My Giddy Aunt!

[Dale.]

Suffering a mild, mid life crisis here, so I thought I'd have a look. I wish I'd kept mine.

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[Cagey75]

One of my old friends was looking for one on FB a few months back, he was after one a bit banged up to refurbish, can see why now!

I never really got with the chopper, preferred the Bomber or a BMX.

 

[Dale.]

One of my old friends was looking for one on FB a few months back, he was after one a bit banged up to refurbish, can see why now!

I never really got with the chopper, preferred the Bomber or a BMX.

Chopper was my first proper bike, followed by a few 'derailers' then MTB

My Chopper had dynamo lights and the speedo, which I often got up to 40mph. I'm not so brave these days. A few friends had Grifters and I remember the Tomahawk before that.

Happy days.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I borrowed a mates - utterly cool looks, total garbage as a bike for a kid - never known a front wheel to wash out so easily when hooning around corners. Like an RSW only less practical.

 

[Cagey75]

Chopper was my first proper bike, followed by a few 'derailers' then MTB

My Chopper had dynamo lights and the speedo, which I often got up to 40mph. I'm not so brave these days. A few friends had Grifters and I remember the Tomahawk before that.

Happy days.

On my old street when I was between 8 and probably 13 [MTB only started to get more popular then as we got bigger] we had Bombers, Grifters, BMX, Raleigh Burner, Scorpion, Chopper and that one with the long straight saddle [forget the name] it was less cool but possibly the comfiest of them all. I had a few BMX those years - usually got second hand from someone else on the estate. I did get one new one one Christmas and it still stands out as one of my best Christmas morning, we were out cycling in the dark around 5am ... ah, good ol' 80's I would swap bikes with friends now and then, I loved the Bomber and Burner [with the yellow tyres and mag wheels] more than my BMX I think not sure why i never actually asked for one. Think my parents just knew 'Bmx' as a collective name for them all

 

[Dale.]

I borrowed a mates - utterly cool looks, total garbage as a bike for a kid - never known a front wheel to wash out so easily when hooning around corners. Like an RSW only less practical.

........... this I can more than vouch for, I still have the scarred elbows where what felt like chunks of my arms went missing at times. Even worse in the wet with a bald tyre or on gravel.

On my old street when I was between 8 and probably 13 [MTB only started to get more popular then as we got bigger] we had Bombers, Grifters, BMX, Raleigh Burner, Scorpion, Chopper and that one with the long straight saddle [forget the name] it was less cool but possibly the comfiest of them all. I had a few BMX those years - usually got second hand from someone else on the estate. I did get one new one one Christmas and it still stands out as one of my best Christmas morning, we were out cycling in the dark around 5am ... ah, good ol' 80's I would swap bikes with friends now and then, I loved the Bomber and Burner [with the yellow tyres and mag wheels] more than my BMX I think not sure why i never actually asked for one. Think my parents just knew 'Bmx' as a collective name for them all

Despite it's flaws, my best Christamas was when I got my Chopper. I remember hearing the gears click as 'Santa' wheeled it down the hallway to the living room on Christmas Eve, when my parents thought I was asleep.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

One of my best Christmas presents was my chopper.
Exactly the same as the one on Ebay. Got it in 1973.
After watching evil knieval jumping stuff me and some pals went into the local woods to do jumps over some logs.
We made a ramp which was way too high, and because it was my bike, I went first.
The bike took off, and landed on the front wheel. I slid off the seat and the handlebar hit me right on the side of my nose, just below my eye, and knocked me out cold.
I broke my nose, and it's still a bit squint/swollen to this day.
Needless to say, nobody else wanted a go after that....

 

[Marc]

Loved my chopper when I was a kid, my mate not so much.

He decided he wanted to have a go and took off full pelt down a steep hill before putting the brakes on. Mate's face, meet lamp-post!

 

[Leroy4bz]

As a kid I always dreamed of having one, even though every time I had a go on a friends I would end up on the floor. Looked really cool but was totally unstable and down right dangerous to ride.
A case of style over substance.

 

[supergeeman]

I had a chipper, then a racing style bike, which was awful, and then a chopper...loved that bike....my mate had a grifter and we would swap front wheels, as the grifter had the same size wheels as the choppers rear....the grifter had this new fangled twist grip, which would never catch on lol....my chopper held the wheelie record for a whole week....proudest achievement of ownership

 

[Fuji Dave]

I had a bright red one as a kid, totally loved it too.

 

[Nod]

Wanted one. Rode one. Stopped wanting one!

 

[Dale.]

Nothing like a good Chopper tale.

Lost the front wheel on mine a few times, it hated gravel and a sharp corner at speed in the wet with zero tread on the front tyre was only going to end one way. I literally lost lumps of my elbows.

I wonder would they get away with making and selling such a beast today?

 

[Sky]

My little brother had one of these things - they were bloody lethal. The steering wobbled all over the place, crap on corners and too easy to wheelie.

I stuck to my home-builds - they cost a lot less and were far less likely to be nicked.

At the prices they fetch now though, I wouldn't mind a garage full - just so I could sell 'em.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

I don't remember having any issues with wobbly front end etc.
I loved the fact my pals could get on the back and also loved popping wheelies....
My pal had one and was giving me a backie down a hill, and he said "watch this" and proceeded to remove his handlebars from the headstock...we didn't crash so they couldn't have been that unstable....

 

[woof woof]

I never owned one but rode a friends, I preferred my own bike. IMO they look very nice and better than they are to ride. Their gear change looks particularly nice though.

 

[Dale.]

I think the front end issues are partly due to over cornering exuberance, it will never end end well on gravel or in the wet. I can also vouch this phenonmenom happens on motorbikes too.

 

[ancient_mariner]

I think the front end issues are partly due to over cornering exuberance, it will never end end well on gravel or in the wet. I can also vouch this phenonmenom happens on motorbikes too.

[emoji38]

It was the small front wheel with insufficient weight on it that made it scrub out on corners.

 

[Dale.]

It was the small front wheel with insufficient weight on it that made it scrub out on corners.

a factor too,

 

[hashcake]

If only I had kept mine along with the Dinky and Corgi toys.....

 

[Sky]

If only I had kept mine along with the Dinky and Corgi toys.....

As a kid, all through the sixties my relatives had bought me Dinky cars for birthdays and Christmas as they all knew I loved them. I went to great lengths to keep them pristine in their boxes and had built up rather a large collection by the time I was a teenager. I was rather pleased with that collection and had decided to save them for my first born when I'd 'grown up'.

Anyway, I came home from school one day in '72 to find my five year old brother had them all over the carpet with their windows smashed and most of their tyres chewed off. He was having a demolition derby - something I'd not heard of until that point. Extremely angry and upset as I was, my mother just said; 'Well, you never play with them - you've not even taken them out of their boxes'.

 

[hashcake]

As a kid, all through the sixties my relatives had bought me Dinky cars for birthdays and Christmas as they all knew I loved them. I went to great lengths to keep them pristine in their boxes and had built up rather a large collection by the time I was a teenager. I was rather pleased with that collection and had decided to save them for my first born when I'd 'grown up'.

Anyway, I came home from school one day in '72 to find my five year old brother had them all over the carpet with their windows smashed and most of their tyres chewed off. He was having a demolition derby - something I'd not heard of until that point. Extremely angry and upset as I was, my mother just said; 'Well, you never play with them - you've not even taken them out of their boxes'.

Some brothers do 'ave 'em

 

[woof woof]

When I was a kid my mam worked for a furniture company and at Christmas they had a tree with match box cars hanging from it. I remember being allowed to pick one Happy days.

I had quite a few match box cars plus some others (like Thunderbirds) and as I've always been very careful the toys and their boxes were all in very good condition when my mam gave them all away...

 

[plloydie]

Had my Chopper back in the 70's after a few years of use myself and other chopper owners in the gang got " normal" cycle forks and swapped them with the short chopper ones keeping the small front wheel. I can't remember but I'm pretty sure we did away with the front brake.

 

[Dale.]

.........anybody remember those Matchbox toy car turntable, tower things, full of die cast vehicles?

 

[tijuana taxi]

My late ma worked in Lesneys Matchbox factory at Hackney Wick, big employer at the time.
They had a few old double decker buses that picked up mainly women workers from around the area.
I had a fair few Matchbox cars, staff got them cheap, never short of spare bits either.
Still got some of the good nick ones in the case they made to hold them, stuck up in the loft now for posterity.

 

[Dale.]

My late ma worked in Lesneys Matchbox factory at Hackney Wick, big employer at the time.
They had a few old double decker buses that picked up mainly women workers from around the area.
I had a fair few Matchbox cars, staff got them cheap, never short of spare bits either.
Still got some of the good nick ones in the case they made to hold them, stuck up in the loft now for posterity.

View attachment 306133

Much, much coolness.

 

[woof woof]

We don't have children, my niece and nephew do and their kids play.... on tablets and smartphones. I think they're missing out

 

[Dale.]

We don't have children, my niece and nephew do and their kids play.... on tablets and smartphones. I think they're missing out

Totally, our daughter is the same and it's been made worse by lockdown. We try to keep her interested in books and boardgames and she does use them although screens will always be number 1 in her eyes. If she's naughty, she loses screens for a few hours but can read, draw etc during that time.

She does love a game of Uno or Dobble.

 

[Jelster]

One of my old friends was looking for one on FB a few months back, he was after one a bit banged up to refurbish, can see why now!

I never really got with the chopper, preferred the Bomber or a BMX.

Chopper was a good 5-10 years before we had BMX over here in the UK. I had a Chopper when I was 13, that was 1975. When I was 16 I bought my own "racing bike" after I saved up a load of paper round money.

 

[Bobsyeruncle]

I never had a bmx.
Had my chopper between ages 9-12 then I got a yellow puch racer.
Sold that when I was 16 and bought a moped....honda cb50j

 

[LeeRatters]

I was of bike riding age in the 80's. BMX for me.

 

[Marc]

I never had a bmx.
Had my chopper between ages 9-12 then I got a yellow puch racer.
Sold that when I was 16 and bought a moped....honda cb50j

I had my Chopper when I was 15/16. The next bike I had was a mountain bike when I was 40!

 

[ancient_mariner]

BMX wasn't a thing here until the 80s. I had racing bikes - including real racing bikes rather than gas-pipe specials - for road, track and cyclo-cross in the mid to late 70s. However by the time our son learned to ride in 92-93 BMX was cheap enough we could afford a kid's BMX for him.

 

[Cagey75]

Chopper was a good 5-10 years before we had BMX over here in the UK. I had a Chopper when I was 13, that was 1975. When I was 16 I bought my own "racing bike" after I saved up a load of paper round money.

I was only born NYE '75 to me they all feel like the same era but I'm sure you're bang on. The choppers on my street like I say were all used, where the bmx were mostly new. I'm talking '84 onward

 

[Cagey75]

I had my Chopper when I was 15/16. The next bike I had was a mountain bike when I was 40!

I still ride a MTB today at 45, only excercise I get really

 

[ancient_mariner]

I still ride a MTB today at 45, only excercise I get really

I still have a shed full of MTBs (and a couple of road bikes) aged 59, although I don't really ride any more, having had a nasty off some years back resulting in broken collar bone & ribs (and the first ride after I healed going over the bars). Our son does it for a living, and some of the bikes are his: https://www.bertlbikes.com/

 

[Cagey75]

I still have a shed full of MTBs (and a couple of road bikes) aged 59, although I don't really ride any more, having had a nasty off some years back resulting in broken collar bone & ribs (and the first ride after I healed going over the bars). Our son does it for a living, and some of the bikes are his: https://www.bertlbikes.com/

Ouch! I've had a few falls over the years, one in particular I actually thought I was a goner. I was on the way home from work and had taken the jacket off as it was warm, had it in my hand over the handlbars, sleeve came loose and got jammed in the front wheel ... up and over I wnt, with cars behind me - felt like I was mid air for an age, but somehow landed on my arms, got tore up a bit but no bone breaking thankfully. I think i phased out for a min, the guy in the car behind picked me up , threw the bike in his boot and gave me a lift home, not everyone will do that, kudos to that man!

That looks like a great job, dang, guessing those bikes you have are very good ones then? Mine is just a bog standard Carerra Vengeance, the newer model - it's a decent bike, has the dual front cogs/18 speed [much preferred over 21 speed/3 front, as I tend to only ever use about 3 shifts up and down] , but I'll not spend anything over €400 for one these days as I've had dozens stolen [when locked] over the years

 

[ancient_mariner]

Ouch - going over the bars on tarmac is NO fun.

Yes, we have some stuff that was nice. Diamond Back XR8 XC race bike from 2000 that I fitted with 5" travel Fox vanilla forks, was my regular ride for cc and enduro stuff, though the rear suspension got a bit flexi as the bushes wore out. A Rocklobster 531 that was my hardtail. Ben's old planet X jump bike, a recent fatty hardtail he left behind, other frames and wheel sets, a dozen tyres, box of bits from when I was a teen. There's a nice 531 cougar road frameset that's too short for me, and an old Peugeot lugged Ali road bike with tubs on that Ben used for commuting.

I should try to flog a lot of it on retrobike.

 

[Dale.]

I currently have 2 MTBs, one is a Giant, although that needs a good refurb but it's quite a good frame with STX running gear. I had the wheels custom built (Mavic 517) way back in 1998 by a cycle specialist in Llangynidr, I used to live nearby.

I got a deal on an 'open box' GT XCR 4000 a few years later, a bike I used to use almost everyday in a local quarry, 30 miles a day was nothing back then. I still have it and it's rideable, still in good condition. My bikes were my babies, so it's been well looked after. Alas, since moving to Scotland, they've hardly been used, something I really should put right.