CountryG

I have just acquired a Sears Ted Williams bike. My wife has a nice bike that I gave her for her birthday a few years ago, but because I don’t have one she doesn’t ride hers.

I was dropping off some scrap metal at a local place (just think of Sanford and son) and I saw that they had this bike for sale. It is in great shape (the pictures make it look worse than it is), so now we both have a bike.

I have many questions.

What year do you think it was made?

The other thing is that the scrap guy also had the girls twin to this one and although I don’t really need it, I’m losing sleep over the fact that it is sitting out in the rain!

The speedometer is really cool. It is a mechanical system but it doesn’t work. When I starting to take it off the hub, the round nut that holds the cable to the hub fell into 4 pieces. The cable has also rusted through which could be the only reason doesn’t work.

The tires seem to be original so they will need replacing. Is this size tire still readily available, and is there an online place that you would recommend?

Here are some before a good scrubbing pictures.


Here is where I put the 8 pictures that I'm Not allowed to post.

pastorbobnlnh 

Keep posting until you reach ten. The software might require two days to do this.

What color is it? Does it have multiple speeds? If so, how many? What size are the tires?

And welcome to Bike Forums Classic and Vintage. We're a nice bunch and love helping folks out!

non-fixie 

Welcome, @CountryG!

Pic Assist:





Boy, that Ted Williams must have been one fast rider!

Phil_gretz

When I was a boy, my parents had a 45rpm record sold by Sears that had Ted Williams teaching you to hit a baseball. Fabulous stuff. My older brother might have had a Ted Williams autograph model glove, if I'm remembering right.

T-Mar

Entry level model, almost certainly early 1970s.

3speedslow

Made in Austria. Good cruiser with a lot of class. Lube everything and replace the drivetrain derailleur with stuff that doesn’t break, you will be ready to ride as a couple. Love those white mudguards.

i had, have still, that bike up in the frame loft waiting for its turn to ride again.

CountryG

white 10 speed

32-630 27 x 1 1/4

2old

Thanks for the reminder of that classic model and time. I remember him saying that he could see the laces of the ball as it was approaching. He was an ambassador for Sears (AIR) just after he stopped playing in the 60's.

juvela

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We had a thread on this exact same model in the same colour a couple years back.

IIRC the owner took it all apart and did a full resto.

Thread went on for a number of posts.

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52telecaster

Its nice the speedo redlines at 30.

sykerocker 

I'd suggest keeping the Simplex Prestige derailleurs, at least as long as they don't start cracking. The mechanism was a good unit for it's day, although nobody ever expected to see them on the road fifty years later. Yeah, you can probably pick up a little bit of performance going Sun Tour or Shimano, but this is a European bike from back in the day when European bikes used European components. Keeping it original makes it just a little more special.

The rear derailleur will probably hold up for you for quite a while, but eventually the front is going to crack along the backside from having tightened the mechanism down too tight around the seat tube.

3speedslow

In Austria, this bike was sold as a clubman model with drop bars.

nlerner

crank_addict

Fred G. Sanford and Son


By Tandem Productions, Inc.
Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear initially established Tandem specifically for television production. The name was chosen because when launching their company, Yorkin and Lear were said to feel like two men riding uphill on a tandem bicycle.True story-

wedgeSG

Were all the Ted Williams made in Austria ? I thought if a TW was made there the head badge had a faint Made in Austria line at the very bottom. Those without the callout on the headbadge were of Asian manufacturing. There were some Sears bikes from Puch prior to the Free Spirits that were pretty average however. At least that’s how I seem to remember it. My ‘76 531 TW Free Spirit has this faint script visible.
wedgeSG

squirtdad

if you look at the catalog poste.... you see the first one at $95 does not list a country at the end of the description, but $117 and the $189 531 both list austria. This lack of country suggest USA manufacture.

the $95 one look like the OP's a lot

I would clean, lube, neaten up the cables, new brake pads and ride this a bit, and if the OP likes riding, start looking for an upgrade (N+1)

crank_addict

Some marketing tid-bits.
Many years back, through my fathers business I had met a head art director for Sears Roebuck. Chicago headquarters, his studio was one of the top floors of Sears Tower when first built. Always an interesting fellow to converse.

Anyway, the lead in for Free Spirit brand bikes was partial due stigma of Austria and WW2. Who knows but supposedly there are those sensitive types and when they see an origin of label, it reminds of a dreadful past. The Steyr company used Jews to make ammunition, weapons to military vehicles, tanks, etc..

Additionally, there's a large population of Jewish in Skokie, north of Chicago and whom many were employed by Sears. There would sometimes be bikes found at Sears Roebuck stores with the 'made in Austria' marked out.

The rebranding with bold red, white and blue FREE SPIRIT became a popular and considered success for Sears and likely softened those troubled by old Austria.

juvela

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@squirtdad -

The $95 machine in the catalogue listing is quite different from the subject machine.

Note that it has Ashtabula chainset and Shimano gears while subject machine has cottered chainset and Simplex gears.

Brakeset, seat stay treatment and fork crown also differ.

Subject machine clearly a Steyr product.

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ramzilla

Thank goodness it's equipped with the correct handlebars for that type of bicycle.

dweenk

What does the head badge look like? As I recall the Austrian built bikes were called out on the badge. Cottered cranks would be another tell.

squirtdad

missed tha, thanks for the edification makes it even better to put a little TLC into

dddd

It seems like the earlier models, even the cheapest ones, were made in Austria.

My SEARS 10-SPEED is a 1968 model I believe, and came in around $75 at that time.

CountryG

I'm ready to put new tires on it. the original reads 32 - 630 27 x 1 1/4.

I'm not sure what numbers are significant.

Is there a good place on line to purchase them?

3speedslow

Try a brick and mortar place first. 27x1 1/4 and 630 are the numbers to pay attention to.

CountryG

What is the 630 ?