Raleigh Choppers: Harry Potter's collection of 70 cult bikes

Harry Potter has owned hundreds of Choppers over the years

The Raleigh Chopper, with its odd-sized wheels and tall handlebars, was the classic bike every child wanted in the '70s and '80s.

Harry Potter, of Barmouth, Gwynedd, would be the envy of them all.

Mr Potter has a collection of 60-70, but has owned hundreds in the years since his dad sparked his obsession by showing him a 1971 picture of himself with his orange bike.

Now, Raleigh have said they will go back on sale this year, priced at £950.

Raleigh has announced they are to go back on sale

Mr Potter said: "He had one of the first orange ones. That is where it all started and I began from there.

Speaking to Jeremy Vine on Thursday, Mr Potter said his rarest bike is one from 1969, only produced for the American market.

"My favourite is the brand new one which never got used and it's a rare model as well," he said. "It's pretty special."

"I also have one signed by the Kaiser Chiefs."

The bikes "range from £500 up to thousands" he said.

"I get up at five in the morning some mornings to clean them, doing other stuff with them. So yeah, it's a big part of my life and I do love it."

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He said he liked them because he was different, adding: "They're unique, it's a talking point.

"Everybody's fascinated by them, all ages, everyone appreciates what they are, they look pretty cool.

"I stack them up all nicely, they all have to be in line. I can't have the same colour next to each other because that gives me a little bit of an ick.

Harry Potter's obsession was sparked by his father, who had one of the first orange Choppers

About 1.5 million Choppers were sold before production ended in the 1980s.

They were designed by Tom Karen, the man behind the Popemobile and children's game Marble Run.

They were designed with radical long "Polo" seats, wide tyres with coloured line decoration, a three speed gear stick and a distinctive frame, it was available in a variety of colours.

They were brought back on to a lot of people's radars in the 1990s when Supergrass rode them in the video for their song Alright.

The band Supergrass popularised them again in the '90s when they rode them in the video for their hit Alright

Mr Potter keeps his in a special room most people are not allowed in.

"It's just for my benefit. Proper little man cave."

Over 13 years the 27-year-old has been perfecting his collection, and now he hopes to get his hands on every colour of the new model.

Raleigh will be producing a limited number, and he hopes there will be a limit on purchasing so "everyone will have a fair chance of getting one".

Originals always hold their value

Mr Potter said since Raleigh dropped the news, "it's been crazy".

He said some collectors have responded positively and then there's people who have said the bikes "might be too good".

"They think the value might go down because they're exactly the same," he said.

But he doesn't think this will be true, as "the originals always hold their money," and there are always more to collect.

The Chopper fell out of favour with the rise of the BMX

"On Monday for example a bike popped up on eBay that shouldn't have ever been made in a certain colour and it was there."

"Raleigh in the '70s were terrible, their building and factory had no structure whatsoever so you get really random colours and parts which should never have happened."

Part of the joy of collecting he said was being able to share them with people.

He thinks the new production will "bring new people into the scene" of collectors.

What are the new bikes like?

As a key person in the Chopper collector scene, Mr Potter was invited by Raleigh to a secret test event.

He rode around the factory on the new bikes and was asked for his opinion on them.

"It is really really good, I take my hat off to them, they couldn't have done it any better."

"They literally feel exactly the same, it's pretty mad," he said. "I was hoping they would be a little bit lighter but they're not - they are just as heavy."