Classic & Vintage - toughest frame

i own a cheap big box store huffy that i think is a steel diamond frame. its a 24" bike i am wondering how tough really is steel. i keep hearing titanium is bomb proof basicly. i want a bike that could survive a crash if i had to ditch it to avoid being hit by any automobile.

Schwinn Varsity/Continental frame. Not sure about a fork (the Ashtabulas are severely compromised if hit from the side).

-Kurt

Don't bail, fight back:

http://strangevehicles.greyfalcon.us/Picturesc/image047.png

Or, if you're a pacifist:

http://non.primate.net/chopper/bb2t.JPG

You lost me somewhere. Are you asking about steel vs. titanium in general? Or which model is the toughest frame? Or if your Huffy is the toughest frame in existence?

Being toughest is easy.

Being just barely tough enough is the thing.

Especially when it is your legs moving the thing

jim

i could write you a small book as to why your quesion doesnt make any sense and is riddled with holes, but the bottom line is that you want a simple lower-mid level mountain bike from the 80's or early 90's .... as was mentioned before a cheap schwinn could serve you as well but I would argue the superior mass they carry with them works against you when it comes to collisions with immovable objects.

stay on the bike, if you are on the ground it's lots easier to get run over.

I once saw a huffy fold under its rider. I'm not sure if the fork went first or the front wheel taco'ed first.

You are quite the optimist. Optimize the bike for the type of riding you are planning not for crashing. No bike is bomb proof but some are stronger than others. With your concerns make sure you invest in the best helmet you can get...a set of BMX armour might be a good investment as well.
Oh yes and another thing don't worry you probably won't see the car that hits you... Ride carefully and remember that to most drivers you are "invisible" in the purist sense of the work.

cannondale. I watched a cannondale get dragged under a car for over a hundred feet, and then run over. The frame, though scratched to bejeesus, was still straight.

Something that really has me curious -

I rode Huffys and other Xmart bikes for years. Beat the heck out of them, oiled chains maybe once a year, etc. A lot of them I got secondhand and rode 'em like they were stolen. Not once, in all my years of riding and abusing those craptastic things did I EVER have one break. Sure, the shifters never worked right, the spokes creaked at times, and the headsets were nearly always loose, but the ashtabula cranks were stupid easy to work on, I could tear an entire bike down in 10 minutes, and it went forward and stopped without histronics. If you want to ride a huffy, do it.

That being said - your best bet probably would be a 50 lb Huffy or Magna mountain bike from the 80's. I'm going to pick one up this afternoon, actually...

That Ti is bombproof is myth ...one among many

It the end everything will break, but you have a good chance riding a frame that outlives you and you can pass on to your kinds with this one --->

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/496891699_0c51b2bf5b.jpg
Steel and DT as fat as the BB shell. Very high precision made. View more pics here. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/8238778@N04/) Notice for example the fork, track ends and beefy seatstay bridge.

To fit fenders and racks on I have a Vittorio Randonneur with double seatstays. A bit a mix of a GT Triple Triangle with conventional diamond frame. Sturdy steel Vittorio racks. I do not care how it would look like after a collision with a truck. I am not the one to be feared.

+1 on a good tough old MTB.

GT Timberline, hard tail, solid fork. Generally around $100.
Trek 820, same same, same. One of the best values around for commuting, in my eye.

I've got a 1990 Specialized Stumpjumper that could probably survive a ground zero new-cue-lar blast.

Also worth pointing out that a heavy bike need not mean the bike so tough. I have seen plenty of Huffy, Xmart stuff with welds that looked like they could hardly be trusted, fork ends that were merely pinched tubes, and butt-welded frames instead of even coarse lugs to spread the forces out a bit. I would put my money on a run of the mill (but real) MTB over any such bike. And they weigh a whole lot less.

jim

IMO probably an old Raleigh roadster would be one of the strongest frames ever made. Relatively thick wall Hi Ten steel tubing brazed together with lugged construction. Also very thick walled steel wheel rims. I have seen photos from Africa of them loaded with hundreds of pounds of cargo or husband, wife and kids.

The Chinese and Indian made copies of the old Raleighs, still available new, should be equally strong but reportedly without the quality of paint and plating used on the old Raleighs.

A low end early 1990s lugged steel frame MTB from a name manufacturer as mentioned by other posters should also be excellent as would a Schwinn Varsity, except for the stock front fork.

If hit by a motor vehicle or run off of the road though I would worry more about myself than the bike. Bike frame survival is highly dependent on the details of the accident and has too many variables to make a definite prediction. Remember that if hit the car will outweigh the bike by at least 50 times, in most cases more like 100x, even for the heaviest bike. Pretty obvious which is more likely to win.

Probably the most irrelevant post ever on C&V.

elev12k--
Good luck for the OP finding a Grove though-------(but thanks for the pics!!)

Okay, maybe a dumb Q, but was does OP mean?

The Grove is mine. It was originally sold in Germany and I got it 2 years ago. It is a used, honest frame. The (powder)coat is non original. You probably know original Grove paint would probably have looked more like this --->

http://www.purplelizard.com/images/bike_pix/HC%20psycho2.jpg

The HC looks extremely burly, but it is with approx 12kg(mine) it is not extremely heavy at all.

I do have another Grove, an Assault, which is full original and mint. More XC orientated bicycle.


When speaking of sturdy MTBs I should also not forget to mention the Extreme Punisher. Another tank like construction from back in the day.

I think I prefer the original paint ;)

(OP = original poster, the person who started the thread)

Best way to test is to put the bike on the roof rack, get up a head of steam, drive into the garage, then back up and do it several more times. I'd say if the bike is rideable after the third trip, it's tough enough.

Best way to test is to put the bike on the roof rack, get up a head of steam, drive into the garage, then back up and do it several more times. I'd say if the bike is rideable after the third trip, it's tough enough.

I think they use Huffys to take down old apartment buildings, so be careful with this.

I think they use Huffys to take down old apartment buildings, so be careful with this.

LOL!!! :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Surely the concern should not be if the bike frame survives, but will the rider????

Buy a Trek 820.

Also worth pointing out that a heavy bike need not mean the bike so tough. I have seen plenty of Huffy, Xmart stuff with welds that looked like they could hardly be trusted, fork ends that were merely pinched tubes, and butt-welded frames instead of even coarse lugs to spread the forces out a bit. I would put my money on a run of the mill (but real) MTB over any such bike. And they weigh a whole lot less.

jim
+1 I have seen some really ugly welds on the heavy cheap stuff. For less than a Walmart POS, you can buy a bulletproof 1990s rigid frame mountain bike by any of the good manufacturers: Trek, Specialized, etc. I bought one Trek 950 for $75 and the other for $40.

+1 I have seen some really ugly welds on the heavy cheap stuff. For less than a Walmart POS, you can buy a bulletproof 1990s rigid frame mountain bike by any of the good manufacturers: Trek, Specialized, etc. I bought one Trek 950 for $75 and the other for $40.

I just paid $60 for my 1990 950 at the local Goodwill store.