Old Huffy bicycles any good?
 

I am looking at a good condition Huffy ten speed road bike on craigslist and I know that Huffy these days are kinda on the cheap side. Would this be a good enough bike for a 290 pound cyclist trying to lose weight?

I think Huffy bikes were always on the cheap side, actually. That being the case, the problem with heavy people and cheap bikes tends to be the wheels rather than the frame itself, and then the gearing and brakes tend to be crap regardless of the weight of the rider. I had my $100 mountain bike for a year, replaced the rear wheel twice in that time, had scary brakes, and most of the time I was riding it, could not get it into every gear- and would have it pop out of gears and stuff.

I found out that this one is only 5 years old. I think I will pass on this one. Thanks

Huffy has always been the redheaded stepchild of the USA bicycling industry.

In reality, their bicycles weren't that different from Schwinn or a lot of the other middle-market bicycles. I have worked on a lot of Huffys and ridden many of them too. They are fine. Some are very good.

If there is one saving grace for the OLD Huffys, it is that they probably held up to a beating as well as any of them. So, for 290 lb guy looking at a Huffy 10-speed on Craigslist, it should work out fine.

Around here, Huffy ten-speeds go for about $20.00 or so.

Where are you located?

I've had this cast iron beast for a few years now and, aside from breaking the spurs off the one-piece cranks, I haven't had any problems that couldn't be fixed with a tire patch kit.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...V/bikes/01.jpg

Huffy was originally the nickname for "Huffman" which had been making bicycles since about 1934. Originally they could be found under the brand name "Dayton" or "Firestone" back in the 1930s, along with the actual Huffman name.

They had a nice, sturdy product for many years, but began to diminish in quality in the 1960s. Huffman, Dayton and other sub-branded bicycles like "La France" from the 1930s and 40s are good quality machines, usually the equal of a Schwinn or a Columbia (though Schwinn has a higher cachet among collectors). After WWII they branded their bicycles as "Huffmans" directly rather than relying so much on sub brands. Huffmans from the 1940s and 50s are decent quality machines, though probably not as luxurious as the Schwinns of their time. It was in this time in the 1960s that Huffman began to acquire a reputation for being a more "second tier" brand compared to Schwinn and Columbia (or imports like Raleigh). It's a shame too because their bikes were still of very nice quality in that time. Like many US brands they suffered a decline in the 1960s and 1970s.

Pre war Huffman products are the most sought after- they made some absolutely beautiful and well-made bicycles in that time. Post war items aren't bad either- especially earlier ones. Stuff from the mid-late '60s and onwards are second tier, but durable and give good service. They lack many of the options pluses of higher end makes, but Huffmans can be quite simple and durable. Newer stuff is a bit more of a department store grade. With Huffman products, usually older is better, until you get back to the really good stuff before WWII.


Pre war La France (Huffman) from Nostalgic.net
http://www.nostalgic.net/arc/bicycle...shed%2001s.jpg

Post war Huffman from Nostalgic.net
http://www.nostalgic.net/arc/bicycle...20orig%201.jpg

i bought my 1st huffy for $20
i don't think i would have paid anymore for it
but i am thinking of putting new tires on it and keeping it for myself
i don't see myself riding it exclusively
but I have run across some routes where i don't want to chance the Armstrong.

I don't know how to date a Huffy - anyone have a clue?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/...249ea6f89e.jpg

I have worked on so many Huffys that I am positive I did something horrible in a previous life. They weren't so bad during most of the 70's -- cheap and bad but you could work on them. Sometime in the early 80's I saw one that simply was not repairable. Everything was so flimsy you couldn't take a wrench to it without doing damage. Don't know what happened after that. Looks like the Chinese have really killed their primary market, which was people who wanted a bike but knew they weren't going to use it.

I missed the part about 290 lb. rider. No way in the world I would advise anything like a Huffy for a rider of that weight. My roommate and I were riding to class in '82, and we saw the rider in front of us go down when the front rim of his Huffy collapsed, taking out the fork. And from truing the wheels on those bikes, they are not ready for anyone that isn't a lightweight.

I think it's re-baged though.

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5175/ahth1.jpg

It's a Serotta, I was going to post one as well, but didn't want to steal anyone's image. I would KILL to own one of those or one of the similar "Murrays."

The Concours is pretty spiffy. There were also a few years' worth of Carlton-built Huffys that were nice and some Huff-eighs that weren't bad.

iirc, throughout the 70's to the late 80's, huffy's were amoungst the absolute cheapest and most indifferently built & conceived bicycle-shaped-objects available to the buying public.

(not that i have any opinion on huffys)

k

Sometimes there will be date codes on the inside of the rims, or on the back side of the dérailleurs. I have seen the wheel codes on bikes built up through the mid 80's.

Aaron:)

The lesson is that something badged Huffy could be an ok US built bike for around the neighborhood, a piece of junk, a re-badged racing bike or perhaps a re-badged Raleigh 3 speed. I always look at the CL ads that say Huffy just in case. ;)

I had a mid 70's SS Huffy that I rode and rode and rode, I cant remember anything ever breaking. Some kid is probably still riding it somewhere.

That's the general trend, I've found. They really started going downhill in the 1960s and by the 1980s, they were pretty junky.

huffy dating
 

i never actually dated a huffy, we were just good friends. SERIOUSLY, it is very easy to do. the first number of the serial number is the last number of the yer it was made. example, my own huffy ser #hc9449726. "9" is the first number so seing how it is a cruiser, it must either be a 79' or more likly an 89'. you have to kinda look at the components on it to see if it is 80's or 90's.

Thank you very much for the informaton. I am starting to love finding and building these older bikes. My first one was two months ago. A free spirit 10 speed road bike. Found out a little info about them and some info about the Schwinns. I am finishing my 80' voyageur 11.8 and still looking for other bikes. Thank you very much for the history and other info.

I actually saw a nice old huffy 10 speed for $55. It was red, but too big for me. It had bbeen tuned up and was ready to ride

hmmm now i am paranoid
i just picked up this one for $20

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3002/...249ea6f89e.jpg

and i was thinking of using it for a bangaround fat tire bike
and go places i wouldn't want to take my Armstrong.

i haven't found a date or model number for it yet
but i figure it's about 15 years give or take.
any advice?

i certainly am not going to BUY a newish fat tire bike.
i figured this wouldn't be a waste for infrequent use.

I wouldn't mind having one of these:

http://www.classicrendezvous.com/Bri...rltonHuffy.htm

I'd look for a Schwinn or an old Trek MTB if I were in the OP's situation. A good bike will almost certainly be more than $20.00, but it will be a durable rider to get started with. Even if it costs $80.00-$100.00, it's a much better deal than what you'll find with a $200.00 new bicycle.

I bought, fixed up and sold an aluminum Huffy "Ironman" a few months ago --- I think it was from the early 90s, one of their higher-end models. I was actually surprised at the decent quality, given their low-end reputation. Nothing to brag about, but a nice solid bike.

Yeah dude, you might as well buy an old Schwinn. These gas pipe tubing Varsities are indestructable, then aagain I'm only 145lbs. Thing is gears 290+40 pound bike needs low gears on hills. Most ten speeds are geared relatively high, My Varsity's lowest gear is 37 gear inches. Most modern bike's lowest gears are around 25 or so gear inches, like 16 for a mountain bike. That is really low.


Get a nice Hybrid.

Yup! the Concours was a decent bike. I picked up one at a yard sale. When the guy went to bring the bike up from the back of his house, he said it was a "Huffy". I looked around for an escape route, then the guy brings up a Concours that looked dirty, but much nicer than a typical Huffy. I bought it with the intention of using the parts on another bike, but decided I had too many projects so I flipped it. The guy who bought it is a retired cyclist who rides nothing but Huffy's. He told me later this was the nicest Huffy he's ever had. He lubed it, put some new tires on and took it on a 100+ mile ride. Not too shabby for an older guy on an older bike.

The Huffy Centurian had the same chrome Carlton Capella lugs as in my avatar.