Vintage? Murray Cruiser - interested in making it work.
10-27-08, 07:44 AM
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Vintage? Murray Cruiser - interested in making it work.
I have a vintage road bike now (kickass Suteki) that I rehabbed, and it is awesome. One of my buddies just dropped off a Murray cruiser single speed bicycle. It is (I would guess) from the 1980's. IT has been rattle canned, and has kinda rotten sidewalls on the tires.
When I say this bike has been rattle canned, I mean all over - they did not dissasemble it or remove any stickers or anything. Where can I get parts of this bike? It looks like crap, and while I know Murrays are lower end bikes, I am not opposed to fixing one up.
So once again- where do I get parts? I need a crankset and a new set of fenders, at least. I also wouldn't mind putting a basket on the back. I am not doing a restoration, but I want to make this a practical neighborhood single speed.
Any resources or pointing in the right direction wouldbe awesome. Pics will come soon enough.
When I say this bike has been rattle canned, I mean all over - they did not dissasemble it or remove any stickers or anything. Where can I get parts of this bike? It looks like crap, and while I know Murrays are lower end bikes, I am not opposed to fixing one up.
So once again- where do I get parts? I need a crankset and a new set of fenders, at least. I also wouldn't mind putting a basket on the back. I am not doing a restoration, but I want to make this a practical neighborhood single speed.
Any resources or pointing in the right direction wouldbe awesome. Pics will come soon enough.
10-27-08, 08:27 AM
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With a crankset, I'm guessing it's a one piece crank - why not just go to a goodwill or something and hijack a Next bike or some such, and put that one on there.
BTW, I kinda like Murrays - they're bulletproof.
BTW, I kinda like Murrays - they're bulletproof.
10-27-08, 08:54 AM
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I'm sure it is a one piece crank - What size should it be? I know nothing is guranteed, but will a regular BMX crank fit?
10-27-08, 11:31 AM
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Niagara Cycle is a pretty good place for miscellaneous cruiser parts. On the cranks, I'm not sure what sizes there actually are- maybe just shorter cranks for kids bikes.
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10-27-08, 11:35 AM
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The cranks should all be the same width (BB-wise), but you do have different sized throws. I'd guess that anything made for an adult (26") would work OK...
10-27-08, 12:08 PM
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Niagara has cranks. 6.5"/165mm are about standard. The forged ones are preferable to the ones that look like a bent piece of rebar. Cro-mo BMX ones are more durable and usually come a bit longer. they'll work fine, too, and don't cost all that much more. Get a Odyssey bottom bracket while you're at it, they're the best and don't cost any more. By all means, get new tires. Just about any modern Chen Shin/Kenda/Pyramid will suffice and perform better than those crappy old balloon tires. They have fenders and baskets, too. It'll make a good rider.
