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Alan Oakley designer of the iconic Raleigh Chopper dies
20 May, 2012 0 comments
Pictures: Raleigh
Alan Oakley, the man who came up with the design for the Chopper died on Friday at the age of 85. Its been said that he came up with the design for the Chopper bike while on a flight back from the USA in 1967; a design that first took shape on the back of an evenlope.
Can you believe that some 1.5 million of these bikes were sold in the UK alone? Early attempts to sell the Chopper in the US failed until the early 1970s when sales really took off in the UK and rapidly spread.
Tony Piedade, Founder of CyclingBuddy.com owned one and remembers it well. " I remember picking up my yellow Chopper bike in the early 1980s. We bought it at the world famouns Portobello Market. what I remember most about it was the gear change level in the middle beam. I had a great time on that bike!"
Did you own one too? share your memories. Do you have a picture of you on your Chopper? send it to us and we will add it to this article and our facebook page. pics@cyclingbuddy.com
