As a teen, I used to do a LOT of bicycling. Even dabbled with bicycle touring once, riding from Michigan to West Virginia. And never thought twice of riding 40 or 50 miles to visit friends and relatives. In the mid '70s it was fine as long as you were home by 5:00pm for dinner.

So, if possible, I'd like to challenge those here who might be really good with bikes of that era. I cannot remember the make or model, and it's driving me crazy. I can remember, though, several distinct features about it:
-- Relatively inexpensive. Maybe about $150. (Which was a fortune for me at 14/15 years old.)
-- Purchased at a hardware store, like ACE.
-- Frame was painted matte brown. (I had never seen a factory matte finish before.)
-- Seat material was like a brown crush velour.
-- At least one brake (rear) was disc. (Coolest thing I'd ever seen on a bike at the time.)
-- It was a road bike; probably 10/12 speed.

Well, that's all I got. Probably asking too much with such mundane/generic clues. Thanks in advance for your help ... nostalgia getting the best of me.

A quick search shows that Huffy or Murray made a bike with a disc brake back then. That would make sense seeing that it was a department store bike.

Western Auto sold Western Flyer bicycles back in the day.

Huffy Aerowind?

Department store bike indeed. Although it seemed very cool at the time, it weighed a ton ... and I rode it all day.

Definitely not Huffy; maybe Murray. Raleigh name comes to mind, but they are thorough with their history, and couldn't find my bike in the lineup.

Thanks for the tips all. Will try to search Murray.

Montgomery Ward is another name I've seen included in conversations like this. Apparently Bridgestone made a disc brake bike in the 70's also, but it looks like it was not exported to the states.