![]() Raleigh describes the new Chopper as a limited edition, so it remains to be seen how many it plans to manufacture or if the Chopper will take off with kids (and their parents who remember riding the original) and again becomes a blockbuster bicycle. That’s quite a jump from the £32 for which the Chopper originally sold. The recommended retail price for the new Chopper is £950. The new Raleigh Chopper frame comes in one size, 37cm and the bike is available in two colours, Infra Red and Ultra Violet, again reflecting two of the colour options of the original Mark 2 Chopper. ![]() Infra Red and Ultra Violet colour options replicate two or the original colours available for the Mark 2 Chopper (Image credit: Raleigh) Snow points out that despite its beefed-up frame and components, the modern bike's 18.4kg weight is similar to the original. For example, rather than braised joints, the new bike is welded, but to retain the authentic look the head tube has been CNC machined to a fine detail." "There have also been some concessions to modern manufacturing techniques but all key features from the original bikes, we have tried to keep with this new model. It then built a prototype in the UK and worked with Raleigh's Taiwan-based manufacturing partner to manufacture the frame and components.Īccording to Snow: "We had to change the height dimension of the saddle and sissy bar (saddle support) to meet modern safety standards and increase the gauge (thickness) of the frame and fork tubing to allow the bike to pass physical force testing. Of course, there’s no sight of disc brakes, with rim brakes responsible for stopping power.Īdam Snow, Head of Product Management at Raleigh, says that the company purchased a number of MK 2 Chopper frames, which, alongside the original hand-drawn technical drawings, were scanned for new CAD design templates for the new bike and to build up an accurate scale model - a necessity for modern-day manufacturing processes and techniques. As with that model, there’s the short rear rack to carry your frisbee or whatever and that funny mount in the headset to push your Ever Ready front light onto. ![]() The head tube will also be pushed forward, allowing for a nice long set of forks to be installed without creating a super tall wheelie machine.The "sissy bar" behind the saddle is there too, although it’s a few inches lower than on the original bike. ![]() To get a little more leg room on a chopper made from kid's 20-inch frame, two frames will be joined together in order to move the bottom bracket further up. At this point, your only option is to move the seat higher or farther back, creating either a goofy looking chop, or a flying death trap that pulls uncontrollable wheelies on so much as a sneeze. ![]() The problem of size is compounded even more if the head tube angle is taken back to add more rake, as this pushes the handlebars even closer to the seat. These frames are easy to chop, and 20-inch bikes make great choppers, but unless you are only 4 1/2 feet tall, there won't be much leg room on one of these bikes. These bikes not only take a beating, but they are outgrown in a year or two, so you will probably find a lot of them at your favorite scrap yard or city dump. Kids' bikes with 20-inch wheels are abundant at the dump and yard sales, especially the cheap steel frame units. ![]()
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