I had a Budgie - a bottle green one if I remember rightly. Where I was from you were either a Budgie / Tomahawk / Chopper kid, or a Boxer / Strika / Grifter kid.
If I recall correctly, the Budgie only came equipped with one brake - front. It was the bike I learned to ride on, and I subsequently graduated to a Tomahawk when I was about 7 or 8. I couldn't wait until I was big enough for a Chopper, but by the time I was they had all but gone out of fashion and racing bikes were the thing to have. So I ended up going straight from my Tomahawk to a light blue Raleigh Arena (with no less than 5 gears!!) and never had the pleasure of owning a Chopper.
Racing bikes seemed to be a realtively short-lived thing though - they certainly never enjoyed the longevity of the other Raleigh bikes - and within a few years were all but obsolete. The next big thing - which was massive at the time - was the "Son of the Grifter". The BMX, spawned by Raleigh's Burner which was ultra cool with its bright yellow mag wheels and contrasting blue frame. And pads. PADS!! They seemed so cool at the time. "Yeah, so I can, like, to table-tops and stuff cos if I crash out it won't hurt too much cos I've got pads on my bike". Those were the days...
Do You Remember Raleigh Budgie?
Do You Remember Raleigh Budgie?