{"id":306202,"date":"2026-02-16T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/?p=306202"},"modified":"2026-02-16T10:35:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T08:35:52","slug":"watch-eccentric-cyclist-sells-baby-bunnies-on-cobbled-together-bike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/tygerburger\/watch-eccentric-cyclist-sells-baby-bunnies-on-cobbled-together-bike\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH | Eccentric cyclist sells baby bunnies on cobbled-together bike"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A modern day Macgyver traverses the Cape Flats selling rabbits on a wobbly bike held together by \u201celastic and wire\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jack Chopper, as he prefers to be known, hails from Manenberg but travels several dozens of kilometres by bicycle multiple times a month to deliver baby rabbits to pet shops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

TygerBurger<\/em> caught up with the eccentric cyclist in Woodlands, Mitchells Plain, last week, while he was on his way to \u201cWinners\u201d, which is the name of a now defunct supermarket in Lentegeur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He gave the paper an exhibition of his multi-coloured and multi-textured \u201cbicycle\u201d, while he stopped to catch his breath alongside Highlands Drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The rabbit breeder uses the Macgyvered bike to traverse the Cape Flats.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Any tie will do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The bicycle, which sports a shadecover, baskets, lights, a charger, reflectors and a dynamo, was built from scratch by Chopper \u2014 without any welding. Cobbled together with spare parts, it features star-spangled handles, a red fabric seat cover and two differently-sized wheels. It\u2019s decorated with an old baby shoe and random labels and logos, including a Bokke emblem on the shade cover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked how it is held together, Chopper, who has several jewelled teeth, said, \u201cwith elastic and wire\u201d. TygerBurger <\/em>however noticed several cable ties securing the shadecloth cover, white tape that looked suspiciously like gauze on the shadecover frame, a chain connecting parts of the bike\u2019s back frame and even a pair of handcuffs which connected two of the frame\u2019s bars \u2014 though TygerBurger <\/em>was unclear if this was purely for decoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALSO READ: Bunny crisis in Durbanville<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A basket made of chicken wire and carpet was attached to the back of the shade frame and it bore several black baby bunnies \u2014 who had a fabulous view of the back wheel covered with a mudguard made of indiscernible material. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animal lovers need not worry about their hydration. Chopper had threaded a water spout through the makeshift hutch from a bottle secured to the frame\u2019s vertical bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kokied confirmation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When TygerBurger <\/em>asked if the bike was roadworthy, Chopper cackled saying that traffic officers once stopped him and jokingly asked him for his licence. Since then he decided to \u201cfake it\u201d and added a repurposed trailer license, updated with black koki pen, to the bike\u2019s eclectic ensemble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chainguard also sported a licence plate drawn on in black koki but Chopper said that he had once had an actual licence plate on the bike but had lost it on one of his travels. The bike used to belong to Chopper\u2019s 10-year-old son. His son surrendered the bike, Chopper said, \u201cbecause it is too heavy for him\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the battery, it\u2019s almost 50 kilos,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a 1972 model,\u201d Chopper added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chopper was not surprised by TygerBurger\u2019s <\/em>attention. He said he was frequently stopped by curious passersby some of whom have made videos of him and made him \u201cfamous on TikTok.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chopper said the bike is his mode of transport to sell his rabbits to pet shops in Gatesville, Lentegeur and the Town Centre in Mitchells Plain, all of which is more than 10km away from his home in Manenberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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