Every young boys dream, the Raleigh Chopper was the coolest bike to be seen on…even if it was impossible to ride without falling off and grazing your knees. Styled on the dragster, with a long seat and larger back wheels, it was the first designer bike for kids, and possibly the ugliest and most unstable push-bike of all time.
A triumph of style over ability, it was released in 1970 - covered in knobs and whistles that didn’t really do anything, except the gear lever that made you fall off when changing gear! Despite its impracticality, by 1973 it had become the country’s best selling bike and is now an icon of the Seventies.
As motorcycle stuntman Evel Kneivel’s popularity reached its height, Chopper even released a Kneivel bike - complete with fake exhaust pipe.
Chopper designer speaks
