I love mine.



I found it on the side of the road in a rusty heap, pretty much. I removed the rust, replaced the broken shifters (converted it to downtube shifters) and have enjoyed riding it ever since. Every mechanical bit of mine, including the tires and tubes, (minus my replacement shifters of course) is original to the bike. It's solidly built.

One of the (if not THE best) rides I've ever been on was on my Free Spirit, I rode it for 53 miles and crossed state lines for the first time ever on a bicycle. Here's a picture of it loaded up during this ride:



The Free Spirit is an incredibly smooth and pleasant ride...really the only negative thing I have to say about it is that it is a bit of a chunk at 35 pounds with all my crap on it. I suspect it would still weigh over 30 bare. Definitely not a bike built for speed, but it's great for cruising and even some long distances. I may tour with it this year. Yup, on an ancient Sears bike, 27" chrome-steel wheels and all...

Mine has a lugged steel frame and three piece cottered crank. It's a 12 speed.
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