my new Kmart All-Pro :)

[olgluefoot]

Hey there everyone. Been lurking around here for a long time. And today I finally have something to post about. (instead of drooling all over your pictures)

Got this at the Austin flea market for $15 bucks today

I think im just going to restore it and ride it around the block But any other suggestions? How common is this bike? and what year do you think it is? Im scouring the frame for a year indication. Thanks

 

[Hooch]

“Kmart, definitely Kmart.
sweet find!

 

[olgluefoot]

thanks! The bike is now stripped. only problems ive had were getting the front tire off. Its was dry rotted and seemingly had the original tube.. I swear this tube is thicker than my MTBs downhill tubes. Its like a garden hose. So i cut that sucker off My baby will look good with some new rubber. I have no idea how to go about getting the left side grip off... but im planning on using the originals anyway. Suppose ill just leave it, clean it up, and polish up the bars.

 

[GodHatesCleveland]

I've got two bikes from the mid-seventies and I'd guess your bike is from that era as well, but I'm no expert. And we don't see too many bikes here specifically as a K-Mart brand.

The trick with the grips is to wedge a screwdriver underneath them, spray in a little WD-40, then slide the screwdriver around to the other side of the grips and spray again. It works like a charm, normally I don't even have to spray the second time, even with the toughest grips. I can't remember who originally offered that tip here but that was some great advice!

You might want to save that uber-thick tire tube. I normally save the old tubes and cut them up to use as rim strips.The rubber cuts real easy and just use a yard stick to keep a straight line.

 

[johnpsmith]

As far as suggestions go, Are you a fan of the movie Breaking Away? I have the same frame but mine came as a single speed. This is the same frame used for the bike the cutters rode in the little 500 race in the movie. Yours has a different sprocket though. If you can find a single speed coaster brake rear wheel and some drop handle bars, you will have the cutters racing bike. And you can find cutters t shirts on ebay. You could be Dave Stohler for halloween and be the envy of all the bike enthusiasts you know. My frame wasnt as nice as yours so its sanded down right now waiting for a friend to paint it for me. oh and its actually made by AMF. on the inside of the rear dropout in the left I think, it will be stamped AMF with the serial number. Kmart was just a distributor. This is a picture of mine. If you watch the movie, the sprocket on mine is the what they had

Heres the bike in the movie, its the only pic I have of it

 

[olgluefoot]

hmmm sounds like a good idea. id like to keep the 3 speed, but finding cables for this old shimano might not be possible. time to get back to the flea market for a rear wheel

 

[JoeyMac]

the first thing you should do when you have your "Breaking Away" bike together is go try and draft off of the back of a truck at 70 mph. It worked in the movie, who says it won't work in real life?

 

[olgluefoot]

got the cable rigged up and the hub just doesnt work properly, im not going to hassle with it. there are plenty of 26" single speed wheel at my local swap meet. I flipped the bars down cafe racer style Time for some funky grips!

 

[olgluefoot]

SO! this is more or less what the final set up going to be. Then I need to get out the steel wool and get that rust off!

flipped bars, some cool grips (they have little skulls on them, im going to paint the skulls white) rear coaster, new saddle, needs new brake pads up front, got rid of everything that doesnt make it go faster. (except the kick stand.... which i believe is the second most important part of a bike) and added a charm where the rear brake was. I remember alot of people having little charms on their bikes... what happened to that? I def think it gives it that extra personal touch.

what are my chances of finding a 26x1 3/8" rear wheel with a coaster brake? if I have to a standard 26" mtb wheel will fit as long as i stay under a 2" tire. but id like to keep the wheels the same.

Another beautiful day in central Texas

and lemme tell ya this thing flies!!! and ive been riding brakeless! lol nothing like bailing into a field.

 

[johnpsmith]

Its looking awesome, I wish the paint on mine was as nice as yours. Coaster brake wheels are available new for about $40.00 or used on ebay or craigslist. also keep an eye out for some 10 speed drop bars. You are making me jealous, I have to finish my tandem before I can get mine going. GO CUTTERS

 

[littlewink]

Nice Bike! I am new here and need some help. I am almost done restoring my Kresge Bicycle from the 70s but one of things I am trying to obtain is an ALL Pro Frame Sticker(front) from K-mart, is this possible to obtain or would anybody have an extra one.

littlwink

 

[jerrylee]

As far as suggestions go, Are you a fan of the movie Breaking Away? I have the same frame but mine came as a single speed. This is the same frame used for the bike the cutters rode in the little 500 race in the movie.

Short story about when I lived in Bloomington Indiana... I always dreaded the Little 500 weekend. Drunken jocks all over town. One day shortly after the Little 500, I was riding my old Schwinn down the street when several dumb frat boys shouted "Little five is over loser!" Good times, good times.

 

[Mr. Farrell]

yay... 1-up mushroom!!!!

 

[gashuffy63]

Wow! From frumpy to racy in one thread. I had a ladies version of this in the same color that I used for parts last year. I hated to part it out as that green has to be one of the coolest colors that All-Pros came in. Nice job and cool stuff. Cheers.

 

[Rare440]

Great to see that not all of these old bikes have gone to the scrap heap. I still have my K-Mart All-Pro bike that I got for my birthday, June 1979. Doesn't look too bad after 30 years!

 

[Big Fat Whitewalls]

That's exactly what I want to do to this, it's a Schwinn Collegiate.

 

[icyuod2]

Nice Bike! I am new here and need some help. I am almost done restoring my Kresge Bicycle from the 70s but one of things I am trying to obtain is an ALL Pro Frame Sticker(front) from K-mart, is this possible to obtain or would anybody have an extra one.

littlwink

i bet most sticker companies/ printing places could reproduce the sticker from a good picture.

 

[minnphatts]

Nice K-Mart Roadmaster! Mine is an ugly shade of 70's metallic brown, but it get's me around town. I've got more pics in my 1960 Little 500 thread.

I didn't have much problem finding the rear coater brake wheel.

 

[RogerLNeil]

I have two bikes like this; matching "his" and "hers". What do you think they are worth, and how should I go about marketing them?

Thanks.
Roger

 

[loudboys]

I have two bikes like this; matching "his" and "hers". What do you think they are worth, and how should I go about marketing them?

Well, at the beginning of the thread, the OP stated he paid $15 for his. Ladies bikes usually sell for a little less than men's, so $25 oughta be good for the pair. ;-)

Seriously, pricing a pair of bikes like that is purely subjective. That particular bike doesn't have much of a popular following, it's not really rare, and it doesn't have any special attributes (hand built, unusual style, etc). Having said that, you just might luck out and find someone who had that exact bike in high school, and can't live without it.

Good luck.