Originally Posted by
Panthers007
I beg to differ. The Free Spirit bikes from SEARS - the 3-speeds - in the early to later half of the 1970's, were made by PUCH in Austria (or Japan later on). These were, and are, fine machines and well worth holding onto if you want a good 3spd. to cruise about town on.
Agreed. I was thinking the same thing when I read the list of "Department Store Bikes to Avoid".
In addition to the Free Spirit, other bikes sold by Sears were worthy. Sure, they might have been heavy bikes, but they were reliable and well made. I think yesterday's Sears did a good job of offering well-made reliable bicycles appropriate for the people that rode them.
What about coolness factor? One of my favorite collectible bicycles of all time are the old Sears Spaceliners circa 1963/64.
I have a hard time poo-pooing department store bicycles. More miles are ridden on department store bicycles than higher-end bicycles; not only collectively, but indvidually. My first commuter was an old Huffy three-speed that I bought used and rode about 8,500 miles every year. It never broke down and I sold it after riding it for more than ten years.
Perhaps even more than automobiles, the bicycle world has a strong elitist group that somehow feel superior by the bikes they own rather than the miles they ride.