Just found this super nice bike today

[huffyrailsarefun]

I love old bikes as just about everyone on this website does. I hate mountain bikes, I've riden them and they have a rough ride, are uncomfortable, and look terrible to me.

I've been looking for a nice, everyday, all around bike for a long time. Nothing ever comes up for sale for reasonable, fair prices and so I have never really found a bike I can ride everyday that is my style except for a banana bike.

I need something a bit more comfortable, with more speeds and to be honest I need something far less obvious and far less prone to getting stolen or stripped.

Today I found the perfect bike. I had to choose between buying food or buying this bike. I bought the bike. I can always get extremly creative and I can just eat one meal a day for awhile.

The bike I bought is a Huffy Sahara mens bike with the optional chrome rear carrier rack. The bike still has every one of its thread and axle protectors on it still. The tires are real nice and the entire bike looks like it was only used one season.

The bike hails from Kimberly, Wisconsin and appears to have stayed in that one city it's whole life. I got just plain lucky and saw the bike right after it was wheeled out for sale at saint vincent de paul for forty dollars.

It shifts great, has great paint, great chrome and nice pedals, grips and seat. I will be looking for a era correct huffy speedometer for it.

Since I don't have motorized transportation of any sort I imagine I'll get alot of use out of this beauty. The only changes I have in mind are to remove the modern bike license (I'm keeping the 1982 license, but taking off the modern license above it) and add a period correct huffy speedomer once I find one. Of coarse I will need to find a nice, quality, bike cable to prevent theft from people who have no morals.

Here is pictures of the bike I just bought today: :mrgreen:

 

[B607]

30 yrs old and in great condition. Gary

 

[ChicagoMuscle Guy]

Great looking Old Huffy, Super Clean. Looks like it will be a comfortable rider too.

 

[Green Dragon]

Ultra clean .

Looks like it will be a nice rider, congrats on the find.

 

[huffyrailsarefun]

I have a dilema about this bike and was hoping to get alot responses from alot of different people.

Should I preserve this bike since it's in such absolute near perfect original condition or ride it and let the condition deteriorate and not worry about it going to heck. It'll only be this nice once.

I have the same question about the schwinn mountain bike I own below. It's a nice bike also and I wonder if I should ride it or preserve it. Truth be told I can't afford to buy another bike but I hate to see the condition deteriate on either bike. I can be as carefull as i want to but if i start using either bike regularly it'll get vandalized and mistreated by people who don't care when I have it parked. It's just like a car, if it's nice people have to key it, scratch it and vandalize it, it makes them feel good to screw over your stuff.

Should I preserve the white huffy Sahara 3 speed and keep it inddors and not ride it? It's only going to stay that nice if I don't use it.

Here are pictures of my schwinn mountain bike:

 

[Sinner4]

I love old bikes as just about everyone on this website does.

Here is pictures of the bike I just bought today: :mrgreen:

Thats a "10" right there. Last summer I found a lady's version of the same bike. I think it was a -1 in shape. Bent frame and rusted. I pulled the front wheel off and the lest side fork broke in two. the tube was rusted in half. Not to much left in parts.

 

[B607]

I'd ride it...but I wouldn't leave it outside in the rain. Hang it in your garage and ride it on nice days. It will last forever that way. Gary

 

[huffyrailsarefun]

I'd never ride it in the rain. I'm worried about vandelism when I park it somewhere.

 

[CRASH]

To be frank, there is nothing special about that Schwinn. Run-of-the-mill low-end "mountain" bike that you wouldn't want to really take off road accept for a maintained dirt road. So, ride it and use it up.

That Huffy is sweet. I love that the price sticker is still on it!!

 

[user 135]

All bikes are meant to be ridden. As B607 suggested, riding it won't hurt a bike if you just ride on Sunny days. My bikes are all ridden sun, rain and snow. Every once in a while just give them a wipe down.

 

[Illiterite Wino]

That is a very nice Huffy indeed.. love that it still has the original seat with Huffy tag on it...
I have to go along with the idea of sunny day riding.. shine that chrome all up and watch the heads turn when it hits the sun. 8)

 

[XC204]

Ride em Like cman and Crash said I wax my frames once a year do a good cleaning about 2 times a year. replace the chain periodically. cassette when needed. This bike goes 15 mi a day 5 days a week it has over 30,000 mi on it and 10 yrs.

 

[huffyrailsarefun]

Guess that settles it then. I'll ride it and not worry about it.

I knew the schwinn wasn't collectible I just mentioned it as a nice bike. I never meant to make anyone think it was special in anyway so I'm sorry I posted pics of it. Although I find it super funny that for the first time in my life someone is referring to a schwinn as a nothing special low end bike and that I should just use it up. It's about time other brands got their due and that someone realizes schwinn is not that great.

The huffy is the main bike in question. I'll ride it and I thank everyone for their help.

I still have no clue what a cassette is. In my day they were tapes that music came on. A long time ago someone refferred to the gear cluster on the rear wheel as a cassette but even bike dealers in my area don't call them that.

Is a cassette supposed to be the rear wheel gear cluster or is it some other part?

Flip your jets on these cassettes and get your eyes open wide.

 

[Jimmy the Gent]

It's about time other brands got their due and that someone realizes schwinn is not that great.

Chicago Schwinns are.... :mrgreen:

 

[huffyrailsarefun]

Schwinns are no better and no worse than other brands. They are not gods and are not superior.

Huffy rails, slingshots and other muscle bikes are just as good as the stingray and krate bikes were. Murray built eliminators, kingkats, firecats and other bikes that also were just as good as the schwinns did.

I tire of hearing how great schwinn is. The other brands are just as good.

 

[Jimmy the Gent]

Schwinns are no better and no worse than other brands. They are not gods and are not superior.

Huffy rails, slingshots and other muscle bikes are just as good as the stingray and krate bikes were. Murray built eliminators, kingkats, firecats and other bikes that also were just as good as the schwinns did.

I tire of hearing how great schwinn is. The other brands are just as good.

I tire of hearing people trash Schwinns because it's apparently the thing to do.

Newer Schwinns are not good - from what I've been told (and which newer bikes are? ) - but from a quality standpoint, the Chicago-built Schwinns were, and are, some of the best bikes ever made.

I haven't had first-hand experience with any of the examples you mentioned; so I won't judge them...I'm sure they're great.

 

[Mayberry]

I collect all bikes including a few old Huffy s over the years, but I like Chicago Schwinns the best.

 

[huffyrailsarefun]

I have no problem with people liking what they like and prefering one thing over another thing. All I'm trying to say is that I'm constantly bombarded with people telling me that unless it's schwinn its not worth messing with. Can you blame me for hating Schwinn? All I have been told since the first day I got into bikes was if it isn't schwinn it's junk. I got tired of hearing it 12 years ago and I hear it all the time today.

My view is like what you like but don't tell me what I should like or why. Thats all I'm trying to say here. I'm not trying to tell anyone anything about anything or start anything.

I like schwinn stingrays but I like other brands too. I don't like schwinn better than others, but thats my view. I'd just appreciate it if people could allow me to like what I like without telling me what I need to do and need to be like and need to buy and be into and what other things are.

I just want to be me, not start a freaking war over bike brands here.

This whole thing started when I posted pictures of my schwinn mountain bike asking about not riding it or not. Then I got told it was low end junk more or less and to use it up. Then I got told schwinn is great except for the new stuff but all the old stuff is way better than anything else. Then I said schwinn was no better or worse than than other brands and they don't need to be treated as gods and here we are fighting over it. Isn't it amazing how much contoversy a mountain bike can do?

 

[Illiterite Wino]

my personal favorite kind of bike is one I can bring home

 

[huffyrailsarefun]

Thats the coolest answer I've heard yet. I agree 100 percent. Any bike you can own is a nice bike to have.

Were all going to have opinions. The big picture is to just love bikes and be happy to be able to buy more bikes, more bike parts, and enjoy building them.

Bottom line is any bike is a good bike if you can get it. Even yugo automobiles have serious collectors and they are scarce because few remain so like cars every bike can be appreciated.

At one time banana seat bikes were just old. outdated bikes and worthless because they were old and not "in". Back then only BMX bikes were cool. Then BMX bikes were useless because ten speeds were all the rage, then ten speeds were useless because Mountain bikes were all the rage, now whats going to be the new thing now that mountain bikes have run their coarse?