About 6 months ago, I aquired a pair(his & hers) of Murray Monterey bicycles. They are in superb condition and just plain cool looking, especially with the Carlisle 'Lightning Dart' whitewalls.

They are the single speed, 'beach cruiser' style. After 7 spinal surgeries, it's also a bike that I can comfortably ride since I don't have to lean forward as would be the case with most newer models.

I'd just like to know a little more about these bikes, such as the years they were produced etc.

Any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Chowdaddy

I, too am looking for information on a Murray Monterey 3-speed. It was bought during the 1970's. Front brake wire needs fixing, and the tires could be replaced, otherwise in good condition. All the parts are original. I tried to sell it at a garage sale last year for $10 but got no takers. I then realized that I might be shortchanging myself because the it might be considered vintage bike. I am still interested in selling it at a below the going rate by say 30-40%, but I don't know what the going rate might be. Any guidance on price would be appreciated.

Here's a link to see what it looks like:
https://www.bluekoi.com/garage_sale/3speed.htm

Hey CD,

I have two Murray Monterey cruisers, one I restored for my dad as a father's day gift, the other I customized for myself.

They are very cool, albeit pretty much the bottom line of the cruiser offerings in their era. I believe they were produced from the mid 70's to mid 80's. I am sure there is some way to decode the serial numbers on the head tube, but the Murray bicycle company is currently defunct. You can check out my posts at
mtbr.com for pics https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=19348 https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=17851 https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=18145 https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=19149

A while back I bought a cheap lot of bikes because it had a blue Murray Monterey cruiser. It has Carlisle 'Lightning Dart' whitewalls, Mesinger saddle, a Shimano coaster brake, single wall chrome steel rims, Wald front hub, stem and BB. I don't have access to it right now, as it's on loan to a friend. I surmised it's from '81 ot '82, from the license expiration date and also from the date code on the Wald front hub. The frame looks identical to SSenorPedro's project with pointy dropouts and all. The fork is a older style similar to that on Conejo747's bike. I think cruisers generally soon adopted a more BMX style unicrown type fork in the 80s.

I seem to recall that beach cruisers enjoyed a resurgence after the first generation BMXers/proto mountain bikers came on the scene. Conejo747's Monterey may have been well before this trend, when the name was used for a line on 26x1-3/8" tire'd roadsters, inspired more by Raleigh roadsters than cantilever frames.

These were not particularly great bikes, though with potential. Mine was fairly decent, but had a couple problems. The original handlebars were tweaked. The Wald stem was "bottomed out", making it impossible to cinch down the bars sufficiently. The rubber blocks on the pedals were gone. The bike seemed to have been assembled with a symbolic amount of grease in the BB and headset, though fortunately the bearings were still good. The spokes were so loosely tensioned, the wheels had a lateral wobble of about 1/4" even though the bearings were properly adjusted.

I replaced the pedals, bars and stem. Tightened the spokes and trued the wheels. Removed about twenty goatheads from the tires and patched up the tubes. A bit of elbow grease to get rid of some rust, and it's looking sweet. My friend is riding it all around town.

Hello all. I recently bought a Murray Monterey for $25. It was way over-priced considering the only useable part of the bike is the frame and fork. But I really like the shape of the frame and am currently rebuilding it as a custom.

I spent most of last Saturday grinding the frame, welding a few spots to reinforce the frame joints, sanding, and putting on the first coat of Rustoleum flat black primer. I've attached a couple photos from mid-day.

Anyway, I haven't worked on bikes in quite a while, and the last time I did, I was racing at the local BMX track... not riding cruisers. So my parts knowledge is fairly limited. I've ordered parts for the bottom end which I think will fit, and am shopping for the rest (ie. headset, stem, bars, wheels, seat, etc.). Can anyone tell me if these parts will fit;

- 1pc. Chainring: https://www.choppersus.com/store/prod...lack-Roulette/
- 1pc. Crankset: https://www.choppersus.com/store/prod...6-1-2%2C-9-16/
- 1pc. Bottom Bracket: https://www.danscomp.com/455018.php?cat=PARTS
- 9/16" Pedals: https://www.danscomp.com/465110.php?cat=PARTS (Note: Above crank accepts 9/16" pedals)

Those are the parts I have already ordered. I am still shoping for the rest of the parts but am unsure of what sizes/standards to purchase. I plan to buy all-new parts since I am only using the original frame, fork, fenders, and chainguard. I am looking at the following parts, but do not know if they will fit this frame;

- 1" Headset: https://www.danscomp.com/305016.php?cat=PARTS

Actually, a better question I have is; Since I am only keeping the fork and frame, does it matter which type of headset/stem/bars I get? Can anyone recommend a top-end setup for this bike?

Thank you so much for the help in advance.

Nobody? Ok, can anyone tell me how to measure my seat-post or the frame so I can buy a seat-post? Or, can anyone just post a link to where I can learn?

Thanks!