Return of the legendary Raleigh Chopper with its frame-mounted gear lever

Those who grew up in the 80s surely remember those mythical Motoretta with which many of us took our first pedal strokes, with its characteristic elongated saddle and indestructible frame with which we dared to do real stunts. These bikes have their predecessor in the British Raleigh Chopper manufactured in the 70s and now the brand is back in its catalog by popular demand.

Raleigh Chopper, the return of a classic

The Raleigh Chopper has been for years one of the most sought after and desired pieces by lovers of classic bikes. In fact, it is the inspiration for bikes that those of us who grew up in the 80's fondly remember, such as those mythical Motorettas of the GAC brand.

For years, fans of the British brand had been demanding the return of this model and now, after four years of development in which Raleigh has recreated this model as if it were a new bike, the legendary Chopper is back, which of course retains all the hallmarks that made it one of the best childhood memories of British children in the 70s.

Raleigh has redesigned the new Chopper to maintain the maximum similarity with the MK2 model launched in 1972, this includes, of course, the characteristic elongated saddle or the three-speed gearbox with a lever just behind the headset that operates the shift mechanism integrated in its rear hub which, like the original, has been manufactured by the firm Sturmey-Archer, which has developed a new one, with current materials and technologies, for this new Raleigh Chopper.

The original Chopper saddle was designed for children. Evidently, the target audience for this new bike will be largely those who had one of these bikes in the 70s, and more grown up, so the brand has had to redesign this point to allow a greater saddle height, something that also affects the handlebars that has also had to expand its height accordingly.

The new Chopper, which will be available from June 20th in the brand's catalog, will be available in red and ultraviolet versions and has a planned retail price of 950 pounds, approximately 1,100 €.