Manhattan Bicycles

[Ulu]

Is Manhattan an American company?

Is this one of those names that has been passed around from company to company?

Or a brand who just puts their logo on bikes made by other companies overseas?

This seems like a name I should be familiar with from bicycles of my past but I am not, and one has come up for sale that I might consider buying as the basis for a build.

I guess a lot has to do with the provenance, as they say.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Manhattan Cruisers are by KHS

https://khsbicycles.com/about-khs/
I restored a KHS Brentwood frameset for modification just yesterday.

 

[Ulu]

Thank you @Karate Chicken Industries

I have found a used one for only $100 though it appears to need TLC.
Possibly just innertubes and a seat cover plus lots of spit & polish.

It's a very "dutch bike" kinda style, which is not my style, but it will do for now.

I'd love to go dump $$$$ on a local bike shop, but since the current downturn ensued I have been practicing restraint.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

This forum is living, breathing proof that one doesn't need to dump major dollars into a bicycle to have a legit ride for occasional cruising, up to riding trails that most who call themselves "mountain biker" would not even attempt to ride.

This bike cost me about $450 total and is on the higher end of what I spend on anything not brand new.

 

[Ulu]

That’s quite a lovely photograph there, but I don’t have any way to judge what you have as a bicycle.

I don’t know a .... thing about bicycles built after 1969. Way back in the old days I was lucky to have a Schwinn and I worked on my sisters Raleigh and we also had a Huffy, a Western Flyer and a Columbia.

After my folks quit riding they were all cannibalized for parts to customize my Schwinn, except for the Raleigh.

The Columbia and the Flyer were both slightly crusty. Those were bikes my dad picked up cheap somewhere, probably for free, just to give me for the parts.

If I get more ambitious I will post up some data on the bicycle that I built Wayback When.

I sold it to a kid in Baudette Minnesota before we moved out of town, and for all I know it may still be up there in someone’s garage.

 

[Ulu]

I bought that Manhattan bicycle but it turned out to be pretty crusty. I posted some photos of it here:

Thread 'Modern multi-speed hubs?'
https://ratrodbikes.com/forum/threads/modern-multi-speed-hubs.115633/

I will post some nicer photos when I get it cleaned up because right now it’s been sitting in the leaves for 6-12 months.

 

[Ulu]

Well I thought I should post some in-progress pictures of the cleanup.

I spent all of yesterday working on the bicycle and it’s coming along pretty well. I thought all the bearings in it were destroyed. It turns out that they are in ok shape but this thing had laid in the mud or something. Maybe it was recovered from a canal.

Anyhow she’s got some miles on her but I was able to save the chain. The sprockets look good. Pedal bearings and stem bearings in the neck are all ok now That I washed out the mud and re-greased everything..

But they’re not perfect and I didn’t dare set it up with oil. Everything was set up slightly loose with waterproof fishing reel grease. It’s all gonna have to wear in again.

I stripped the seat all apart because the foam underneath was damp and going moldy.

I have something to recover it with, But I think I’m gonna cut the foam way down because this is kind of a grandma seat.

I won’t be using this on the BBO bike.

I couldn’t get my crank apart with my puller yet, and I’m not prepared to hammer on it or break out the torch. YET!

I’m gonna have to go buy a Park puller. This is a steel crank with steel arms. I was expecting the arms to be aluminum.

I’m so happy that this turned out to be a real Sturmey-archer hub, and as far as I can tell it’s clean inside and sounds good. I haven’t taken it apart yet and I will probably put that off to the last thing.

The frame appears to be pretty straight and undamaged except for paint scratches. It also appears to be fairly well constructed and the only part that I didn’t like as well was the way the rear stays connect to the seat post clamp.

Actually it is pretty strong but it’s just not the classic method.

I was hoping to paint the frame today but I have not been able to get the crank set off and this will have to wait until I can get the appropriate tool. It’s either that or break out the torch. I don’t want to start a grease fire.