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Most children of the ’70s have a story about the Raleigh Chopper bicycle.
Tales vary from those of the lingering bitterness at never finding one under the Christmas tree (and the parents who wish they had forked out £34 19s to avoid the tantrums), to those who remember its frightening instability and fondness for wheelies – intentional or not.
Helen Ryder’s story is familiar.
“I went on holiday when I was 13, and my family had taken a friend with us to Great Yarmouth,” she says, looking at a wall decorated with Raleigh bikes.
“We came across a guy hiring out Choppers, so we had a go around the holiday park – they were awful to ride but looked so cool. We thought we were the bee’s knees after that.”
Fast-forward to 2023 and about half of Helen’s 30-strong Chopper collection adorns the walls of NY500, the North Yorkshire café and museum she runs with her husband, Bob.
Classic cars, motorcycles and automobilia are on display, too.
“Anything with wheels is welcome,” she says. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a pushbike, a motorbike or a car – you name it, we’ve probably had it here, including tanks.”
On our visit there was a Nissan Skyline GT-R R32, an Escort Mexico Mk1, an ex-Steve Soper Peugeot 406 Coupé, a Vauxhall Nova GSI and an MG Metro 6R4, but the line-up changes often.
Surprisingly, Helen never owned a Raleigh Chopper growing up: “I’d always been a bit of a tomboy, which is probably why I hankered after the Choppers.
“When it was coming up to my 14th birthday, I was trying to get around my dad and asked if I could have a Chopper.
“He said yes, but it was left to Mum to get the present.
“She got me a typical girl’s bike with a basket on the front. I was so embarrassed!”
In the early 2000s, Helen was working as a property surveyor when she stumbled across a scruffy-looking Chopper and asked to buy it.
“It was a black Prismatic like the one I’d ridden on holiday,” she says.
“I’d been after one since I was 13, but I’d met my husband, got married and had children, and life just got in the way.”
She was hooked – and also discovered eBay.
“People know I’ve bought so many Choppers that if they’ve got any bikes or know someone who does, they’ll ask if I’m interested,” she says.
The collection comprises Mk3s – which do without the frame-mounted gear selector – plus some Mk2s, including a few special editions: a JPS-liveried example and a limited-run Beano model are among her favourites.
Although 12 bikes decorate the walls of NY500, Helen also has a building next to her house where she keeps the overspill.
“When I get a chance, I’ll go for a whizz up and down in the shed,” she reveals.
And wheelies? “I’ve tried twice, once successfully, another time less so.”
“My big sisters think I’m mad,” she continues, “but both of my children have bought bikes for me as gifts.”
Asked if there’s anything she’d still like to add to the collection, Helen admits: “I haven’t got my eye on anything because I was told to stop looking, but I’d like a Mk1.”
Helen delights in the nostalgic collection she and her husband have created at NY500, and she enjoys seeing their customers reminisce over the classic cars and bikes on display.
“When you’re young, everything is great all the time,” she explains.
“It’s not until you get older that you realise life is really quite short, you don’t know how long you’re here for and you need to make the most of it.
“It’s all about remembering those happy times.”
Images: Max Edleston
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