I remember seeing 'Tracker' in the 70s & early 1980s. They were always ridden by teenage boys and those very wide cow-horn handlebars always looked impractical from a road cyclists point of view. I remember wondering what kind of riding they were used for as I mainly saw them in the cities & towns.
I am not sure whether the inspiration for them came from teenagers wanting to copy 'Cycle Speedway' bikes or using their parts to make imitation 'scrambler' motorbikes? I remember that at that time the sport of 'Motorbike Scrambling', as it was known, was often covered on TV together with 'Motorcycle Speedway', and 'Motorbike Trials'.
The topic of Tracker Bicycles seems to have bypassed the UK cycle historians the only reference to them I know of is in Tony Hadland's recent book on Bicycle design. There he references a 1961 BBC programme and shows a photo of three teenagers and their 'Bogwheeler' bikes. I guess that despite their nationwide popularity 'Trackers' were of little interest to the cycling establishment and press.
There were some attempts to produce commercial versions of these bikes, namely the Vindec Trekker and Halford's Trackstar, but why pay out for something when you can make your own for less? The best known manufactured bike of this tradition was the 1981 Raleigh Bomber that came fitted with US 26" balloon tyres. However, it was only Geoff Apps who as well as 2" wide knobbly tyres, added reinforced frames, powerful brakes and wide-range derailleur gears to the mix. Unfortunately for him, he did this just a few years before the US mountain bikes started arriving in Britain.
It's been wonderful to hear all the recollections of these bikes that history has forgotten. Keep them coming, as if these stories don't get written down an important part of the cycling history of Britain will be lost forever.
Photos of Tracker bikes are rare, so if you do have old photos post them here.