Show me your Sears bikes.
11-28-22, 03:08 PM
#26
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I did later install a larger hybrid seat because it sat higher off of the seatpost and I removed the "box drop" handlebars that originally came with it and replaced with some cut down fixie riser bars. I added a rear fender, which was originally a front fender on a different bike.
The bike was too small for me and it hurt my knees quite badly, so I ended up putting a 7 speed freewheel on it with a Shimano Deore derailleur. I also installed a rear rack and put the original handlebars back on, but they were flipped backwards like the picture below. I kept the BMX cranks, but installed a chainring from a Schwinn Varsity in order to use the narrower, 7 speed chain.
The bike was too small for me and it hurt my knees quite badly, so I ended up putting a 7 speed freewheel on it with a Shimano Deore derailleur. I also installed a rear rack and put the original handlebars back on, but they were flipped backwards like the picture below. I kept the BMX cranks, but installed a chainring from a Schwinn Varsity in order to use the narrower, 7 speed chain.
11-28-22, 04:30 PM
#27
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Originally Posted by sd5782
I’m surprised the 24” bikes weren’t more popular at the time. They were just so much more useful than a 20” bike that was outgrown by the time one was 12.
Actually, I was pretty small as a kid. I could easily have kept a 20" Sting-Ray or Spyder up to age 14-15. My dad insisted they were "dangerous" and would only buy a 26" single-speed, which happened to be a Sears cantilever-frame, and was actually too big for me (and therefore not really safe) for the first couple years. I ran the 24" compromise up the flag pole, but once he'd made up his mind.....
Last edited by madpogue; 11-28-22 at 04:55 PM.
11-28-22, 04:41 PM
#28
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Yes it does!!! Time to grow up and be practical. I guess what I was referring to was using the bike for a kid’s actual transportation. It seems odd, but kids did that stuff then when we wouldn’t let our kids venture too far now. Simpler times I guess. Your muscle bikes do sound like some stylin’ fun.
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11-29-22, 12:36 AM
#29
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11-29-22, 08:49 AM
#30
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Originally Posted by ascherer
Yeah, it wasn’t snugged down and I haven’t gone back to get it properly placed. I’ve been working on it in fits and starts in between other demands. If I had 2-3 straight hours I could actually get somewhere with it.
11-29-22, 11:29 AM
#31
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Need a few extra years to replenish what I put into the Woodstock house. That said, the house is often a demand generator. You know the drill.
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11-30-22, 10:39 AM
#32
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Made in Austria
Here is one.
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I hope...that all mankind will at length…have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats. Ben Franklin
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11-30-22, 10:48 AM
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Free Spirit modified to 7 speed IGH.
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I hope...that all mankind will at length…have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats. Ben Franklin
Last edited by dweenk; 11-30-22 at 10:54 AM.
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11-30-22, 10:59 AM
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Got this for free, used it for a local errand runner for a couple months and it rode surprisingly well for what it was. Then it did trainer duty in my basement for a couple of winters. Finally put new tires on it and gave it to an acquaintance who needed a cheapo urban commuter.
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11-30-22, 11:10 AM
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Sears Reynolds 531
531 frame and fork.
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I hope...that all mankind will at length…have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats. Ben Franklin
I hope...that all mankind will at length…have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats. Ben Franklin
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11-30-22, 01:04 PM
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11-30-22, 01:34 PM
#37
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Originally Posted by Miradaman
Got this for free, used it for a local errand runner for a couple months and it rode surprisingly well for what it was. Then it did trainer duty in my basement for a couple of winters. Finally put new tires on it and gave it to an acquaintance who needed a cheapo urban commuter.
11-30-22, 01:40 PM
#38
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Originally Posted by grant40
This is like the one that I want to get. Those handle bars are so weird.
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11-30-22, 01:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Miradaman
I think that style was standard equipment for a lot of dept store "road" bikes in the 70s. They were originally positioned so the drop end portion was parallel to the road. I turned them up to the angle shown, as I found the original position way too uncomfortable to ride with...
11-30-22, 02:35 PM
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Originally Posted by RustyJames
That perch manages to be very squishy yet uncomfortable. That takes skill!
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I hope...that all mankind will at length…have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats. Ben Franklin
I hope...that all mankind will at length…have reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats. Ben Franklin
11-30-22, 02:53 PM
#41
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Originally Posted by RustyJames
That perch manages to be very squishy yet uncomfortable. That takes skill!
12-01-22, 08:08 AM
#42
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The next bike, a 10-speed, was from Sears, and I believe this was too. This took me to grade school with books and lunchbox for a few years. Kitted with speedo and baskets and wore the occasional tiger tail, lol. It had Mattell’s V’rooom motor on it for a short time.
12-01-22, 09:54 AM
#43
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Is that a real bike.... or a Sears bike....,???
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12-02-22, 10:50 AM
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This bike would have been a Free Spirit if sold in a province outside of Quebec/Canada but was re-branded as a L'Avantage bike from Sears. Made a few modifications and rides really nice but super heavy. I really liked the 3 Ovaltech chainrings.
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12-04-22, 04:19 PM
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Ok, the Ted WIlliams is done.
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12-06-22, 08:17 PM
#46
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Me and my sis with our Christmas Free Spirits.
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12-07-22, 09:01 AM
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
Me and my sis with our Christmas Free Spirits.
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12-07-22, 09:03 AM
#48
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Originally Posted by big chainring;[url=tel:22726308
22726308[/url]]Is that a real bike.... or a Sears bike....,???
12-07-22, 12:02 PM
#49
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Originally Posted by nlerner
Was that right before or after you criticized her for having her brake housing too long?
You're bad.
12-26-22, 09:53 PM
#50
Newbie
I present to you ... the look of disappointment. 
I became a cycling enthusiast at age 12 (which, in 1973, pre-Greg Lemond, equals "weirdo" ... hence, the Dave Stohler character in Breaking Away is an accurate representation of that time in America) by hanging around the local bike shop (Schwinn chain, but they had Nishiki, Windsor, all-steel Peugeots, and the obligatory framed Paramount on the wall) and subscribing to Bicycling! magazine. My "born in the Great Depression" era parents couldn't fathom spending (gasp!) $100+ on a bicycle (golf clubs for themselves ... well ... that's DIFFERENT!) so I got this Sears "thing."
THE GOOD: Downtube shifters with Simplex gear instead of stem mounts, steel cottered crank instead of one-piece, no silly safety brake levers, lugged(!) frame, a plastic saddle instead of a horrid padded one with a steel base. And I just noticed ... nice curve on those dropped bars!
THE BAD: Absolutely nothing to keep the downtube shifters from sliding down the downtube (more on this later), 26" wheels (I guess 700c compatible?) with steel rims, stamped steel sidepulls brakes that didn't.
It would go back for "warranty repair" in a vain attempt to keep the downtube levers in place (in hindsight, a drill and a steel screw would have done the trick) ... until it was stolen from the 3rd-party repair shop. The elderly foreign gentleman who ran the shop offered me a Montgomery Wards drainpipe bike with Shimano Eagle gear as a replacement. I should have said, "Oh HELL no!"
I haven't been able to find this model in any Sears catalogs online. Another forum member said it's from Chiorda in Italy. A quick internet search of "Chiorda" and the first result is ... "Chiorda ... Italy's Worst?"
I became a cycling enthusiast at age 12 (which, in 1973, pre-Greg Lemond, equals "weirdo" ... hence, the Dave Stohler character in Breaking Away is an accurate representation of that time in America) by hanging around the local bike shop (Schwinn chain, but they had Nishiki, Windsor, all-steel Peugeots, and the obligatory framed Paramount on the wall) and subscribing to Bicycling! magazine. My "born in the Great Depression" era parents couldn't fathom spending (gasp!) $100+ on a bicycle (golf clubs for themselves ... well ... that's DIFFERENT!) so I got this Sears "thing."
THE GOOD: Downtube shifters with Simplex gear instead of stem mounts, steel cottered crank instead of one-piece, no silly safety brake levers, lugged(!) frame, a plastic saddle instead of a horrid padded one with a steel base. And I just noticed ... nice curve on those dropped bars!
THE BAD: Absolutely nothing to keep the downtube shifters from sliding down the downtube (more on this later), 26" wheels (I guess 700c compatible?) with steel rims, stamped steel sidepulls brakes that didn't.
It would go back for "warranty repair" in a vain attempt to keep the downtube levers in place (in hindsight, a drill and a steel screw would have done the trick) ... until it was stolen from the 3rd-party repair shop. The elderly foreign gentleman who ran the shop offered me a Montgomery Wards drainpipe bike with Shimano Eagle gear as a replacement. I should have said, "Oh HELL no!"
I haven't been able to find this model in any Sears catalogs online. Another forum member said it's from Chiorda in Italy. A quick internet search of "Chiorda" and the first result is ... "Chiorda ... Italy's Worst?"
Last edited by zbillster; 12-26-22 at 10:12 PM. Reason: correction
