Bicycle Mechanics - need some help --

hey, just wanted to get more information on my bike. like what is compatible if I want to swap parts, or things like that.

26" Huffy Crosswind (serial number 90462HUFFY6262) has lots of "cross sport" stickers
best I can guess is that it was made somewhere between '92 to '94 as it was a birthday present for myself in '94.

The grip shift, and derailleurs all work perfectly. recently put new tubes in it, other than that, all stock.

what am I looking at? from what I could best gather, a failed marketing attempt at a crossover bike by huffy, lol, but it suits riding just fine. I'll probably keep it till it croaks a terrible death because of sentiment, I plan on purchasing a lighter and better bike sometime in the future. (christmas? pretty please?)

so excuse the post if it sounds newbish to forum rules, but I searched. and I searched the net. and I can't find much of anything. hoping you guys might know what I'm looking for... (which parts are replaceable with what, ect.) I counted the teeth on the tallest and shortest of the 6 rear gears, and the two up front but have been too lazy to count the rest. if anybody has the ability to pull up that information, cool too.

also, reccomendations for $300-$400 city bikes? yeah I don't have a huge budget, but something functional that's easy to work on, and fun/comfortable to ride.

The most effective upgrade you can make to that bike is swap out the fat 26 X 2" tire for smooth ones 26" X 1.5". This will make it much easier to get up to speed and give a more comfortable ride. If the next bike you get has 26" tires, you will be able to swap these tires onto the new bike. Since gear shifting and brakes work fine dont change anything else. Most manufacturers of quality bikes (Giant, Specialized) have decent bikes in you price range with or without front suspension. Dont get a full suspension bike at this price. If you have to go up hills a front suspension is extra weight you wont want to push up the hills.

fwiw if you are not opposed to learning to work on your bike and don't absolutely require a warranty, $400 will go a pretty long way getting you a used bike. You can probably get a $700 bike used for $400, just a year or two old and low miles if you are careful.

I don't know what a "city bike" is but I dearly love my Redline 925. You can get one complete for just over $400 brand new. It does not, however, have more than one gear. Otherwise all of the big bike makers build an entry level bike, either a mountain bike or a road bike, in your price range. Giant, Specialized, Jamis, Schwinn, GT, Trek, etc. My primary piece of advice for consumers of cheaper bikes is to be aware that the more complicated it is, and the more moving parts, that is more things to break or require service/adjustment down the line. A $3K full suspension mountain bike may be dependable as a rock for years at a time without need for service but a similar ride at 10% that price is going to be riddled with low quality parts. That's why maybe something like a Redline 925 or Monocog would be a good choice. Cheap, simple, not a lot of parts to break, and the parts that are on there are solid.

This is a good time to visit several local bike dealers. The new 2008 models are out and you can often get a very good deal on a "left over" 2007 or even 2006 model. Your budget should get you a pretty decent city or comfort bike that will be WAY better than your Huffy. Trek, Cannondale, Specialized, Giant, Fuji and several others offer good quality bikes in your price range. DO NOT buy from a Big-Box sporting goods store like Dick's or Sports Authority and it should go with out saying not to buy from Wal-Mart or K-Mart.

BTW, I wouldn't put a cent into upgrading the Huffy. Take what ever money you would spend on it and use it to get something worthwhile. It may sound snobbish but Huffys are laughed at by knowledgable riders for good reasons.

well, thanks for the advice.

It has shimano SIS derailleur and appropriate matching gearing parts, all shimano. in range of quality, do you guys think thats crap? My father always spoke of 'shimano this' and shimano that. lol

andrewP - already done.

HillRider - yeah, I know it's not worth much, and it isn't put out by a very highly regarded manufacturer. this bike was one of the main reasons huffy had terrible sales in the 90s. I hold a piece of history lol. It was a cross breed between mountain bikes and city bikes, but at a cheap price. ($150 new lol) and every compromise in between. It's a lighter mountain bike frame, with road tires capable of taking some mud/dirt abuse (but definatley not made for rocks) but in reality, for what I want, it's too heavy for the weight I want in a road bike. so in reality, it's not as functional as a real road bike on the city roads, and it's not as functional as a mountain bike in the dirt.

I was akready eyeing (sp?) the fujis and treks because they're more in my price range. Also, I saw fuji and was like... "is this put out by Fuji Heavy Metal industries?" thinking maybe it was somehow produced by the people who produce subaru. :) But it's not I guess. :(

I'm not really at this point inclined to throw *much* money into it, wanting to save up for something better of course. But it being moderately heavy (it has a durasteel frame if that helps anybody) and having tall gears makes for a good leg workout!

What I'm *really* after, is something in my price range of $300-$400 new or used, that is lighter than this, and will allow me to cruise at higher speeds. realistically, I'm reaching speeds of 20-25mph in town. (keeping up with traffic in most parts of downtown) I'd like to be able to go as fast or faster but with less leg work. This is a great workout and all, but it feels like I'm going nowhere for all that hard work in comparison to results I would get from a lighter bike. I miss the burn though.

thanks for the help.