i had a budgie, light blue and a silver(i think) striker as well.. those were the days......wanted a bomber when i was bigger cause it was f**king huge and looked indestructable!!!

 

A grifter was the first bike I could ride without stabilisers.

I couldn't ride my own so got on this older lads grifter and I was away.

Funny how small it looks. When I first got on it, it seemed huge.

 

I had the Striker too, I was too small at the time for the Grifter.

 

My first bmx was the original version of this one.
WHITE RALEIGH MAG BURNER RETRO BMX BIKE 2008 NEW BOXED on eBay, also, Bikes, Cycling, Sporting Goods (end time 28-Oct-08 12:26:00 GMT)

 

have people seen how much these vintage/ retro bikes go for OMG
Original 1984 Raleigh Aero Pro Burner - Vintage BMX on eBay, also, Bikes, Cycling, Sporting Goods (end time 02-Nov-08 18:32:55 GMT)

 

Id hazard a guess at the average age of posters in this thread is 35...

 

I used to work in a bike shop when I was younger ..

Cliff Pratt Cycles Ltd :: Cliff Pratt Cycles

I used to sell Grifters and Choppers, the quality control on the early ones was shocking LOL

Shaun

PS It's nice that Cliff Pratt still use the logo I helped design in 1976

 

I had a Blue Mk1 Grifter and a Black Striker with pedal back rear break (two bike family!), then moved onto a gold and black Super burner. Later stripped the gold coating off so it was silver and bought some white skyway wheels for it.

Loved the superburner in those black and gold colours. So much so that it followed me folloed me through t o adulthood!

 

I think that there are only 4 certainties in life

1) You will die
2) You will be taxed
3) In the event of a nuclear war, only cockroaches and grifters will be left
4) No one can start from stand still in 3rd gear on a grifter

 

Number 4 actually made me laugh out loud! So true.

Lee

 

wow excellent restoration job.
i had a red one and used to nick my dad's liquid diamond polish and autosol for buftying it up !!

those were the days...... (also used to nick his playing cards and my mums clothes pegs too)

 

Just dug this one out, Christmas day 1976, I was absolutely over the moon with that bike



Had some great hairstyles in those days eh?

 

those styles are coming back now......

shame my hair isn't !!!

 

i like messing with these retro bikes and restoring them. buy them cheap restore them then sell them on for a big profit grifters/choppers/raleigh burners even the mag wheels like skyways ect make good money and great projects for the winter easy money and there is a big market for these bikes now

 

my cousin had a strika. me and his brother loosened his front wheel nuts one day. He pulled a wheelie and watched in horror as his front wheel sped off in front of him. The forks dug in the pathway and he just fell in a heap with the bike on top of him. We were p*ssing our selves laughing until we realised the handle bar had stuck in his head and almost removed a ten pence sized piece of skin from his scalp.We got grounded for that one aswell. The look on his face was priceless. Good and carefree times.

Lee

 

I got my head stuck in a grifter once when I dived in to a local canal.

Probably not the most sensible thing I ever did....