Bicycles

It's hard to tell when BMX bikes first came on the scene but by 1984 the BMX bike craze was in full swing and nearly every kid had one. BMX bikes were quite different from anything ever seen before - ...

Can anyone else remember putting plastic bread clips on their bike brake wires? This was in the early 80s when loaves of bread were tied with little plastic clips rather than the sticky tape you get now. The clips used ...

This bike was similar to the Raleigh Chopper but the handle bars were more swept back like a Harley Davidson. The gear change lever had a round knob on it rather than the wider cylindrical one on the chopper and ...

I got this bike for passing my 11+. How cool it was, the first beach cruiser style bike in the uk and probably one of not many surviving. It is now fully restored and in the Cycle ...

You rememeber the film ET - who could forget it - but my brother had one of those BMX's at the time, featured in the film in 1982, while i had a Burner. Apparently Steven Spielberg wanted the bike in ...

In about 1983 my sister got this bike it was brown and gold. It was nothing too plush, just basic brakes and wheels, but it had a stylish look. A classic look. ...

The Huffy Aerowind was Huffy's unfortunate attempt at a quality road bike. The components were good for the time period. If the frame was made of better material. Wahoo what a bike. Also Huffy removed and replaced components over the ...

This is the bide I learned to ride on. It was also the envy of several kids in the neighborhood. I rode it everywhere and off every curb and jump I could find. Come to think of it, the foam ...

In the 1970s the Huffy Dragster was the alternative to the Raleigh Chopper. Like the Chopper, the Huffy Dragster had three gears but the gearstick was much longer.The frame was yellow and the front wheel was bigger than that of ...

My Huffy Thunder Road was an Easter present in Dayton, Ohio (ca. 1978). I remember the long, black tufted vinyl seat, the spongy rubber grips, the plastic mud fenders with stickers, the padded crossbar, etc. Most of all I ...

The Miami Miss was a girls' BMX bike that had a silver and pastel-pink metal frame and fluorescent-pink handle bars and white tyres. It was popular in the late-80s. It seemed to be the first bike for little girls that ...

I wanted a BMX but in 1982, I was given a metallic green bike, for my birthday. I loved that bike, but I grew out of it and had to give it away. It was definitely one of the first mountain ...

The Pink Panther bike was completely pink with a banana seat that was the Pink Panther's face. . The chain guard on the bike said "think pink" and it also came with pink streamers on the handle bars. ...

A Raleigh bike, targeted specifically at young teenage girls. It was only available in pink and came fitted with mirrors, a shopping basket on the front and, I think, even a lipstick holder! Can anyone else remember this bike? My sister ...

R-R-R-Raw Power was a handle-grip accessory for children's bikes that made a kind of motorcycle engine noise when revved. It was very similar to the VaRooom and Za-Zooom which did the same kind of thing. The R-R-R-Raw Power had a ...

I saved up all my pocket money and my wages from my paper round to buy my first racer - a "Townsend" - cost me ?70 from the local bike shop and I was soooooooo proud of it. ...

The true Brit BMX was the Raleigh Burner and is as iconic as the Grifter and the Chopper. I had my first Burner in 1985 when I was 11, a Raleigh Super Burner in black/gold, and I practically lived ...

This was a girls' bike and was red with small wheels. Mine had a white saddle bag on the back, but I think this may have been a later addition! Raleigh also did a '20' version and a chopper, but ...

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I think all Raleigh Arenas were blue. I got mine around 1982 and it was my first "racer" and I got into all sorts of trouble on Christmas day with icy roads. Mine had a mileometer attached to the front ...

Well, I remember the Raleigh Bluebird had chunky white tyres with that chain-link pattern on them. Blue frame and stabilizers and a little bell on the handlebar. It also had one of those attached, plastic carry case things above the ...

I found a Raleigh Bomber on eBay a couple of weeks ago and bought it there and then!I had had one as a lad and it was my pride and joy. I took it everywhere I went, even on holidays.I ...

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 ...

Raleigh Chipper was a smaller version of the famous Chopper bike from the seventies. They were designed for the 6 year old and upwards.As I recall I don't think the Chipper had gears. (My brother had several bikes in our ...

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The Raleigh Chopper designed by Alan Oakley became one of the most sought after bikes in history. Early Choppers were on sale in the late 60's but shot to fame in the 70's when every child (and some adults) wanted ...

A not quite 'so cool' precursor to the Grifter - mine was in orange and, If I remember rightly, was bloomin heavy! The Raleigh Commandos had chunky tyres and a saddle not disimilar to the Chopper. Great bike that stood ...

Not sure of the exact year I got my Europa, either '79 or '80. It was red with classy yellow "Team Raleigh" stickers! It was 10 speed and had a really uncomfortable diamond patterned saddle! Didn't stop me riding it ...

The younger brother of the Chopper, the Grifter was the cool bike of the 80's. Like the Chopper, the Grifter was a chunky, heavy, cumbersome bike that felt more like a motorbike than a bicycle.The most innovative thing about the ...

I just acquired a Raleigh Jeep - gold framed with red mud guards, red chain guard, white handles and seat. ...

The Raleigh Lizard was a green mountain bike with 18 gears, and came with a bright-orange bottle cage and a black water bottle. I had one when I was 11 and rode it to death. My dad replaced countless rear ...

Streetwolf was a bike made by Raleigh, in the late 80's early 90's. The bike had lots of extra mud guards and a little computer type screen between the handle bars. The Raleigh Streetwolf also had a trigger next to ...

The Raleigh Strika was another bike that was made to look like a motorbike along with bikes like the Raleigh Chopper or the Huffy Thunder Road.The Strika was extremely heavy and chunky though and actually felt like a motorbike. The ...

I received a Raleigh Tomahawk for my birthday (I can't recall which) and was bitterly disappointed since it was not the 3-speed Raleigh Chopper my parents claimed was too big. In glorious purple, the Tomahawk had a plastic chrome plate ...

Basically, the Raleigh Vektar was a BMX with a load of plastic stuff attached to it. The bike came with an on-board 'computer' that made a load of noises but looked pretty cool and 'futuristic' at the time. ...

The Sears Spyder was a tall, metallic, purple, 10-speed bike that had two black shifter knobs for gears on it. It was a very unusual bike, and way taller than any others out there.I remember ALWAYS wanting a Sears Spyder, ...

No self-respecting child of the 1980s rode a bicycle that wasn’t fully and luridly accessorised.  Some favoured the plastic streamers tangling from their handlebars; others went for a horn or bell with a cartoon character adorned on it. Personally, I was ...

Za-Zooom was a battery operated motorbike noise generator for children's bikes and was very similar to VaRooom and R-R-R-Raw Power which did the same thing. The electric noise from Za-Zooom wasn't as powerful as the mechanical noise from the R-R-R-Raw Power ...

I had a friend as a kid who had a bike called a Zipper. I don't know the manufacturer but it was just like a Chopper and probably just as rare and collectable now. It was bright yellow and cool ...