What decade is this from?
 

I got this old-ish bike at the thrift store and I wanna know what decade it is from.

This is what I know.
-it is made of steel
-made in America
-it is a Kmart Allpro
-3 speed

I have googled it but there does not seem to be a lot of information about Allpro bikes.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...s/DSCF5679.jpg

If the rear hub is a Sturmey Archer three-speed (which looking at the cable it might be) there will be a two digit number preceeded or followed by a single digit number, eg, 74 3 or 3 74 stamped onto it. That will tell you the year and month that the hub was made and provides a good estimate of the age of the bike. In the above example the hub would have been made in March 1974.

I would guess that your bike may be a mid 1970s bike.

I have a feeling that the rear hub will be Shimano (solid bell crank with a pushrod coming out of the axle rather than a chain and pullrod) - I don't remember any Kmart bikes using Sturmey Archer. It's definitely bike boom vintage, can't really narrow it down to a certain year, and I'm fairly certain the bike was made my Murray for the Kmart company.

I will guess late 70's because of the sticker on the seat tube, looks like the "meets safety requirements" sticker that started showing up then. The front wheel retainer clips also back this up.

I will also guess Huffy due to the star chainwheel.

It's a Huffy. I also had a huffy All-Pro. I have no idea what's up with the seat post clamp though. If you can get a picture of the other side of the bicycle, of even better of the hub and can give me the serial number off of the head tube, I can tell you what year it was made.

Someone will be thrilled to ride that thing around town. j

Yep, I have been counting down to days till I can get some new tires&tubes. The tires look fine until you move or bend them, then all of the nice cracks appear:rolleyes: I'm am not an expert on bicycles, but I take that as a hint that they should be replaced.


BTW any recommendations for a tire type? I have never had anything but mountain bikes so I am not sure what to use on this style of bicycle.

A photo of the shifter would settle the hub issue too.

Late 70s or early 80s

Kept in superb condition despite the abismal quality of the steel used, quite a feat to keep rust off these

I tried to find the number on the hub, but I wasn't able to.


I hope these photos help. (please excuse the dust, I left it outside and dirt found it)

What do you meen? Is there something I should be doing to keep the rust away?

double post

You mean you invented a time machine, and that's all you brought back?? Sorry, just a comment about the immaculate condition. Amazing! Looks like it was stored in an air conditioned room from the day it was brought home from the store. Interesting seat post clamp arrangement. Stays above the seat post clamp is very unusual for a bike like that.

Keeping the rust away is easy. Don't leave it outside (or ride it) in the rain. A little wax once a year. If it has the original grease which I suspect it does, have it rebuilt with new grease. With 20-30 year old grease in the bearings it will last about two months to max of six months, before it needs new headset, BB, hubs, etc...,,,,BD

If I have to get somewhere in the rain... is there something I can apply ahead of time to keep it from absorbing any water?

I am sure the last person cared about this bike a lot. When I removed the reflecter from the front I found that the previous owner wrapped what looks like surgical tape on the handle bar to keep it from getting scratched. There are a few small scrapes, a little rust on the chain gaurd, and a lot of gunk in hard to reach places :rolleyes:

So would you say this is a decent bike? or just cool looking?

Just cool looking. K*Mart really only sold Bicycle Shaped Objects, the real decent bikes were reserved for bike shops.

It is a Shimano 3 speed hub, the bell crank... the mechanisim the shift cable goes into on the end of the axle, tells us that. The presence of the 333 on the hub, combined with the BMA sticker in the seat tube date it somewhere in the mid 70's.

It is a fine, well preserved specimen, that properly serviced and maintained will give you years of cycling satisfaction. Ride with pride. :)

Abysmal quality of steel? Gimme a break, abysmal is reserved for bikes made in Taiwan for dept stores. Back then they were made a bit better than they are now. High ten is heavy, but didn't become "abysmal" until well after this bike was made.,,,,BD

There is a product called Frame Saver that you can spray into the frame tubes to keep them from rusting inside. At $12 or so per can, a good investment. Cleaning and drying the bike after a wet ride will help to maintain the bike as well.

Things like the chain and cables may rust with time, but these can be replaced inexpensively.

As far as whether it is a decent bike... If you enjoy riding it, yes it is a decent bike. With proper maintenance it should last you a long time.

I'm curious about what kind of tires you recommend for this bike too. I got a new/old bike with new tires, but cheap tire already has a bluge in it. I need to replace them with something better.

Your bicycle was made in 1972. Don't worry about rust in the frame - it's rare. I rode my All-Pro in Seattle and in Colorado during winters - the only thing that rusted was the super cheap chrome on the wheels. Just don't leave it in the rain, and dry it off if it gets wet.
One thing that is interesting about your bike is that it uses a pie plate chain protector instead of a regular chain guard, which seems bizarre to me. I know that was standard practice for Iverson, but I didn't think Huffy would stoop to such a cost cutting measure. It definitely makes the bike stand out amongst three speeds though.
As for tires, I think K-mart still carries them in this size (Wal Mart seems to have stopped) they'll cost less than $20 a piece for cheap ones. A bike shop will get you much better tires though. You don't really need anything special, and I don't think they make anything really special in this size anyway.

PS: make sure that handlebar neck isn't about to pop out either. It looks like it's way beyond the minimum insertion mark.

Tires for these bikes are not easy to find. You will have to find a shop that supports vintage bikes. THat leaves out shops like Performance or other chains. I just replaced a tire on my Raleigh Sport with a Kenda gumwall. The numbers on the side of the tire are: 37-590 26X 1 3/8
NOTE: MOUNTAIN BIKE, 26inch TIRES WILL NOT FIT THE RIMS ON THESE BIKES. PLEASE DON'T TRY TO FORCE ONE ON.
I'm going to the bike shop tomorrow to purchase another tire. If you would like the address and phone number of the All Star bike shop in Cary, NC, I'll be glad to provide it if you need to have these tires shipped.

I found a bike shop with 24x 1 3/8 tires but I wasn't sure if I should use smooth or slightly knobby tires.

The handle bars could certainly go higher, but I left them at a comfortable level. I am only 5'3 so I don't need to much of an adjustment on a 24inch bike.

One more thing... is this a cruiser or touring bike?

Definitions have changed over the years. At one time, your bike would have been called a touring bike. It is an American copy of the British 3 speed bikes that started to appear in the 1950's. A cruiser is usually referring to a bike with a really wide seat, wide curved handlebars a curved top tube, and fat tires, frequently whitewalls. You see them a lot in resort areas for bike rentals.

From a purely cosmetic and girly point-of-view, I love the white grips and pedals. :)

Needs a matching white seat...:)

I was thinking about that, it would be super cute.

Yes...although I fear that the white pedals would require some diligent cleaning to keep them to a high standard of 'white' :p .

East Hill