The Chopper's Ancestor: The Raleigh RSW16
Small wheels, big ideas, terrible handling.
Raleigh's answer to the Moulton: a shopper bike with 16-inch wheels and balloon tyres that rode like a sofa.
Nottingham built it to see off a rival and it sold surprisingly well, mostly to people who liked the look rather than the ride. It was heavy and slow and it did not care.
What it really did was prove there was a market for a bike that was about style. Four years later Raleigh applied that lesson to the Chopper and the rest is history.
Cost back then
£28
Goes for now
£150–£400 restored
