Raleigh Chopper
History of the Chopper Raleigh Chopper Models Details of Raleigh Chopper Raleigh Chopper mechanic Other things about Raleigh Chopper Raleigh Chopper register

ALL YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CLASSIC RALEIGH CHOPPERS BUT DIDN'T KNOW WHO TO ASK

Canada was a large market for Raleigh during the 1970s and the Chopper was launched there in 1969 at the same time as it arrived in America, and a full year before it was considered that England was ready for it.
Raleigh, as you know, had swallowed up very many smaller English bicycle manufacturers during the decades following the second world war. Often the “names” of these companies were used by Raleigh to re-brand their bikes This was done for several reasons, maybe to market a cheaper model, and prevent any bad feeling against Raleigh, maybe to access areas with trade sanctions that Raleigh wanted to “get around” or maybe to produce a model for sale to bike shops that weren’t Raleigh franchised dealers, and to prevent direct competition with Raleigh dealers.
In Canada Raleigh launched the Chopper as a “Robin Hood” Chopper for sale to non Raleigh Dealers. Robin Hood being a name that Raleigh had bought in the 1950s.


This is a picture of a Mk1 Girlie Chopper in a beautiful colour. Neither the model nor the colour ever appeared in the U.K.

However, the largest re-branding operation carried out in Canada was through the Eaton chain of department stores.Eatons were a large department store, based in the larger cities in Canada.
Formed in 1869, Eatons were one of the first large Canadian owned Department stores, but of course one factor hindered their growth, Canada is a very large country, and its small population was very widespread. The answer was the mail order catalogue. The Eatons catalogue became a way of life for Canadian families throughout the early decades, and absolutely everything was available from it. Eatons realised early on that it needed a good reliable range of bicycles to sell. With no dealer network to service warranties, any defective items had to be mailed back to Eatons. This meant reliability in everything they sold was a priority. Eatons turned to England's Raleigh to supply a range of bikes for sale through the catalogues. Raleigh supplied a range of bike called the “Glider”. These bikes were built to Raleigh standards at the Nottingham factory and badged up as “Eaton Gliders” .
This relationship proved a success, Eatons got a reliable supply of good quality bikes, and Raleigh got an independent widespread distribution network.
When Raleigh designed the Raleigh Chopper for introduction to the American market in late 1968, Eatons were quick to see the bikes potential, and the Chopper was added to the Eaton Glider range at the same time as its launch in the U.S.A.
This is the advertisement from the 1969 Eatons catalogue. Showing the Fastback 100.
Gordie Howe, who endorses the bike was a very famous Canadian Ice Hockey player, who played longer than any one else in the NHL playing in 6 decades. He started as a teen and played a token shift in his early 60's just to make the claim. He is still very much alive and well.
The Fastback 100 shown is a very early 1969 Tall Frame mk1 Chopper, with the brake cables running through the frame, and the rear brake caliper mounted forward of the rear sissy bar stays. Notice the “t” bar gearshifter.
The full American range of Choppers were offered through the Eatons Catalogue,
The Eatons company sold many Choppers for Raleigh but, as in America, interest in the bike was waning by the early seventies. It is unclear if the law outlawing crossbar mounted shifters was applied in Canada or not, but the last Chopper appeared in the 1974 Eatons catalogue.
Eatons were unheard of in the U.K. until the advent of the Internet and the popularity of E-Bay. Luckily we now know (most) of the full Eatons story.
The Eaton's chain declared bankruptcy a few years ago and is now gone from the Canadian retail landscape.
Like all the non Raleigh branded Choppers, the Eatons had the non Raleigh chainwheel, no “r” nuts and the raised fork inserts instead of dimples.
This picture of a 1969 Fastback 100 clearly shows the non Raleigh chainwheel design, and the early brake cables going through the frame. Also visible is the early style of kickstand attachment, and the “Made in England” sticker.
The Girlie bike is the same as the one at the top of the page and is from Eaton's catalogue. The girl's is called a 'Princess' and the boy's a 'Fastback'. Click the image for a higher resolution copy of this advertisement.