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.
Bu hikaye Classic & Sports Car dergisinin June 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Classic & Sports Car dergisinin June 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Mick WALSH
'Had someone said that this worn-looking titan would win the most famous old-car event, we would have laughed'
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO QF
Rewriting the rulebook on what an SUV can do, and how it can make you feel
FLOATING INTO THE FUTURE
Citroën's DS-replacing CX was at a cutting edge so sharp it still looks fresh today, and it had the drive to match - as five superb survivors reveal
"It's a car for posing in really"
Broadcaster Michael Buerk reflects on more than three decades with his beloved Jaguar E-type S1 3.8 fixed-head coupé
HONDAS DECK THE HALL
The Japanese firm's Los Angeles collection is now on public display for the first time in two decades
ABSOLUTELY buzzing
Honda's Si Civics brought agile, cheap fun to motorists long before the Type R name got anywhere near a hatchback
THE FEMININE TOUCH
In 1955, General Motors styling guru Harley Earl brought 11 talented women into the male-dominated world of automotive design. What was their lasting impact?
Out on a limb
Panther's innovative Solo 2 was something completely different, both for its maker and the sports car market
Restyles with substance
Panther Westwinds blended a passion for pre-war designs with modern-era mechanical usability and remarkably fine coachbuilding
Dead ringers
The Maserati Kyalami and De Tomaso Longchamp share much, having emerged from the same stable, but are poles apart at heart