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Raleigh Chopper designer dies aged 85
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ProfessorF
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Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:56 pm
Posts: 12030
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  | | | | Quote: Raleigh Chopper designer dies aged 85
Alan Oakley drew initial design for revolutionary bicycle on back of envelope while flying from US to UK
The designer who created the revolutionary Raleigh Chopper bicycle, which became a symbol of the 1970s, has died of cancer aged 85.
Alan Oakley, who drew the initial design for the Chopper on the back of an envelope while flying back from the United States in 1967, died in Nottingham on Friday.
His wife Karen confirmed that her husband had died at their home in the Wollaton area of the city, nine months after being diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.
Oakley created the Chopper, which is famed for its unusual appearance and car-like gear shifter, after a trip to America to get to grips with the nation's youth culture.
With an angular seat, a large back wheel and small front wheel, the Chopper was a huge success for Nottingham-based Raleigh in Britain and America, becoming a must-have bike for a generation of children.
Relating how her husband fine-tuned his design, Karen Oakley said: "Alan had been over to America looking to pick up a design for a bike.
"While he was flying back, he had an airmail envelope and just drew this bike on the back of it and that was that, the creation of the Chopper."
Paying tribute to her husband's achievements in four decades with Raleigh, Oakley said: "He was there for 40 years and loved every minute of it.
"He made people very happy and I am very proud of him.
"As a friend and former colleague of Alan's said: 'Raleigh was Alan and Alan was Raleigh'. That says it all really."
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| Mon May 21, 2012 8:35 am |
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Paul1965
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Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2009 8:29 pm
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I was far too young to own a Chopper bike though they were obviously the coolest one to ride. Later I had the junior version, the Tomahawk. Still cool but just on a reduced scale. 
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| Mon May 21, 2012 9:41 am |
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jonbwfc
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You were either a Chopper rider or a Grifter rider in those days. Looking at the now, the Grifter is actually a much more progressive design - looks a lot like current mountain bikes. The Chopper was less practical - seriously, small wheel steering wasn't clever - but that probably made it cooler.
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| Mon May 21, 2012 9:45 am |
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Spreadie
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Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:06 pm
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I had a Tomahawk, a Chopper and a Grifter. Not all at the same time, of course.
The Tomahawk was first, but I spent the whole time longing for the Chopper, because it had that cool gear lever mounted on the twin crossbars; but my parents bought me the Grifter instead.
The front forks on the Grifter were a weak point for such a robust bike - I went through a couple of them - but I loved it.
I bought a cheap Chopper, with my pocket money, after some scumbag nicked my Grifter.
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| Mon May 21, 2012 10:57 am |
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belchingmatt
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+1, except I think my junior version was the Budgie.  The Grifter was my next bike. Much more suitable for longer distances than a BMX and still great off-road, but by god it weighed a ton. IIRC the junior Grifter was called a Striker.
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| Mon May 21, 2012 12:23 pm |
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jonbwfc
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And yet nowadays, if you ask a girl 'would you like a ride on my Chopper' you more often than not get a slap. Ah, more innocent times...
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| Mon May 21, 2012 1:54 pm |
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Spreadie
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Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:06 pm
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Off topic That reminds me - I used to be a fitter in the coal mines, and I was refurbishing a couple of monopumps in the surface workshops I went to the stores and asked the new girl working there for two grease nipples and a D80 shaft seal; with no hint of mirth or humour, just an honest, innocent request. She reported me to the Colliery Manager. The boss thought I was intentionally taking the p!ss, until I produced the damaged seal and nipples from my overall pocket. 
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| Mon May 21, 2012 6:39 pm |
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paulzolo
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I didn't have any bike like that. I wanted a Grifter, but my agents being financially challenged furnished me with a series of bikes cobbled together out of bits. So one of my bikes had metal rods instead of brake cables. My racing bike was a right hodge-podge of bits and pieces, but the saddle - a Brooke's - was fantastic.
Current bike is about 20 years old. I got a mountain bike before they were popular and every bike looked like one.
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| Mon May 21, 2012 6:43 pm |
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pcernie
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I had a BMX  _________________Plain English advice on everything money, purchase and service related:
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| Mon May 21, 2012 8:06 pm |
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rustybucket
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_________________Jim
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| Mon May 21, 2012 9:56 pm |
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