OldForerunner

Okay, I give. What is the apparatus sticking out from the front brake caliper and looks like it goes through the wheel?!?!!?

Trakhak

"Third hand" tool. Holds the brake pads against the rim so that you can tighten the brake wire in the cable carrier at the appropriate height.

1989Pre

My Rudge uses the same system.
https://www.raleigh-katsaris.com/she...&subcat_id=203

OldForerunner

Thank you, that's kinda dope.

hevysrf

Does any one remember "Halco"? I had one in the early 70s, Asian lugged frame, cotter cranks, not quite as well finished as my friend Raleigh Grand Prix but a nice bike for the price.
They were sold by the Woolco chain, so definitely a rebadged special.

A few years later I rode a borrowed Paris Sport, made me feel like I was the cannibal. Only to find out later they were parts bin junk like the halco.

beng1

I wonder if these were made by the Cleveland Welding Company, I think they were the ones who's own brand was Columbia. Huffy's seat-stays were attached below the seat-post differently than this, and the AMF ten-speeds I have seen also had a different treatment for the seat stays too. If you got a serial number off the bike it could be matched up with known manufacturers. My Huffy Scout is badged "Bluegrass", because it was sold through the Bluegrass chain of hardware stores, but it's serial number is a normal Huffy one, and dates it to 1973. I think your bike might be from around 1975 or a bit later going by a few of it's features.

And by the way, the auxiliary brake levers, provided the brakes are set up well, are very nice to have when not down on the drops and just cruising around.

beng1

It is a very nice tool to have in setting up centerpulls, the brakes on this Huffy really work well and make it a very safe bike to ride in the city. I wonder if anyone is still selling these. I bought a box of old 70s bicycle tools at a garage sale and it was included.

I suppose there are all sorts of spring clamps that would do the same job in a pinch, but this design will not fall off if bumped.

zookster

There are 2 numbers on the left dropout, one probably a model number and the other a serial number. The one that might be the serial number is hard to read because of the crud and axle. I will get better pictures once I clean it up a little. Best guess at the serial number for now is E627289. It has Cherry branded brakes, a Huret FD and Shimano Eagle RD. Have not had a chance to clean the crud off the hubs to see what they are. The shifter and dork disc have the stylized "333" Shimano marking.



Model number?

Serial number?

Another curiosity, this hole on the top of the BB. Looks like it may be threaded, so perhaps had a zerk fitting at one point?

beng1

I read that AMF bought up the Cleveland Welding Company late in the 1950s, and what I did find on serial numbers was on a forum for muscle-bikes. They thought that "M" was for 1970, so if you go up the alphabet an "R" could be for 1975 or maybe 1974 because often stamped serial numbers leave out the "O" and other characters that might look similar to a number and cause confusion. I do not think your bike is a Huffy, but you could look up Huffy numbers and see how they match up to it too. I thought your bike was around 75' because I have looked at a lot of old ten-speeds and generally by 1975 they had quite using round holes on the chainwheel and rear spoke guards and were using squareish or rectangular slots like your bike has on it's "333" marked part.

markk900

I always wanted a proper 3rd hand tool like that but I use a small sliding wood clamp. It does fall off but if I were to make up some custom cauls that problem would go away. Makes MAFAC setup way easier (even if they are alloy!).

Trakhak

For those who might be thinking about buying a 3rd hand tool, I suggest considering a 4th hand tool also. Park makes a version of that tool, among other manufacturers. The 4th hand tool is a bit awkward to use with centerpulls, but it's a great tool for adjusting sidepulls.

browngw 

A "Favorit" of mine. NOT! This bike caused me a lot of pain after rebuilding and selling it during the pandemic. The rear wheel locked up tore up the hub and generally made a mess. I had to fix. the problem, so I fitted a set of cheap Alex wheels on it which I bought from a friend. Most of the parts were Czech specific. I wish I had kept the saddle. At least I got to use the green mudguards I purchased years before.

beng1

There used to be a dealer in my town that sold the Favorit bikes, along with Czech made motorcycles, for a while forty odd years ago I worked for them. A friend of mine bought a higher-end Favorit racing bicycle back in the 70s from that shop and he still has it in mint condition. His is a higher-end piece though, it even came with sew-up tires, so definitely not a "gas-pipe" bike.

beng1

Schwinn offered drop bars on it's "World" model in the early 1950s, they had the bike pictured with drops in their catalog for 1953.

Pompiere

I just found this Marukin from Japan. I don't know the year, but the components look like early 1970s. The freewheel and chain are frozen and there is a lot of surface rust on the many steel parts, so I will be swapping things out for alloy as I make it road ready.

It ticks all the boxes:
Gas pipe frame - check
Steel wheels - check
Stem shifters - check
Turkey levers - check
Dorc discs - check
Shorty fenders/splash guards - check
I just need to mount up a Pletscher rear rack.

SirMike1983 

Nothing wrong with basic steel, whether electroforge welded or lugged and brazed... I love old Schwinn and Raleigh 3 speeds, most of which are nothing exotic in terms of material.

juvela

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thanks for sharing this

be aware that the machine's Sakae Ringyo Silstar chainset likely exhibits the odd three degree taper

if spindle pitted you may need a spot of searching to find the 68F/3F/5F replacement...


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Murray Missile 

OOH Baby ............and wing nuts on the axles too! That is classic Bike Boom. We'll need "after" pics of this one.

Pompiere

Thanks for the heads up!

beng1

Wow, check out this Bruce Jenner edition AMF road bike that was for sale on Facebook Marketplace. As far as gaspipe depravity goes it is hard to beat. This has to be a super-rare machine to find intact like this, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it was about six hours drive away from me so could not jump on it. I hope it found or finds a good loving home.

HelpSingularity 

Amazingly fugly bike! This one ticks all the depravity boxes plus.
Freakin' luv it!

RB1-luvr

^^ I would convert it to a step-through frame. haha