Pistard

I like this thread, good job man!

Johnny Mullet

So far we went from a stock older Huffy MTB weighing in at 40 lbs.................



To an upgraded and lighter Huffy MTB....................



To a 700c Araya wheel conversion............



To a 29 lb Huffy MTB drop bar conversion..................


I will get better pics of the shifter conversion soon. I still need to swap the crankset, replace the pedals, and do a few more weight reduction mods. My stock 1990 Fuji Ace road bike weighs in at 25 lbs, so this is pretty good for an oversized tube welded big box bike!

Stay tuned!

MisterK

thats quite the transformation. it really looks nice on the 700c and wouldnt mind attempting a conversion like this myself. perhaps a knobbier tire for some gravel grinding tho.

Johnny Mullet

These are not the best pics, but I got my gears back with new Suntour stemmies and new cables and housing. The gears work perfectly and the stock Shimano low end components do the job just fine. For now I have the cables all secured under the top tube. When I get new brake cables I will run them all through the stock bosses again......

Johnny Mullet

Better pic................

Johnny Mullet

I did not like the cables routed under the top tube and could not take it anymore and went and routed them through the cable bosses like original...........



I also decided to add some good reflectors to the bike for safety since I will be commuting with this bike. I do have LED lights, but the added measure of the reflectors should help in case one of my lights die................





I weighed the bike again since adding the shifters and other items and it sits at 32.4 lbs currently. I think that is a major improvement compared to the 40 lbs I started at. This bike with the heavy duty frame and upgraded components will make the perfect commuter bike for me! Plus not fearing having one of my better bikes stolen is nice too. Don't get me wrong, if someone stole my Huffy, I would be highly upset, but would not be out the cost compared to my other bikes.

Johnny Mullet

So I got this free, older girls Huffy MTB and it needs way to much work to be worth the repairs and I have no need for it, but it's the same exact color as my bike ....................



Since it is the same exact color as my commuter Huffy, I will use the front fork since it's lighter and has no v-brake mounts on it............



I stripped the bike down and saved all the good parts....................



Now the plan is to build a matching color rear cargo rack for my Commuter Huffy so the work has begun..........



The rear triangle section will get cut in two soon. The top seatpost section will slide over my seatpost (upside down and pointed back and clamp down. The other section will go down to the dropouts and to the rear of the rack. I will need to do a little tweaking, bending, cutting, and welding to make this work so stay tuned.

1931alloyboy

I enjoyed this thread. I wish you lived next door, we have a lot in common.

Johnny Mullet

The rear cargo rack is almost done. I just got to build the platform................

Bandrada

Coolest thread EVAR!

You should build the platform by lashing some bamboo slats together. It's expensive, but will give it a nice touch. You can get stalks and trim/cure/finish them yourself, or you can buy them already milled and finished.

Johnny Mullet

I have some aluminum diamond plate that might do the trick for the platform.

Bandrada

It begs for some nice hardwood. It would look totally classy, IMO. I bet if you wait long enough, it will come to you.

Jax Rhapsody

This bike is still kicking, I see.

Johnny Mullet

Sure is! Just about done with the rear rack and I worked out a headlight system for commuting. I will keep posting updates.

Johnny Mullet

With daylight savings time kicking in, I need to have good lighting. Minus the front and rear reflectors, wheel reflectors, and the front and rear blinking lights, I need a good headlight. I did some online searches and it seems that if you want a good rechargeable headlight for a bicycle,you are gonna pay over $100 for it. I already have a super bright rechargeable flashlight I use at work and I took the belt clip mount and secured it to my stem with a hose clamp...........



This is a high quality flashlight made by Coast and it has a 110V charger and a 12V charger along with a charge mount and a belt clip mount. It comes with 2 batteries also so you can have a charged battery ready to go and even use a standard 1.5V Alkaline AA battery if need be................



This is a very bright light and even has a dimmer setting if you want.............

Jax Rhapsody

I've got this 1watt light that takes two AAs, that was about 40bucks, by bike planet I think, one led, i was at a park one night, and it was lighting up some signs on the highway overhead, about 50yards away.

Johnny Mullet

Since I been building and upgrading the Heavy Duty Huffy Commuter all winter, I never really got to take it on any long rides, so I loaded it up and took it to Presque Isle in Erie, Pa and did the 13 mile loop. It was a cold, brisk morning and the bay is still frozen with ice fisherman on the lake..........





The bike performed and rode better than expected and I had no issues at all with it. My bicycle commuting season starts real soon and I wanted to make sure it is good to go.

Johnny Mullet

After getting home I cleaned the bike all up to get some good pics of it........

Bandrada

Nice work, man.

Johnny Mullet

Finished the rack finally..................

Bandrada

Interesting choice of fasteners.

Coolest thread on the web!

Johnny Mullet

Gave this bike the "classic" look with some gumwall tires and different rims...............

joeyduck

@Johnny Mullet. This was an awesome thread to read and follow the updates. You have done some stellar upgrades and fixing to that bike. It's times Ike these I regret giving away the Schwinn I bought in 1994 with my summer savings.

I can't wait to see the future iterations of this bike. The rack looks awesome.

Johnny Mullet

Since this is my commuter, I have put some miles on this bike this year.............

zonatandem

My wife rode her first full century back in 1973 on a Huffy 10 speed with upright bars.
Since then she has ridden over a quarter million miles . . . but not on a Huffy.