Originally Posted by
missingspoke
My big question is, how much weight can one of these bikes handle? I'm a big man these days, 6ft 2in tall and about 380lbs. I miss riding and until I retired I really didn't have the time. Three speed bikes were what I always had as a kid, so its what I'm most familiar with. I guess I could always built a custom HD set of rims if I had too but as a kid, at maybe 250 lbs or so, I really put my bikes to the test. Rarely did I ride on paved roads or trails, and every bike I had was equipped with front and rear baskets for hauling ability.
Welcome! First off, see if any of the rear wheels has 40 spokes, which would make a slightly stronger wheel than the normal 36. Many of the early ones did but they abandoned this practice in the '70s. If you did ride and want to get back into it, you probably know that you'll need to "ride light," lifting off the seat for bumps and other such considerations for the equipment. The steel frames themselves are pretty strong if you don't abuse them. I sold a bike to a buddy for a big friend of his and I put on wheels built with 105 gauge spokes. You could probably do the same for your bike but it might mean drilling the hub flange holes and the rim's spoke holes for the thicker spokes.
Good luck!.