The Raleigh Chopper Returns

Well this is a blast from the past, technically a bit before my time (born in the 1980s) but the Raleigh Chopper is a design classic I remember well. The British brand just this month have brought back their iconic 1972 bike keeping it as true to the original as possible, whilst also making sure it meets modern safety regs. 

My first bike was a Raleigh and I loved it! Not quite as cool as the chopper though, I seem to remember it was gold in colour, a hand-me-down I loved. The Chopper made bikes cool, it was the bike all kids wanted in the 70s. Designer Alan Oakley based the look for the bike on Peter Fonda's motorbike in the 1960s movie classic Easy Rider. The tall handlebars and vintage graphics remain in this re-launched version, as well as the original colours of 'ultraviolet' and 'infrared'. 

The new Mk2 took four years of pain-staking research, the company keen to not disappoint fans. They used 3D modelling of the original bike to produce the CAD designs for the new frame and it is still all made right here in the UK.

Originally spotted at Creative Boom.