inconsistant Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Died 31st December 2022. Fascinating Designer. RIP. Surely The Autoshitists’ Designer! I reckon most designers would happily settle for producing one significant, memorable of iconic object in their career, but Karen was one of those few extraordinary industrial designers who just kept churning out classics and is associated with so much interesting design. Check out his incredible track record: Reliant Scimitar GTE Raleigh Chopper Bond Bug Reliant Robin Reliant Kitten Aston Martin DBS V8 ‘Sotheby Special’ Anadol A1 Ogle SX1000 Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder Bush TR130 radio (the classic one all the digital radios are trying to mimic) Marble Run game More info here: https://tomkarendesigner.co.uk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Karen?wprov=sfti1 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/toy-makers-uk-tom-karon-marble-run-interview_uk_606f17d1c5b6034a708644b1/ Three Speed, bunglebus, Tickman and 11 others 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inconsistant Posted January 6, 2023 Author Share Posted January 6, 2023 Unlike Princess Anne I never owned a Scimitar GTE despite lusting over them as a child. I did however own a Chopper. Here I am posing on my new birthday present, about 1976. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/jan/04/share-your-memories-and-pictures-of-the-raleigh-chopper-bike?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other 500tops, Shite Ron, mk2_craig and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefoot Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 I never much fancied a chopper until this picture. It's well worth blowing up and viewing the right way round! Stanky and mk2_craig 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wack Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 36 minutes ago, barefoot said: I never much fancied a chopper until this picture. It's well worth blowing up and viewing the right way round! I've got the same picture, apart from it having a chubby 10 year old on the bike barefoot and spike60 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 OGLE design indeed Three Speed, inconsistant, barefoot and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Top tip. On a chopper slacken the clamp that holds the handlebars. You then have ape hangers that increase instability. I never owned a chopper but rode a mates. I had a whizzwheels bong bug and scimitar - that's as close as it gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMC Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Growing up in the 80s it was Wall to wall bmx but down my street kids with older siblings often had a few tucked away in the garage, dusty and crispy round the edges, I always liked the design even back then and would take one for a spin, they always felt to have a heavy rear weight bias. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan the van Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Yes indeed,yer bum was pretty much directly above the rear axle as well.And they were rather heavy.I had a blue mk 1 with the round shifter knob.I loved it. HMC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProgRocker Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 That girl in the black and white photo can straddle my chopper anytime. I was too young for Raleigh Choppers but I think I had a seatee and maybe was just old enough to ride one that belonged to a bigger kid on the estate where I grew up. Staying with the Tom Karen theme in the early 1990s there used to be an orange Bond Bug parked by the estate's tower blocks. I love the graphic design of the name sticker 'Bond Bug' on the cars. Doesn't get any more 1970s than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrett Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 13 hours ago, inconsistant said: Ogle SX1000 Not to diminish the great man's legacy, but that wasn't one of his. Karen's 2020 autobiography is a great read, one of the most interesting motoring autobiogs I've read, actually. Although I missed out on the fizzy nostalgia surrounding Choppers and suchlike, I always thought the Mk1 Robin was a genuinely excellent bit of industrial design - a lesson in how to work to a strict and highly restrictive brief and create something characterful, charming and fit for purpose. A shame it will probably never receive its due as a design classic, thanks to the generally oafish lumpen proles who populate this country. somewhatfoolish, Joey spud, RoadworkUK and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_senator Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 Great designer. I`ve had a few Choppers since I was about 8, still got a couple. R.I.P. Shite Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefoot Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 I was offered one, (comparatively) recently for £100 at a Volkswagen bash. It felt as if everything was in dire need of some serious tightening up and having just spent the same sum on a Honda ST70, I declined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoadworkUK Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 I've always had a tremendous soft spot for the many, many things he did for Leyland Trucks. mk2_craig and inconsistant 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somewhatfoolish Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 8 hours ago, barrett said: Not to diminish the great man's legacy, but that wasn't one of his. Karen's 2020 autobiography is a great read, one of the most interesting motoring autobiogs I've read, actually. Although I missed out on the fizzy nostalgia surrounding Choppers and suchlike, I always thought the Mk1 Robin was a genuinely excellent bit of industrial design - a lesson in how to work to a strict and highly restrictive brief and create something characterful, charming and fit for purpose. A shame it will probably never receive its due as a design classic, thanks to the generally oafish lumpen proles who populate this country. If there is going to be an electric aftermarket the Robin should be at the front of the queue; 25% less rolling drag, as noted it's a sharp bit of design and the interior is well-utilised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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