The summer of 1983. BMX mania had swept the world. Hence, all I had dreamed of all year for Christmas was a BMX. Imagine my excitement (or lack of) when I got a Grifter.
Grifter: Children’s bicycle manufactured and marketed from 1976 and until early 1983 by the Raleigh Bicycle Company of Nottingham, England.
Grifter Pros:
- The gear shift (which was incorporated in to the handle grips and was controlled with a twisting motion).
- Looked like a BMX.
Grifter Cons:
- Chunky, heavy and cumbersome (felt more like a motorbike than a bicycle).
- Not a BMX.
Don’t get me wrong – Grifters were cool … until BMXs were invented, then they became insult magnets for BMX riders.
One thing categorized the Standard-4 boys of Owairaka Primary… those who rode BMXs and those who rode Grifters who were constantly picked on by those who had BMXs… all 3 of us. The Grifter Gang years began.
I grew to love my Grifter and spent most of my school holidays and after school riding it all over west Auckland with the other two members of the GG. Needless to say we pulled many a sweet jump on the things. (which nowadays i might add, are highly collectible to retro buffs).
The Summer of 2009.
My eldest son received a bona-fide BMX for Christmas from his very over-generous grandparents. I don’t know who was more excited, him or me.
Yesterday I introduced him to the art of backyard sweet jump pulling. Life is good.
Ha ha ha – you got like 3 feet of air on that jump!
How can you wear jeans in this heat??
you hurt yourself that day – didn’t you…?
Symon, what memories! I remember getting my first BMX in 1980. It was a Columbia. BMX was so big then. Everyone wanted a number plate on their bike. There was even that movie, Rad, in the 80s. How sweet! And yes, I remember grabbing old boards and cinderblocks and building some awesome jumps in the backyard. Man, those were the days! Thanks for the memories.