My Huffy "Whatzit"

[RatRodDad]

I found a lady who lives close by selling a bike on Craigslist. It was listed as a ladies 18 speed Huffy Stone Mountain mountain bike. It had a rear rack and a wide cushion seat. And she was only asking $20 for it.

So I headed off to snap it up - picturing this almost new bike for only $20. Turns out reality was a lot different than imagination.

She said she would take $10 (you will see why in the pics) so I went ahead and bought it, thinking I could use some parts off of it on my wife's 10 speed. When I got home with it, though, and looked it over, it has an unusual bunch of parts on it. It looks like somoene put it together from more than one bike, so I now have to call it a Huffy "Whatzit".

Here's some pics of the bike ...

That purple front fork adds a lot to the gray splatter paint, don't you think?

One of the more interesting things is that the front wheel is a chromed steel wheel, while the back one is an aluminum wheel - gold anodized.

The front sprocket has 3 chainrings while the rear cassette has only 5 gears. So by my estimation, it's now a 15 speed - and not an 18 speed. Obviously the rear wheel came from something else.

I noticed that the rear brake has worn the gold off of the edge of the aluminum rim, so I'm not sure if you should even run aluminum rims with caliper brakes. Maybe some of you guys know for sure whether that's a problem or not.

The good thing is that if I decide to part it out I can use the 3 gear front sprocket to replace the 2 gear one on my wife's bike and turn her's from a 10 speed into a 15 speed. I can also put the rear rack that's on it on my wife's bike - not that she plans to be hauling anything. It could come in handy for carrying that picnic lunch along on a ride, though.

So that's my latest acquisition - and who knows exactly what I will end up doing with it. I thought it was worth at least $10 even if I just used some of the parts off of it.

I really need to stop looking at Ebay and Craigslist!! Those web sites can be costly! (not to mention filling up my garage).

 

['72 Eliminator]

I've had a couple of these bikes over the years. The rear cog has been replaced if it's only a five speed and the rack is aftermarket. Other than that it looks pretty much stock. The girls models had purple forks and the boys used a neon green paint scheme. The girls also used the slightly raised handlebars while the boys had the standard straight bar. Both had the same gray paint with spatters all over it.

The Huffy website has the bike diplayed in it's timeline and dates it at '91. (Although, right above it shows what is obviously a mid to late 70's Huffy BMX listed as a 1969 Huffy Dragster. You'd think a big company could be a bit more exact in these matters...) Pull the stem and look on it for a date code. There should be one on there. Probably in the '91-'93 range or thereabouts

http://www.huffybikes.com/history/index.html

They were good decent bikes but really common. Makes for a nice beater if your willing to stay after it in the repair department. The parts where pretty cheaply made though. Still, for $10 bucks you got a deal when it comes to parts. The rack by itself is worth more than that.

 

[RatRodDad]

Thanks for the link to the Huffy site and their historical timeline. It was interesting to see how this type of bike fit into the bike line.

I was surprised at how nice the front rim was on the bike - no rust at all and no dings, so that may be useful on something else in the future.

I'm still not sure about the rear wheel - and it being aluminum but on a bike with caliper brakes. Since it has 5 rear gears I assume it would have had to come off of something with caliper brakes, but the brake pads sure do a number on the side of the rim - rubbing the gold anodizing off and leaving black marks on it.

Thanks again for the information, though.

 

['72 Eliminator]

Well I'll be dipped. The rear wheel is indeed a complete replacement. I thought the gold was rust. (Puts on his glasses) I should have looked and read your post closer. Strangely enough though the rear tire looks like an original and yet in much better shape than the original front.

Aluminum rims are indeed bad about brake burn. However, they have been proven to stop better when used with caliper brakes, especially in the wet. The aluminum allows the rubber to bite while a chrome rim is much more slick. The "burn" is bits of rubber stuck in the crevises of the aluminum. Over time it is possible for an aluminum rim's sidewall to be wore through by the brakes.

 

[Rat Rod]

That Huffy I just bought for the 3 speed rear wheel is the match to that bike...same splatter paint and everything.

Looks like the wheel may fit my 67 Typhoon afterall....with a bit of persuasion that is.

 

[RatRodDad]

RR, the 3 speed bike you bought was definately the better bike, that's for sure. I would have loved to have found a 3 speed myself but the one I bought had a few parts on it that I wanted and it was cheap enough.

I just rode it down to the local car wash and sprayed off several years of barn gunk, so it looks a little better now. At least I can see the gears, etc. I will probably begin swapping parts this weekend.

Lots of luck with the rear wheel swap on your bike. Keep us updated on how that goes. or post a few shots once it's done.