A rusty and weary 1980s Raleigh Chopper – bought for a tenner decades ago – could make hundreds of pounds at auction after being rescued from a garden shed in Birmingham.
Abdul Sidike was prompted to dust the cobwebs off his long-forgotten bike after hearing that a particularly battered example destined for a skip had made nearly £700 at Hansons Auctioneers.
A similar result would delight Abdul, who admitted he was disappointed when he first saw his Chopper – a £10 secondhand buy to replace a beloved stolen BMX in the 1980s.
But he grew to love his Raleigh and he’d be delighted to see it restored to its former glory. It will go under the hammer on June 28 in Hansons’ Fine Art, Antiques and Collectors Auction at Bishton Hall, Staffordshire, with an estimate of £200-£400.
Abdul, 46, from Balsall Heath, a director of Education & IT Ltd, explained his decision to sell: “A childhood friend sent me a WhatsApp message, ‘Dude, you still got your Chopper?’ He proceeded to tell me about a Hull Daily Mail story describing how a rusty Raleigh Chopper had sold for around £700.
“Back in the early 1980s, when the BMX Bandits film was released, I started pestering my father for a BMX bike. Eventually he agreed and bought a Hawk BMX from Woolworths for £60 – money he’d painstakingly saved to satisfy my whim. Just imagine the value of £60 back then when a pint of milk cost 10p, a loaf of bread 30p and bus fare into the city 20p.
“Sadly, I outgrew the bike quickly and bought a bigger BMX. But I didn’t have that bike for a month. It was stolen from outside a corner shop. My cycling days seemed over. There was no way I could get another bike.
“A few weeks later my father told me to collect a bike for £10 he’d bought from a second-hand shop nearby. I couldn’t wait thinking, ‘wow, my dad bought me a bike’. I skipped all the way to the shop with a big grin on my face, fantasising about this brilliant bike!
“My face fell when I saw the bright red Raleigh Chopper waiting for me. I’d seen these around in all sorts of colours but they’d never made much of an impression on me. After all, I was a BMX bandit! I couldn’t do a stunt if my life depended on it. Looking at the Chopper, I thought ‘What can I do on that?’
“Nonetheless, this was now mine. The shopkeeper kindly pumped up the tyres and I rode it home, feeling uncomfortable all the way and thinking, ‘nah!’
“My friends made no comment on my bike. They were pleased I had one again and we rode as we always did around the area and in the park. In a short time, I grew to love the bike and its character. It became a significant part of my childhood, a physical manifestation of my father’s love for me.
“I rode that Raleigh Chopper until I bought my first mountain bike. My siblings went on to ride the Chopper until, one day, it was forgotten and left in the darkness of the shed. It was moved from one place to another over the years. Each time it saw the light of day I promised I would get it repaired and restored to its former glory, and share memories of my youth with my two children.
“As with most promises it got broken time and time again – until my friend sent me the link to that story about a rusty Raleigh Chopper sold by Hansons. I saw it as a sign. It’s time this bike was loved by another.”
Charles Hanson, owner of Hansons Auctioneers, said: “These rusty relics from people’s childhoods in the 1970s and 80s open up a rich seam of nostalgia. Design classics like this are ripe for restoration. We very much hope we can find a perfect new home for Abdul’s bike.”
In April 2022, Hansons sold a Raleigh Chopper destined for the skip for a total of £692 with buyer’s premium. In 2020 a mint condition 1970s MK2 Chopper reached £1,250 at Hansons from a £400-£600 estimate. It had never been ridden and had been stored in a bedroom.
Charles said: “Such is the power of childhood nostalgia a vintage Chopper is worth more than its original retail price. In 1973 a Mk2 Raleigh Chopper cost around £34 – equivalent to £361 in today’s money.”
The Chopper, manufactured by Nottingham’s Raleigh Bicycle Company, was hugely popular due to its ground-breaking good looks and wheelie capabilities. It was designed in response to the American-made Schwinn Sting-Ray chopper-style, wheelie bicycle which launched in 1962.
The Raleigh Chopper will be offered on June 28 at Hansons Auctioneers’ Staffordshire saleroom, Bishton Hall, Wolseley Bridge. Entries are invited for monthly auctions at Bishton Hall. To find out more or to book a free antiques, collectables or jewellery valuation, email Mark Holder: [email protected].
