what kind of bike did ye have as a kid ?

[ONeill]

A Tomahawk followed by a Chopper followed by a Grifter.

Installed an electric bell on the Chooper. Had a number plate on the Grifter.

The Tomahawk had no brakes. I remember going down the hill at The Hill. Wrote aff.

[ONeill]

The Tomahawk:



The Chopper:



The Grifter:

[Roger]

O'Neill, is that top one not a Chopper?  The Tomahawk was the junior chopper and it didn't have gears.

Edit: The bottom one also seems to be a Raleigh Strika not a Grifter.

[Treasurer]

I just had an ordinary nameless variety, but I used to borrow my brother's Triumph 20 whenever I could - which was quite a girly looking bike now that I look at it

[ONeill]

Believe me, I know my Tomahawks and Choppers. The Tomahawk was simply a version of the Chopper but aimed at a younger audience - a mini-chopper. It had all the same features.

[Main Street]

I had an old black bone shaker from an uncle with lever brakes.

Any resemblance, apart from miles on the clock?


This is only slightly similar to my first bike at the age of 14.
I called it the Tank.
I think it had 2" wide wheels and heavy  metal mudguards Although I was over 6f tall then, I had to slant it to allow one foot touch the ground on tippy toes.  The 3 speed gear cable was broke when I got it, I put in a new one, but it made no difference, except that now there was a 2nd and 3rd gear. It took some marathon effort to pump up a head of steam to get it up to cruising speed in 3rd gear.
By that stage in my life I was anyway  immune to inferiority complex and took a perverse pride in the savage primevil power.
Boy racers were wimps.
It was vandal proof,  gurriers would use it for rock throwing practice when it was parked somewhere.

[Roger]

Believe me, I know my Tomahawks and Choppers. The Tomahawk was simply a version of the Chopper but aimed at a younger audience - a mini-chopper. It had all the same features.

I had a Tomahawk but it didn't have gears or the shock absorbers like the first picture.

[Tyrones own]

The Tomahawk:



The Chopper:



The Grifter:

The chain being loose like that on the Chopper used to be the quere recipe for landing a nut down on
either side of that gear lever 

[Aerlik]

My first bike was a hand-me-down from my sister and was the one I learned to ride with.  Didn't stop me from not being in control and zooming in to a big bunch of nettles stinging the face, arms, hands and legs of myself when pushed by my big brother under the pretext of my being able to "acquire" balance if he pushed me hard enough and I peddled and it would come to me. 

I used to borrow/wreck the sisters' bikes from about the age of 6 to 10 and in between I used my brothers Triumph pushy too.  Not many of them about and I think the original frame and chain wheel is lying up in a loft in one of the barns at home.  (There is a woman in Kilrea who has a Rover pushbike from between 1910 and 1915 with the original brakes, chainwheel, saddle etc.  Worth a small fortune apparently.)  Not being long-legged enough to fit over the cental bar of the Triumph, I used to slide one leg through and this has probably led to my back problems today.

I used to want a Chopper because the uncle of Paddy and Eoin Bradley had one, but wasn't allowed cos it was considered too dangerous as it would cowp backwards too easily.  Then the local GP bought his daughter a Grifter.  That was it.  It had to be a Grifter.  It wasn't to be.

Next was a Raleigh Flyer 5-speed.  I used to ogle it in Albert Cole's window and then one day it was mine.  To hell with your national lottery I was about to take my first steps towards winning the Tour De France.  Or so I thought.  That bike lasted me for 6 years then I progressed onto a Peugeot with a Reynolds 531 frame, Triple T stem, Campagnola chain and gear set and a few other add-ons which I kept for years until some p***k reversed into it when parked at university. 

I now have a Gary Fisher Mamba mountain bike which I bought in Japan 14 years ago for about $700US.  Feckin love it.  Got the Rock Shox at the front and the Shimano groupset with the click pedals.  I've been through a few rims and a helmet thanks to my exploits barreling down Japanese mountain lane.  Still, the auld push bike is a great way of getting around a city, especially one like Perth which is pretty much flat.

Rumour has it that Tony Fearon is the fella who was used to model the original "Boneshaker" bike invented by some Scots bloke in the 18th or 19th. Century.  I'm sure someone could post the link to that picture.  It's the one where the rotund and somewhat cherub-looking gentleman is gayly sauntering along on the wooden machine before chains and gears were invented.

[Doogie Browser]

Did anyone else put an old empty Tip-Top carton on the back wheel under the mudguard to make your bike sound like a motorbike??

[full back]

Did anyone else put an old empty Tip-Top carton on the back wheel under the mudguard to make your bike sound like a motorbike??

Yep, made one hell of a raquet

Also, used to go through a pair of trainers every few weeks by using them as brakes on the back tyre

[downredblack]

Had a Grifter myself , great bike . Don't remember a chain guard on her though and the saddle was different to the one in the picture above .

[Roger]

Did anyone else put an old empty Tip-Top carton on the back wheel under the mudguard to make your bike sound like a motorbike??

The "Why Don't You" gang recommended a clothes peg holding a few playing cards against the spokes for a similar effect.

[brokencrossbar1]

Did anyone else put an old empty Tip-Top carton on the back wheel under the mudguard to make your bike sound like a motorbike??

Yep, made one hell of a raquet

Also, used to go through a pair of trainers every few weeks by using them as brakes on the back tyre

Was Mammy Full Back as "happy" about that as mammy BC was

The cards on the spokes were the job !

[full back]

Did anyone else put an old empty Tip-Top carton on the back wheel under the mudguard to make your bike sound like a motorbike??

Yep, made one hell of a raquet

Also, used to go through a pair of trainers every few weeks by using them as brakes on the back tyre

Was Mammy Full Back as "happy" about that as mammy BC was

The cards on the spokes were the job !

I would say they both had similar thoughts on it

A good clip around the lugs was to be expected when the sole was hanging off them or your sock was falling out through the hole in them