1969............IN THE BEGINNING...................

It all started back in 1968 when Raleighs chief designer Alan Oakley was sent to design a new bike after weeks of research in the States . He scribbled a basic design on the back of an envelope and history was made....

Raleigh unleashed the new design in 1969 to the USA hoping to conquer America and cash in on the muscle bike craze of the 70's .The bike was first viewed on Blue Peter a year later in the UK and became every childs dream bike. Raleigh had copies of the Stingrays/Schwinn already on the market known as the Fireball and Rodeo (only in the USA) but decided on a completely fresh approach with a revolutionary new design known worldwide as the Raleigh Chopper....There were four models available. The basic 'no frills' option with only a pedal back coaster brake was the

CST.....Coaster Single speed DL500

Yellow Red Green

 

The more expensive option with Sturmey archer three speed gears with front and rear caliper brakes ( how could brakes be an extra?? )was the

AW.....Three speed DL510

Yellow Orange Red Black Blue

 

The next model was a combination of the two which included a Sturmey Archer TCW hub (coaster brake and three speed hub combined) T-bar shifter control with a front caliper brake , and was known as the

TCW.....Three speed DL520

Yellow Blue Green

And finally Fitted with Three speed Sturmey Archer rear hub and twin shift gear control with 5 speeds. Lots of differences between the later UK models included no springs , upside down seatpost bracket (cable holder) , no spoke protector , taller frame at the headset bars and a hole in the frame for the cable to run through ( similar to the later Raleigh Grifter ) They also had the option for a vinylon rear slick tyre

Chopper 3+2.....Five speed DL530

Yellow Orange Green Black

All the above models were USA spec and the UK had to wait a little longer.The Mark one Chopper was built until 1972 in the UK but due to safety fears had to rethink the design. A lot of mark one frames were recalled at the time for strength reasons ( were prone to snap and break at weak points ) The redesign brought on some subtle changes

 

rear stay changes early(left) flat join on later(right)

High back rest (ten speed). Chrome spoke protector

 

The headset , seat tube and rear stays were all shortened and sissy bar springs and cups were introduced. A high back rest ( 1971 )was also an option too , spoke protectors made an appearance as well. The ill-fated Chopper sprint( 1972 ) was released but proved to be a marketing disaster.

 

Released in 1972, the Raleigh Chopper Sprint didn't exactly light the world with excitement with many dealers swapping the sissy/seat and bars for Mk2 originals ( it was the only way they could sell them !! )

 

At this point a five speed( 73-76 )and ten speed ( USA only ) derailieur model was added to the line-up ( with a newly designed frame ) and one of the main changes a barrel shape gear knob replaced the trigger ( which re-appeared on the mark 2 chopper later )

 

Five speed , Ten speed , Barrel shifter .

 

Various consoles were used on all choppers too , see below for various examples.

 

 

 

CST coaster , 69 shifter , Five speed derailieur, Five speed (rare) , Ten speed.

 

 

Click Yoda to go to Chopper History part 2