ebikeerwidnes
Guru
- Location
- Z’ha’dum
To be fair to it - it was better than some of the equivalents done by other companies
which rather like saying an Allegro was better than a Lada but whatever
Raleigh to relaunch The Chopper ....Again!
- Thread starter Spiderweb
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
To be fair to it - it was better than some of the equivalents done by other companies
which rather like saying an Allegro was better than a Lada but whatever
IanSmithCSE
Guru
- Location
- Worcester, Worcestershire
Good morning,
Although both the 525 and 753 road bikes struggled to sell, as I understand it the Tuff Burner BMX was much better received, (https://www.raleigh.co.uk/gb/en/tuff-burner/), although at £600 it was well within a normal price for a bike and many were available in shops.
I wonder if the being in the shop is critical for these retro offerings. That way people can see what they are buying and almost make an impulse purchase, they pop in for an inner tube and walk out with a Chopper!
At £2.5k/£1.5k (bike/F&F) the 753 road bike would be hard sell for the likes of Halfords unless it was to customer who just wanted Halfords as a delivery address, a £600 Burner or a £900 chopper much less so.
The road bike seemed to carry a massive 100% markup on what the bike was worth as a bike/frame if you ignore the limited production run and is seems like both the Burner and the Chopper are about the same.
This does make me wonder if the market has moved on so much that if Raleigh were to start making steel bikes and unusual designs in small production runs then there would be a market. For example Specialized still sell the Sequoia and Trek the 520, maybe a Sunday afternoon retro blaster in 753/725 with an option for D/T shifters or STI.
What about something to challenge a 725 Spa Cycles touring bike or the Thorns? Pashley tried something like this with the Pathfinder but didn't seem to get it right or there really is no demand.
All the bikes would have to be steel framed as that would be their big differentiator and sold on the basis that They are not State Of The Art but so what, they are fun?
At £900 it is just too much for me to buy as a pub/supermarket bike, if they end up at half price in a year or so's time, well, who knows. That's not much more than a month's bar bill nowadays!
Bye
Ian
As someone with a 753 40th anniversary frame (https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/show-us-your-raleigh.187284/post-6914362)....."Company who owns Raleigh name pimping out another cheapo copy of old model to exploit the nostalgia of those with lots of disposible income, before they're too old / decrepit to be interested or able to buy"
FTFY
Although both the 525 and 753 road bikes struggled to sell, as I understand it the Tuff Burner BMX was much better received, (https://www.raleigh.co.uk/gb/en/tuff-burner/), although at £600 it was well within a normal price for a bike and many were available in shops.
I wonder if the being in the shop is critical for these retro offerings. That way people can see what they are buying and almost make an impulse purchase, they pop in for an inner tube and walk out with a Chopper!
At £2.5k/£1.5k (bike/F&F) the 753 road bike would be hard sell for the likes of Halfords unless it was to customer who just wanted Halfords as a delivery address, a £600 Burner or a £900 chopper much less so.
The road bike seemed to carry a massive 100% markup on what the bike was worth as a bike/frame if you ignore the limited production run and is seems like both the Burner and the Chopper are about the same.
This does make me wonder if the market has moved on so much that if Raleigh were to start making steel bikes and unusual designs in small production runs then there would be a market. For example Specialized still sell the Sequoia and Trek the 520, maybe a Sunday afternoon retro blaster in 753/725 with an option for D/T shifters or STI.
What about something to challenge a 725 Spa Cycles touring bike or the Thorns? Pashley tried something like this with the Pathfinder but didn't seem to get it right or there really is no demand.
All the bikes would have to be steel framed as that would be their big differentiator and sold on the basis that They are not State Of The Art but so what, they are fun?
At £900 it is just too much for me to buy as a pub/supermarket bike, if they end up at half price in a year or so's time, well, who knows. That's not much more than a month's bar bill nowadays!
Bye
Ian
FrankCrank
Old layabout
Is anyone here gonna try and get one? They're due for release on the 20th this month.
Just think, if you kept it unopened in its original cardboard box, what it'd be worth 50 years from now
Just think, if you kept it unopened in its original cardboard box, what it'd be worth 50 years from now
T4tomo
Legendary Member
Is anyone here gonna try and get one? They're due for release on the 20th this month.
Just think, if you kept it unopened in its original cardboard box, what it'd be worth 50 years from now
probably worth most 5 days after release when / if sold out and people clamoring to get them, before they realise they weren't the best of bikes and they flood the used market!!
Mrs M
Guru
- Location
- Aberdeenshire
Anybody buy one?
T4tomo
Legendary Member
a.twiddler
Veteran
Who says nostalgia ain't what it used to be? Sometimes childhood memories might be better left as memories, but there's obviously a market for this sort of thing. I never had a Chopper, not being of that age, and as a bike it has its shortcomings, but I wonder how many buyers will actually ride them? As they are "modern copies" I wonder if the market for the original will be stimulated by them, even if a lot of these will also appear on ebay and the like. Raleigh have obviously found a winner here, after testing the water. Expect more batches of "limited editions" in the future.
Last edited:
T4tomo
Legendary Member
although very little in the sold items, lets hope the scalpers get burnt
