WHO WAS A KID IN THE 70,S

[Cannonball]

No pushbike speedway didnt make it here, we just had standard bikes stripped down, if you had money you had cowhorns, the really posh kids had Choppers and Grifters. Grifters were like a heavy duty early bmx.

THATS WHAT THE SPEEDWAY BIKES WERE CHIP....... BUT KNOBBLY TIRES NO BRAKES STRIPPED OF WEIGHT ETC,,

my bikes were all home grown never had a chopper as a kid, my old fella could afford it he just never spoilt me n our kid,
my bestest bike was a regular size boys bike with ape hanger handle bars, a chopper type banana seat, you could buy them back then and a custom arrishole spray job blue n gomango orange with some of them float on decals you could buy as well, i was always in bike shops gettin the custom bits of the day, loved me bikes and ridin just like i do me cars n women now,

[Dave-R]

My parents got me a one year old used Chopper for Christmas in 1971. I think I remember it cost them £30 which was a few quid less than the new price. Dad probably only earned £20-£25 a week in those days so it was a lot of money. But I had been wanting one since I first ever saw one on Blue Peter.

It was an early production one because they had only been out in the UK just over a year. It was too big to hide from me on the run up to xmas so it stood in the hallway for a month and while everyone else watched TV I used to sit in the hallway looking at it because I thought it was the best thing ever and couldn't wait for xmas day so I could ride it.

Christmas day was the first white Christmas we had had for years. I was gutted at first. But after a few cars had been down the road I went out on it anyway, following the tyre tracks in the snow.

Loved that bike.

[Cannonball]

My parents got me a one year old used Chopper for Christmas in 1971. I think I remember it cost them £30 which was a few quid less than the new price. Dad probably only earned £20-£25 a week in those days so it was a lot of money. But I had been wanting one since I first ever saw one on Blue Peter.

It was an early production one because they had only been out in the UK just over a year. It was too big to hide from me on the run up to xmas so it stood in the hallway for a month and while everyone else watched TV I used to sit in the hallway looking at it because I thought it was the best thing ever and couldn't wait for xmas day so I could ride it.

Christmas day was the first white Christmas we had had for years. I was gutted at first. But after a few cars had been down the road I went out on it anyway, following the tyre tracks in the snow.

Loved that bike.

you jammy bugger dave i can smell a raleigh chopper i never had one but they seem real special to me, a true iconic bike you not got an old pic off it

[Adrian Worman]

I had a 5 speed Chopper, hot pink, cool as Bananarama!..................so Bananarama! cool that fat Ian made me old man take it off me and give it to him for his birthday...............larfed me tits off when he tried to wheelie it and the front wheel was loose and fell off..............forks dug into the pavement and flicked 'im about 10 foot, I actually thought to meself, "that'll Bananarama! teach 'im"

[74challenger318]

never had new bikes as a kid, my dad used to buy from second hand shop and do them up you us, the cowhorn bars must have been from the speedway scene, remember it was difficult going through tight alleyways, anyone else use to straighten there racer forks in the grids on street

[TYREMAN]

here you go Duncan pics and History of Gatley, Crewe Cycle Speedway

http://www.cyclespeedwayhistory.org.uk/1218.shtml

I used to have the Raleigh Tomahawk mk2,like this but with spoked wheels could not get hold of a Chopper(LOL)

It was too bloody small wanted the Bigger Chopper(not meant to be funny)

I used to spend most weekend in Mold and my Neighbour mate Mathew ended up getting a Burner BMX that was bloody heavy like the Grifter but it was cool and a new bike at the time

I also had a bike i hated called a Commando it had solid rubber tires and was painfull to ride,i can not find any pics or info on it.

I endedup making my own BMX from various parts and my Dad painted it Arizona Gold that i chose from my local auto spares shop.

[Cannonball]

here you go Duncan pics and History of Gatley, Crewe Cycle Speedway

http://www.cyclespeedwayhistory.org.uk/1218.shtml

I used to have the Raleigh Tomahawk mk2,like this but with spoked wheels could not get hold of a Chopper(LOL)

It was too bloody small wanted the Bigger Chopper(not meant to be funny)

I used to spend most weekend in Mold and my Neighbour mate Mathew ended up getting a Burner BMX that was bloody heavy like the Grifter but it was cool and a new bike at the time

I also had a bike i hated called a Commando it had solid rubber tires and was painfull to ride,i can not find any pics or info on it.

I endedup making my own BMX from various parts and my Dad painted it Arizona Gold that i chose from my local auto spares shop.

blinkin eck tony, i never knew that this had sort of been a national sport from way back when, good job i had not tried to say i was the daddy at this would be rumbled now, great find only name that i think i know from crewe is the barton fella think he is a older brother to a barton in my yr sure looks like him,
great find thanks,

the tomahawk with the spoke wheels is a formula 3 i got one for me grankiddie alloy wheels like a chopper s.e the daddy of tomahawks now,,,

will sort that dough for ya

[Dave-R]

you jammy bugger dave i can smell a raleigh chopper i never had one but they seem real special to me, a true iconic bike you not got an old pic off it

Yeah I felt like a king with that bike as non of my mates had one. But then I let slip it was not new and everyone took the slash out of me for having second hand stuff.

Mine was Yellow. I put some orange pinstripes on it at some point. A few years later when they were no longer the cool thing I gave it to my little brother for a while. Some kids a few streets away grabbed the sissy bar at the back and pulled my brother off backwards. Bashed the back of his head open and ripped his new Levi school trousers. I was mad as hell. I put my sisters tough fell walking boots on (real hard toecaps) and went around there to sort them out. Picked up a length of 4x4 on the way there too and got stuck into them. One of them got a bash on the back of his head to match my brothers.
It ended their Dad coming to our door to chin my Dad so I had to confess to what i had done before Dad opened the door.
My Dad was a lot tougher though. Sent him packing.

First time I had ever done anything bad without getting a belting for it. Probably not great parenting when you think. But then again my Dad never had any parenting himself so how would he know?

Then I tried fitting extended forks to the Chopper using bits from an old racer we found. Plus a 4-speed hub. It looked wild and wheelied easy. Too easy to be honest and usually when you were not expecting it.

I was too big for the bike by then and built a custom one using that same 4-speed hub and longer front forks on a lightweight racer frame. The Chopper I think I must have put back to stock and swapped for something.

I can't remember ever seeing a photo of me on it. There must be one somewhere though.

[BUDGIE]

You lot where lucky, me mar couldn't afford to buy me a push bike, I used to nick one of me sisters roller skates and place one of me old "Rupert the Bear" books on it. We lived at the top of a very steep hill, so you parked your arse on it and off you went like a ding-bat down the hill, metal wheels that sounded like thunder n ya feet up in the air ..............stoppin was always fun at the bottom as it joined a main B road ..............spose it was like an early skate board really.


As we lived on a new build estate it was one massive building site so useful materials where everywhere, we would nick a plank of wood, obtain an old pram n strip it down. fix the "axles" be means of 3" nails hammered in n bent over with a big "brummajum" spanna steering consisted of a piece of 1" x 3" wood with the same treatment but with a bolt through it and string attached at each end for steering. As we got more skilled at knockin em up there where a couple of lads who's dads where engineers and they made us ball bearing steering set-ups big pram wheels on rear n little un's on front, an old fruit box on the back facing backwards for the "pusher" ........we build some cool rigs I tell ya, and I still have the scars from them n that hill the best days of our lives for sure



BTW............sorry but I was a kid in the 50s / 60s

[Charger]

my bikes were all home grown never had a chopper as a kid, my old fella could afford it he just never spoilt me n our kid,
my bestest bike was a regular size boys bike with ape hanger handle bars, a chopper type banana seat, you could buy them back then and a custom arrishole spray job blue n gomango orange with some of them float on decals you could buy as well, i was always in bike shops gettin the custom bits of the day, loved me bikes and ridin just like i do me cars n women now,

no Chopper for me, I built my own bikes as well, we called em ‘trackers’, all 2nd hand parts, regular style frame, cow horns, no gears or Sturmey Archer 3 speed, depending what you could get hold of, never cost more than a tenner, best one I ever had I got the frame from the tip (remember them days you went to the tip and came home with more than you took ), had it a couple of years and some Bananarama’er nicked it from outside me mates house, I was gutted, but it’s replacement was up and running by the weekend

[Charger]

As we lived on a new build estate it was one massive building site so useful materials where everywhere, we would nick a plank of wood, obtain an old pram n strip it down. fix the "axles" be means of 3" nails hammered in n bent over with a big "brummajum" spanna steering consisted of a piece of 1" x 3" wood with the same treatment but with a bolt through it and string attached at each end for steering. As we got more skilled at knockin em up there where a couple of lads who's dads where engineers and they made us ball bearing steering set-ups big pram wheels on rear n little un's on front, an old fruit box on the back facing backwards for the "pusher" ........we build some cool rigs I tell ya, and I still have the scars from them n that hill the best days of our lives for sure

now you’re talkin … we called them “bogey’s”, a home made go-cart, also known as a dilly, trolley, buggy, cart, we usually had 2 or 3 on the go at a time, big pram wheels at the back, smaller at the front, plank of wood, bolt / length of rope for steering, we too lived at the top of a hill with a busy road at the bottom, how we never ended up under a car I’ll never know!! had one once that was about 8ft long so we could all get on it, what a riot!! used to take these in Heaton Park as well, loads of steep hills long and twisty, it was ace fun avoiding the “parky’s”, they could never catch us

[Cannonball]

As we lived on a new build estate it was one massive building site so useful materials where everywhere, we would nick a plank of wood, obtain an old pram n strip it down. fix the "axles" be means of 3" nails hammered in n bent over with a big "brummajum" spanna steering consisted of a piece of 1" x 3" wood with the same treatment but with a bolt through it and string attached at each end for steering. As we got more skilled at knockin em up there where a couple of lads who's dads where engineers and they made us ball bearing steering set-ups big pram wheels on rear n little un's on front, an old fruit box on the back facing backwards for the "pusher" ........we build some cool rigs I tell ya, and I still have the scars from them n that hill the best days of our lives for sure

now you’re talkin … we called them “bogey’s”, a home made go-cart, also known as a dilly, trolley, buggy, cart, we usually had 2 or 3 on the go at a time, big pram wheels at the back, smaller at the front, plank of wood, bolt / length of rope for steering, we too lived at the top of a hill with a busy road at the bottom, how we never ended up under a car I’ll never know!! had one once that was about 8ft long so we could all get on it, what a riot!! used to take these in Heaton Park as well, loads of steep hills long and twisty, it was ace fun avoiding the “parky’s”, they could never catch us

the parky now thats a name u dont hear now, if there was he would either be shot/stabbed/injected with drugs/ or beaton Bananarama! out off the young scum now would not run off from him thats for sure,

[Jeff]

Tottenham Kangaroo's were based in Northumberland park

We had knobbly tyres, dip crossbar frames,1/4 mudguards and fixed wheels!

Those were the days!

[Dave999]

we used to blast round the fields

the idea was to try to get the speedway look
into the corner, pull in the brake to get a slide going then up on the peddles to peddle like fury to maintain the skid..never worked

usually ended up in very skinned legs and elbows

or a flare en-meshed in the chain cos chain guards were not cool


similar kind of thing

but then

BMXs Grifters etc appeard

proper bikes for doing it

and there was always 1 kid who had one

suddenly skate boards were in, instead....the innocent fun suddnely got all competitive

we used to spend more time doing jumps

old door

pile of bricks

a daft mate to lie infront


yeehaaa

helped if you had a landing ramp as well eddie Kid style

even better if you taped playing cards to the forks and let them flap in the spokes
until they undid your spokes...

the chosen machine was basically a flat handlebar big wheeled boys bike customised with Cow/bull horn handlebars or the monkey hanger style off a chopper, but mainly the former about a meter wide, with big knobbly grips, tennis racket tape on cloth based insulating tape, and the brake levers on backwards or upwards for tumb or whole hand operation...anything that made it look weird or mean

i too grew up in chesire maybe it was local thing

you rolled the bars in the headset right forward by about 30 degress to get the bar ends up high instead of cocked back towards the driver, great for wheelie leverage but so far way and so long you couldn't turn
Basically the most extreme look possible the higher the hands the more odd you looked.
and your seat positioned nose down so you could drive 1 wheel up in comfort usually with the front wheel cocked right to one side or the other knees out down the high street

looked the Biz

the argumnets about the bars with my parents
dangerous they are, just dangerous , too wide ruins the balance of the bike


no it doesn't.....look mammy, no hands

useless in a city you'd get stuck between the street light and the wall


smashin

anyone got a set of the bars? literally 60 cm each side and straight with nout but a bend in the middle for the 2 inch bit through head set

think my current moutain bike needs to be 1970s retro


Dave

[74challenger318]

Just found this from 1977, never seen one before may be for american market?