Classic & Vintage - $6 Road Bike. Any info?

Hey there all,

This is my first post to this subforum. I just picked up a $6 road bike at a garage sale across from my house :D! Its a 10 speed, lugged steel frame. That in itself is worth it. I believe it has 27" wheels. The wheels say "ambrosio" and "made in italy" and that's it. The components say "Honey" or "horet" or "honet" or something like that. Not very readable. The label on the bike says "Maico" and "Black Shadow" and "Made in Austria". The cranks say "Aero" on them. Its a 52T main chainring. The cranks also say "geschmiedet - 170" which means in german "forged" and I am assuming 170mm lenth.

The components, while obviously ancient, seem to be in OK shape. The rear derailer needs some major attention with WD-40 and then some tri-flow. Its pretty gummed up, won't stretch the chain out. Also the chain is pretty shot but I'm going to try to revive it for now. New tires/tubes, chain, maybe a rear derailer (I have a couple of spare MTB derailers that should work until I get a good used one if need be) and this baby should be ready to ride.

A couple of other details: It has brake levers that you can access from the drop bars by either the top position or the drop position. The shifters are mounted on the headset, and are friction shifters.

Can anyone tell me anything about this bike?

The headset friction shifters (aka suicide levers) and the flat brakes (also called suicide levers by some) are indications it was a pretty low end bike most likely. Still for $6 who cares.

Hey there Seely. What's the best thing to do with this bike? True up th wheels, get a spare chain and single speed it? Or is it worth tossing $100 into to get it going again with full shifting?

Oh yeah I meant to ask you too, why are the brake levers called suicide levers? I can't see how one could hit them. They go under and in front of the top of the drop levers.

Should I put a straight bar on this thing, and single speed it?

Thanks for any info and advice Mr. Seely :D

Hey there all,

This is my first post to this subforum. I just picked up a $6 road bike at a garage sale across from my house :D! Its a 10 speed, lugged steel frame. That in itself is worth it. I believe it has 27" wheels. The wheels say "ambrosio" and "made in italy" and that's it. The components say "Honey" or "horet" or "honet" or something like that. Not very readable. The label on the bike says "Maico" and "Black Shadow" and "Made in Austria". The cranks say "Aero" on them. Its a 52T main chainring. The cranks also say "geschmiedet - 170" which means in german "forged" and I am assuming 170mm lenth.

The components, while obviously ancient, seem to be in OK shape. The rear derailer needs some major attention with WD-40 and then some tri-flow. Its pretty gummed up, won't stretch the chain out. Also the chain is pretty shot but I'm going to try to revive it for now. New tires/tubes, chain, maybe a rear derailer (I have a couple of spare MTB derailers that should work until I get a good used one if need be) and this baby should be ready to ride.

A couple of other details: It has brake levers that you can access from the drop bars by either the top position or the drop position. The shifters are mounted on the headset, and are friction shifters.

Can anyone tell me anything about this bike?It's junk.There were below bottom of the barrel frames that were lugged.

It's junk.There were below bottom of the barrel frames that were lugged.

Question: did 'junk' bikes of this era have bolt-together cranksets or were they all rivited then, too? This one is bolted. I really don't know what bottom of the barrel bikes were like when this was made.

Question: did 'junk' bikes of this era have bolt-together cranksets or were they all rivited then, too? This one is bolted. I really don't know what bottom of the barrel bikes were like when this was made.Both.The stem shifters and suicide brake levers are another tipoff.

Before you go riding around, please do the bike a favor and repack the hub, BB, and headset bearings. The bike probably hasn't been used in a long time and the bearings have most likely never been serviced.

I wouldn't trust the tires either. If you are trying to go cheap, walmart stocks 27-inch tires. I'd get a set of cables and housings as well.

The 'suicide' levers were not favored because you were limited in how much braking force you could apply while pulling up on the levers. There is probably a large screw on the outside of the main brake lever body that removes the extension levers.

I was thinking that, about lubing it. I'll service the hubs and BB before going riding. The tires on it are trash, as are the tubes. So, new tires/tubes, service bearings, and this 10 speed is going to get stripped of all shifting and made into a single speed. Thanks for all the help. Don't be shocked to see a couple of stupid posts in the SS/Fixie forum from me soon ;-)

I'm guessing these suicide levers are the same as idiot levers?

Components are almost certainly Huret a now defunct French brand. They made some decent stuff but don't have a lotta fans.

Not many Austrian bikes in the US. Austro-Daimler (Steyr Daimler-Puch) was the big marque both under their own name and, for awhile, Sears Free Spirits. Capo also has/had a small presence. John E posts frequently about his restored one.

I wouldn't dismiss the bike as "junk" right out of hand though it certainly is an entry model. For awhile in the 70s and early 80s brake extensions and stem shifters were consididered proper and "safe" on bikes that were targetted at young or inexperienced riders. Frame decals, if there are any, tell alot more about quality.

If you're decent with a wrench, fix it up. I wouldn't spend alot on either parts or labor. The presence of a cottered crank would make it more problematic for me as I've never gotten one off w/o making a complete botch of it.

Good luck

:beer:

Thanks! Yes Huret is it, I just couldn't read it well. I've decided to strip the shifters and derailers off of it and to make it a single speed road bike. Should be fun. I did find out that the wheels (well the rims anyway) are of good quality and the company (ambrosio) is still in existence making racing wheels and rims. Hopefully they are plenty strong, I'm a big guy ;)

Thanks for all the great responses!

Are you sure the rear derailluer is not Huret which is French.

Nashbar has 27 inch tires too and the specs look pretty good.

I just picked up the continental sport 1000 - 27x 1 1/4 tires from nashbar for 12$ a piece for my beater. The were really easy to put on and have been holding up well with me riding over sidewalks, bumps, cracks and other sharp edges one can find on city roads. It is recomended for 70psi but you can inflate it up to 120. I believe nashbar has a coupon you can use in the Hot Deal subforum. I used the 10% of and also picked up a crank bros speed lever for 5$.