Raleigh Chopper rear wheel, featuring a red line around the sidewall. In 1969 the Raleigh Chopper was launched in the UK market this was a triple launch for Raleigh, with the Chopper branded as THE HoT oNE, alongside the Moulton Mk3 (The Smooth One), and the RSW Mk3 (The Dolly One). The Chopper bike was sold as a "must have" item and signifier of "coolness" for many children at the time. The Mk 2 ("Mark 2") Chopper was an improved version sold from 1972. It had the rarely-purchased option of five-speed derailleur gears, and the gear lever shifter changed from a knob
Ross (bicycle company) biking industry. Its basic look constitutes "a total shift in image" for the industry." By 1989, Nyle Nims, at the time a vice president at Ross Bicycles (and later founder of Cycle Force Group), said 40 percent of bicycle sales were mountain bikes, adding "we see a lot of people who previously owned the dropped bar, 10-speed bike buying the wide-tire bikes, they are people who don't want to ride fast; they want to ride for recreation." Ross (bicycle company) Ross Bicycles Inc. manufactured over 15 million bicycles under the Ross brand, between 1946 and 1988. The company began in