At 08:09 PM 12/30/2000 -0800, Mark A. Perkins wrote:
>'78! Why son you should do a little research on the Puch line. The one
>I own, and I hardly think it could pass for one of their early bikes, is
>about a '65 "PUCH Bergmeister". And, considering what was available at
>the time, it's an above-average bike in my opinion, and not just because
>it came with Campy Grand Sport derailleurs either. And, just in case you
>didn't know, most of the J.C. Higgins bikes sold by Sears in the '50's &
>'60's were built by Steyr/Puch, or whatever they called themselves back
>then.
My first "10-speed" was a used Sears, Roebuck "Ted Williams Sport Special" I bought in the Fall of 1962. I had another one, later, and would love to find one again, for nostalgia's sake. Somehow, I "knew" it was a Puch or Steyr, but can't remember why. Before you sneer, consider:
--> The alternatives, in cosmopolitan Houston (where I was incarcerated at Rice U) were such lovelies as the Dunelt and the Schwinn Varsity. --> The "Ted Williams" had 27' Weinmann rims, Weinmann 999 CP brakes, Campy GS derailleurs, and the famous Normandy spoke-popper rear hub, which had the left flange so far to the left that the right spokes couldn't be tensioned enough. I also remember some chrome, and an internally-routed rear brake cable (big holes in top tube, continuous housing). QR wheels.
There wasn't a lot of dealer experience there, either. I was told by the local dealer that the brake QRs were used by racers to get adjustable drag for downhills....
harvey "not too nostalgic" sachs
mclean va