Old and Rusted Bicycle Restoration - Vintage Raleigh Chopper

Old and Rusted Bicycle Restoration - Vintage Raleigh Chopper

Helping out a friend to restore this old and rusted bicycle - a 1970s Vintage Raleigh Chopper. The iconic design has became the cultural icon and a 'must have' toy for every cool kids who grew up in that period. I have learnt a lot throughout the restoration process, not only the technical skills, but the history of Raleigh Chopper. Let me brief about the learning outcome in two parts: History and Technical..

History:
If you have noticed for this Chopper, besides the general iconic design (ape hanger handlebars, bobbed mudguards, long padded sprung seat, etc), it featured a SHIMANO gear hub instead of Sturmey Archer which is synonym with Raleigh Chopper bicycle. Based on the research that I did on online forum, it seems to be a model made in Taiwan instead of UK. So I guess maybe Raleigh has a manufacturing branch in Taiwan for Asia market? Leave a comment if you have any idea.

Technical:
Since this bike has collectible value, so I need to be very careful not to deal any damage. Restoring collectible item is different from the previous projects that I have done. Previously, I can remove the rust with power tools, but I can never do that on chrome surface. To restore a chrome surface, the best way without scratching the chrome surface is to scrub with aluminium foil or fine steel wool with water. It sounds easy, and yes it is for light rusty area, it is so satisfying to wipe off the rust layer covering the shiny chrome. However, I almost used up my elbow grease in this restoration :) nonetheless, I am SUPER DUPER SATISFYING with the final outcome.
Another tricky part is to fabricate the broken bracket for the gear to work again. I have fabricated a few pieces until I get it right. The aesthetic of the replacement is not perfect, but it works fine :)
I have tried to shift gear while riding, and it works perfect.
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I am not professional mechanic/handyman/restorer, nor I own a workshop. But I believe, If Y can dream it, Y can do it!

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