In praise of... Raleigh Grifter!

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Andrew_Culture

Internet Marketing bod
Well not much praise because they were a fairly punishing bike to ride, fall off or get trapped under, and I'm amazed 'slip gear' didn't wipe out the fertility of a generation.

But my god they could take some punishment, here's what mine looked like just before I gave up on it and got my first MTB.

grifter019-OPT.jpg
 

ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Yup had one too. In that Bluey-Grey colour they also came in.
Got it after the Yellow Chopper died.
 

PoweredByVeg

Über Member
Location
Lingwood/Norwich
"Slip gear" made me laugh when I read it, I did it on a friends aged about 15, standing on the pedals then "slip gear" with my knackers hitting the crossbar! That is the first and last time I felt pain like it!
 
OP
OP
Andrew_Culture

Andrew_Culture

Internet Marketing bod
"Slip gear" made me laugh when I read it, I did it on a friends aged about 15, standing on the pedals then "slip gear" with my knackers hitting the crossbar! That is the first and last time I felt pain like it!

Lucky you! My fleshy eggs seem to attract discourtesies, when I found out my equipment was still in working order I was quite relieved.
 

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
I claimed my brother's Grifter when he claimed my racing bike. These new fangled BMX things had come along so the Grifter got a new lease of life with BMX everything apart from the frame & forks... certainly turned some heads at Coastline BMX and the weekly race meets at Pontins :becool:

In it's heyday, the grifter had that 'padded' crossbar which was solid as rock, the seat like a sofa (in comparison to the racer's seat) and the meaty mudguard with the plastic ends, which, when folded under the mudguard so it rubbed against the tyre, made a cracking motobike noise... until it completely wore down.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
I had a Chopper. Grifters were for the nouveaux wimps ;)

Looking back now though the lines if the Grifter, Chopper etc were terrible bikes, but we loved 'em.
 
OP
OP
Andrew_Culture

Andrew_Culture

Internet Marketing bod
I claimed my brother's Grifter when he claimed my racing bike. These new fangled BMX things had come along so the Grifter got a new lease of life with BMX everything apart from the frame & forks... certainly turned some heads at Coastline BMX and the weekly race meets at Pontins :becool:

In it's heyday, the grifter had that 'padded' crossbar which was solid as rock, the seat like a sofa (in comparison to the racer's seat) and the meaty mudguard with the plastic ends, which, when folded under the mudguard so it rubbed against the tyre, made a cracking motobike noise... until it completely wore down.

I'd totally forgotten about the ability to make the motorbike sound!
 

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
the bomber was an awesome bike.. I would have loved one but they came out at a time I should been going on to grown up bikes... I did however, in my mid twenties, when clearing out a friend of a friends back yard, notice a Raleigh Tomahawk (choppers little brother), but not just any Tomahawk, my Tomahawk, identified by a Formula 1 sticker on the side. "Fackin 'ell... that's my old bike! can i have it back?" ...it's currently residing dismantled in a trunk, waiting to be resurrected as a radiator or something daft... I do like the idea of turning an old bike into a radiator.
 
Top Bottom