heeeeey.

[ashleeoh]

Hi, I'm Ashlee. I stumbled across this lovely site sometime yesterday and I have been completely absorbed ever since.

I have a Sears Roebuck Free Spirit (yes, I know, let the groaning commence.) But I got it for fifteen bucks and it was ride-able.

Anyway, I live in north east Florida and I work thirty or forty minutes from where I live so my bike is more of a weekend thing. I have a Volkswagen Jetta that I throw most of my time into but I guess I want to switch it up.

I'm in the middle of restoring my bike but I'm not sure if I want to keep it or if I want to try selling it for a bit more than fifteen and put money towards another one. I haven't really ridden this one around for too long because the seat cover is pulling off (although, I did see a bike somewhere on here that had the cover all the way off and, what I got from it, they said it was an okay ride. The way mine rides, it feels like I'm about to topple off. I'll try yanking the cover off tonight and see what's up.) And the rear brake pads were missing. I bought new brakes all around but there was rust on the rims so I scrubbed those down with WD-40 and some steel wool and followed up with some Simple Green and brake cleaner. I haven't put the new brakes on yet because I'm the best at procrastinating. I also want to clean them off again with the brake cleaner just to be safe. WD-40 probably wasn't the brightest idea but it's too late now.

Here she is the day I picked her up:

Hope to learn a lot from you guys. I really know nothing about bikes except how to check air pressure. :lol:

 

[Rat Rod]

Welcome aboard...great bike for only $15. If you like the bike and like the way it rides, keep it and make it your own. If not, get it running and list it for $100 obo and see if you can get $75 for it. That's the the great thing about old bikes...fairly easy to trade up to what you really want.

 

[ashleeoh]

Yeah, I was thinking that. I love all the different styles of the older bikes and I thought I was set on getting a road bike form the seventies but looking around here makes me second guess that. Not to mention, the more I work on my bike, the more I love it. I'll probably end up keeping it and getting another bike regardless. It's funny how enjoyable it is for me just to get rust off the chrome and polishing and waxing the paint.

I'm going to be getting a hairpin saddle soon and I'm going to go to the local Army/Navy surplus store to see if I can get some bags or ammo cans to fabricate a pannier. I was also thinking about getting one of those cool bullet lights with the visor. When I get home from work, I'll post better pictures.

 

[johnnyoutlaw]

Welcome dude

 

[old school 64]

Welcome Ashlee..way cool bike for the bucks..yeah, make it your own..your ideas sound really cool..i never thought of ammo cans before...time to go looking tomorrow !! Thanks for the tip..

 

[scrumblero]

Welcome dude

Ashlee... Dude...

and Welcome!!

 

[shaggyevil]

Welcome Ashlee! Nice bike. I also have an old Sears Roebuck 5-speed setting out on the porch waiting for me to do something with it. Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours.

Shaggy

 

[Wildcat]

Welcome!

That looks like a bike that has many more miles left on it. Women's/girl's bikes never get beat up as bad as the boy's bikes. You might be surprised how well the paint shines after a waxing.

I've got a pair of small ammo boxes perfect for saddlebags, in very good condition that I'll probably never use. If you're interested in them, I'll post up a few pics.

I'm up here near Mayport.

 

[ashleeoh]

Welcome Ashlee..way cool bike for the bucks..yeah, make it your own..your ideas sound really cool..i never thought of ammo cans before...time to go looking tomorrow !! Thanks for the tip..

I did a search on here for Free Spirit and that was one of the first posts to come up and it looks so nice. Right now, I have a NATO-issued bag tied on with some jute. Just trying things out. It looks okay, but it's in no way weather or thief resistant. And I have bad luck when it comes to bicycles and thieves.

Welcome dude

Ashlee... Dude...

and Welcome!!

Hey, Ashley Wilkes from Gone With The Wind was a "dude."

But, you're right, I'm not.

Welcome Ashlee! Nice bike. I also have an old Sears Roebuck 5-speed setting out on the porch waiting for me to do something with it. Looking forward to seeing what you do with yours.

Shaggy

Mine was converted into a fixed gear before I got it. I was going to yank the seat cover off so I could ride it but turns out it's plastic under the seat and that's all messed up too. I'm sure I could fabricate something with washers and bolts but I think I'll just wait for my next paycheck to get a hairpin saddle.

Welcome!

That looks like a bike that has many more miles left on it. Women's/girl's bikes never get beat up as bad as the boy's bikes. You might be surprised how well the paint shines after a waxing.

I've got a pair of small ammo boxes perfect for saddlebags, in very good condition that I'll probably never use. If you're interested in them, I'll post up a few pics.

I'm up here near Mayport.

I really prefer the look of men's bikes to the women's. But you have a good point. There seems to be some sticky stuff on parts of the bike like someone had stickers on it. I'll have to attack with some Goo Gone soon.

Also, I'd love to have a look at them. I was planning on going to Big Talbot with a friend sometime soon and I never plan on heading over to Monument where the Army/Navy store is. How much were you looking to get for them?

Thanks everyone for all the welcomes. It's refreshing to find so many nice people. And here are a few pictures I took. Sorry for the state of the room that it's in. I also lied about the pictures being better. Still cell phone pictures but now with close-ups! I gave up trying to polish the rack to perfection. So many tiny bars and crevices.

 

[scrumblero]

try some naval jelly on that rack, it looks like it will clean up fairly easy... :roll:

 

[ashleeoh]

try some naval jelly on that rack, it looks like it will clean up fairly easy... :roll:

Wow, I didn't even think about rust remover. I was still using bits of steel wool and WD-40 and some Mother's polish. Thanks for that.

 

[Galtbacken]

Welcome! Why not try your hand at making a new seat cover if the old one is worn out? It's quite easily done.

 

[M.Martian]

There's nothing wrong with a Free Spirit. :lol:

I've got a Ted Williams Free Spirit myself. I did make mine a little more "manly" looking by painting it green and throwing an ammo can on there though. :mrgreen:

The style that you've got is very typical of the era. Most of the brands seem to look pretty much the same. If the bike rides well and fits you, then just go for it. If you repaint it to make it your own, no one will know what it was anyways.

 

[Wildcat]

Here's a pic. They are each 10 3/4" long by 3 3/4" deep and 7" high. $15 bucks for both of them? I'm not too far from Monument rd.

 

[Wildcat]

I'm thinking 12 bucks is a fair price.

 

[ashleeoh]

Welcome! Why not try your hand at making a new seat cover if the old one is worn out? It's quite easily done.

I was actually thinking about maybe modifying it to work until I remember to buy a new saddle before my paycheck gets all drained out. I really love the look of the hairpin saddle.

There's nothing wrong with a Free Spirit. :lol:

I've got a Ted Williams Free Spirit myself. I did make mine a little more "manly" looking by painting it green and throwing an ammo can on there though. :mrgreen:

The style that you've got is very typical of the era. Most of the brands seem to look pretty much the same. If the bike rides well and fits you, then just go for it. If you repaint it to make it your own, no one will know what it was anyways.

I've been down the road of bike painting and I'm not sure it's one I want to return to. :lol: But maybe one day. You guys are giving me more confidence about owning a Free Spirit anyway. I had googled the brand and saw mostly bad things about it on bike forums, etc. Wasn't sure if it was a bottom-of-the-line parts thing or what though.

I'm thinking 12 bucks is a fair price.

I'll give you fifteen. My lack of response wasn't a way of silently negotiating a lower price. I PM'd you.

Sorry I took so long to respond to all of you guys. I've been busy being out of town, trying to fix my car, getting ready for spring semester, working, all of that usual crap. Still haven't ridden her for all of the above reasons as well. But now the weather is so beautiful here, finally, and I'll just HAVE to take her out this weekend.

 

[scrumblero]

Free Spirit was the brand mane sears put on the bikes they bought from a slew of different manufacturers and sold in their stores and catalogs. yours is probably a Raleigh.. the quality of the parts just depends on what version you bought..

 

[ashleeoh]

Free Spirit was the brand mane sears put on the bikes they bought from a slew of different manufacturers and sold in their stores and catalogs. yours is probably a Raleigh.. the quality of the parts just depends on what version you bought..

Hm, that's interesting. Thanks for the info!