropped handlebars and a few rarities where the factory had to shift old stock and blended old parts with new. Part of the appeal of collecting Choppers comes down to their sheer variety. I did a deal with a guy in America, for nine MkIIs and four MkIs for the bike.” “The most I paid for one was for a 10-speed, brand spanking new.
“The most expensive I’ve seen went for over £7,000 and that was a boxed MkI 10-speed still wrapped up in its box,” Sykes adds.
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