Nice article - brings back memories of the cute little chippy I was dating back in the last really active year of the Presque Isle Bicycle Club ('76). The club boomed big time during the early 70's bike boom, and died almost immediately when the fad ended. It was a good six year run, however.
Ahem, as to the chippy. Knowing nothing about bicycles, she drops by the local K-Mart and buys the highest price K-Mart branded bicycle she could find: A really nicely made lugged steel tube frame with a way too thick white paint job, cottered crank, quick release hubs with alloy rims(!), and Sun Tour derailleurs (and not the bottom of the line model, either), decent Dia-Compe center pulls. As someone who firmly believed that nothing but crap and rip-offs came out of department stores, I was a more than a little surprised to see her riding something at least as good as the low end bicycle shop lines. For about $20.00 less, too.
That lady could definitely ride my butt off - both on the road, and off . . . . .
George R. "Syke" Paczolt Montpelier, VA
Just back from a 29 mile day - now bring on the bird!!!!!!
Bianca Pratorius wrote: Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 10:49:58 -0500 From: Bianca Pratorius To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Celebration of cheap department store road bikes Message-ID: <0f051a654aae32afd63b33032fa853cf@earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed MIME-Version: 1.0 (Apple Message framework v622) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Precedence: list Message: 7
A recent walk through a local Wal-Mart reminded me of the rich history of cheap department store road bikes. ( Before anyone flames me, I use these walks as entertainment, people watching and exercise... I never buy for reasons of maintaining as many factory jobs in the U.S. as I reasonably can). There has been much talk here about the famed Free Spirits- gas pipe variety. There are of course gas pipe Huffys and world class ones (which I believe were never actually sold to the general public--- correct me if I am wrong on this one.) My edition of The Dancing Chain tells of the cheap clunkers that were sold with complete Shimano AX groupos and wise shoppers bought the bike and stripped it for the parts while discarding the worthless frame. (If this is the case then why can't an AX groupo be found on ebay for a reasonable price?) The first indexed shifting was seen on cheapo bikes way before they became popular on fine steeds. The true department store road bike with down turned bars has not been seen in my neighborhood for more than a decade.... and then suddenly we have the reappearance, like the first birds of spring of the Wal-Mart Denali.
The Denali is a GMC sponsored all aluminum true road bike that sells for well under $200. It may not be the first revival because Bicycling magazine spoke last month of something called the Firmstrong road bike. The Denali has some kind of plastic derailleur situation going something on the order of the old Simplex but because these are made by Shimano they without doubt work acceptably. The brakes are decent sidepulls and in general it feels like the cheapo road bikes will once again take their place alongside the finest Italian steel, begging to be taken seriously and echoing the 60's Schwinn Varsities, and the 80's Free Spirit.
Garth Libre in Miami after a wonderful Thanksgiving day ride on which I saw a beautiful all original, 30 year old Celeste Bianchi, all dressed in Campagnolo and Modolo.
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