amfrunaway

Just had to put up a pic of this one. Got it when I was 9 or 10 years old. Can't imagine how many miles I've traveled on it. Use to ride it to a park that was 12 miles from my house. Those where different times. I still ride it every now and then.

zandoval 

I Want One... Love it!

Oh what memories. My little brother had the Western Auto version...

amfrunaway

I always told people. The flaming horse head adds several miles per hour.

zandoval 

And Don't Forget The Streamers! And the bicycle Lanyard for the Archer Walkie-Talkie holster!

amfrunaway

For some reason. The first thing I did, was take off the streamers and reflectors. And I think it had one of those big orange flags. It went too. Now I'm searching ebay for reflectors. Go figure.

SurferRosa

Wow. 24 mile ride on that thing? What's that, 3+ hours? Quite a feat.

nomadmax 

You had a Harley and didn't know it

amfrunaway

my cousin had a ten speed. He arrived a little earlier than I did. I remember when I finally got a ten speed. I was amazed how much easier that ride was. And I didn't have to push up the hills.

pastorbobnlnh 

I never had a banana seat, ape-hanger bike because I was always receiving hand-me-downs from my older brother and my youngest uncles. BUT--- I was envious of my neighborhood buddies who were more fortunate. It's fantastic you've hung on to your bike and it is so well preserved and maintained! Welcome to C&V.

ehcoplex 

Wow, very similar to the Huffy Red Hots my brother and I both had (a year younger, he got his a year later than me and I was pretty envious of the twist-grip 3-speed shifter his had....). When the weather was nice, we'd ride the 3 miles to school in our rural town in 3rd and 4th grade- I can't really imagine any parents letting their kids do that at that age now. Different world. In the name of 'safety', our folks required those orange flags on a tall fiberglas rod..

(pulled from google)

pastorbobnlnh 

Where I live, in a very fortunate safe bubble, I'd guess about 100+ students ride their bikes to and from the elementary school about a mile and half from the house. Now that it's summer, I regularly see groups of boys (on MTBS) or groups of girls (usually on Townies), up to their mid-teens riding on our bike paths, sometimes in pursuit of each other, as only tweens and teens can do.

It's fantastic to see, however, I wish I saw more helmets. Only about 1-2% wear them, and I grimace every time I see a young rider (which is frequently), no-hands pedaling the path while paying considerable attention to and/or texting/posting on his/her cell phone.

Pompiere

One time when my kids were small, we took them to ride the bike path in a nearby metro park. While we were stopped for a road crossing, a police car pulled in front of us, blocking our path. While I was trying to figure out what rule we had unintentionally broken, he said he wanted to congratulate us for having the entire family wearing helmets and not just the kids. Then he presented us with coupons for free ice cream. I guess the lesson stuck, because 20+ years later, none of them will get on a bike without a helmet.

I had a Huffy Cheater Slick. My parents had bought an older bike for me to learn on, but it the inevitable conflicts started when my younger sister learned to ride as well. In the spring, Kmart had a sale and they bought me the brand new Huffy. I was really confused, since I never got presents that big if it wasn't Christmas or my birthday. I rode it everywhere until I got my first ten-speed when I was 15. By then, my legs had gotten so long that I was sitting all the way back on the banana seat and I could barely ride it without popping a wheelie.

RB1-luvr

I bought a Huffy Stars n' Stripes with a Cheater Slick in '76 with my own money. I think it was $39. My next-door buddy and I (he had a Schwinn Krate) rode all day from Waterford CT to the New London Mall (5 miles) every Saturday and once we rode to the Waterford Speed Bowl (racetrack) to ride twenty miles on the track for MS charity. Like someone above stated, it's hard to believe we were gone from 10 AM to dinner time, in a different town, and our parents did not worry.

amfrunaway

always loved this bike. the sprocket is really cool too.. but can't beat that red white and blue..

amfrunaway

[QUOTE=pastorbobnlnh;23277564]I never had a banana seat, ape-hanger bike because I was always receiving hand-me-downs from my older brother and my youngest uncles. BUT--- I was envious of my neighborhood buddies who were more fortunate. It's fantastic you've hung on to your bike and it is so well preserved and maintained! Welcome to

I'd say the only reason I still have it. I had gotten a 10 speed and parked this one. One day I decided to take this one for a spin. Got about a half mile from home and the chain broke. I pushed it home and it ended up stored away above the garage at my parents house. Many years later after I had gotten married and moved out. I ran across it, and thought it would be cool to get it riding again. New tires, tubes and a chain. And it has made every move with me. The neighbors get a kick out of seeing me ride it. I gotta say. I'm 6 feet tall. And with the seat all the way up. It's actually pretty comfortable to ride. But boy those hills. Have gotten steeper!!!

RB1-luvr

Besides being patriotic, it was so Evel Kneivel, and I was a huge fan.

Pompiere

[QUOTE=amfrunaway;23278243]A simple way to tackle the hills is take a tip from the guys who ride old three speed bikes and sneak a larger cog on the back. Twenty inch wheels usually came with a 15 or 16 tooth cog, while the 26 inch wheels on three speed bikes had 18 or 19, or as many as 24 teeth. The cog is just held on by a snap ring. You would have to add a couple links to the chain, though.

If you are really ambitious, you could get a Bendix kick-back hub. It has two gear ratios that are shifted by moving the pedals backwards, like you do to apply the brake. When you move the pedals forward, you are in the other gear. The hub with blue stripes was made for 20 inch wheels. Here is an old discussion about them: Bendix 2 speed hub

Either one would maintain the original looks, but let the bike handle the hills a little better.

hexade

Love those banana seats. Baby muscle bike! Makes me wish I'd kept my old parts bin.