Most children of the '70s have a story about the Raleigh Chopper bicycle. Tales vary from those of the lingering bitterness at never finding one under the Christmas tree (and the parents who wish they had forked out £34 19s to avoid the tantrums), to those who remember its frightening instability and fondness for wheelies-intentional or not.
Helen Ryder's story is familiar. "I went on holiday when I was 13, and my family had taken a friend with us to Great Yarmouth," she says, looking at a wall decorated with Raleigh bikes.
"We came across a guy hiring out Choppers, so we had a go around the holiday park - they were awful to ride but looked so cool. We thought we were the bee's knees after that." Fast-forward to 2023 and about half of Helen's 30-strong Chopper collection adorns the walls of NY500, the North Yorkshire café and museum she runs with her husband, Bob.
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