TheEnthusiast

I found this add on Craigslist about this particular Huffy. Well can I get some opinions? It appears to be worth the asking price($100). The only problems are a few scratches on the downtube. He said everything works and it rides smooth.

wrk101

$10 bike if you are being generous.

noglider 

Sorry, but wrk101 is right.

rgver

^^^What they said^^^ Having experience with one of these through a friend, my advice is to avoid this truly dreadful bike.

PedalTraveler

I'll agree, it has cool vintage looks, but not a fun bike to ride. Pass, there are too many nicer bikes for less money.

kaliayev

I had one of those new when I was a kid. It sucked.

etherhuffer 

I would be embarrassed to take one to a steel recycler.........

rgver

Just browsing CL in my area, the thumbnail is from an ad one town over (Bellingham, MA) if you are looking for a bike in this area let me know I have a few for sale, not for $100 though, for a BF member I can do one of mine ready to go for $150. No Huffys, I have entry level Panasonic, Motobecane a miyata in varying sizes.

sykerocker 

Be Brave Sir Robin and RUN AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I remember those from my bike shop days. We hated them.

Paramount1973 

About the only thing that bike would be good for would be a beater bike for a college student, but not for $100. Actually, a cheap mountain bike would be a better choice.

campagnolo80sr

that is a classic bike
it rides straight as an arrow
even when you turn it wants to go straight
want to avoid a chuckhole , too bad
hop over a curb nope your not "bunny" hopping a 75 pound bike

Flying Merkel

I had to ride on to work when I was 18. After 3 months, I threw it in the back of garage and walked. Horrible awful thing. Heavy and flimsy, slow and dangerous, a rolling contradiction of crap.

run. Not even $10.00

reggieob

Wow - just seeing that brings back memories! Was hoping for a Varsity for my first "ten speed" as a kid - parents opted for this instead. Rode it a lot, not the most well-built bike as I recall. Certainly distinctive looking, though!

TheEnthusiast

Thanks for the feedback guys! I'll look for something else!

frantik

Huffy = no

kunsunoke 

What everyone needs to know about Huffys, Murrays, Columbias, Kents and other department-store specials from the 60s-90s:

They are:

1) Heavy (30 lbs. plus)
2) Poorly-constructed
3) horrid in terms of metallurgy (mild-steel)
4) awful when it comes to fit/finish
5) Ugly as sin
6) Uncomfortable

My father had a Huffy Santa Fe during the early '80s, and it was a piece of excrement when purchased. It did not hold up and was left behind when he moved to Florida years ago. Even the garbage-men and the usual greedy pickers wouldn't take it.

The bike on CL is not worth a dime, nor is it worth the gasoline to cart it home.

auchencrow

Ignore the advice from the naysayers.
These bikes are in HUGE demand.
(-for Satanic rituals).

Flying Merkel

True. Satanists make virgins ride Huffys until they beg to sell their soul to Satan

treal512

Lol, I thought this was going to be the first positive comment on the bicycle. Too funny

repechage

To The Enthusiast, You need some information of which to judge these possible bikes on your own a bit.

My suggestion would be The Complete Book of Bicycling by Eugene A. Sloane. Out of print but might still be on a public library shelf or like my local library, in the used books to buy section.
Maybe even Amazon, one of the early editions would be fine. It gives a pretty good overview of what to look for in a bicycle of the period when it was written, C&V now.
You will have to ignore most of the make, model recommendations as those are for the most part Chicago centric of the period.At the time it was written it was the best widely published overview.

big chainring 

I worked in a bike shop in the early 80's. Most bikes we repaired were Huffys, columbia, Sears, Murrays. They were really difficult to get to work properly. But, it really taught me to be a mechanic. Straightening the frames(and they were very easy to bend), chainrings, bending derailleurs and dropouts, you had to really manhandle these bikes to get them operating half way decent. But thats how you learn. I still use the same techniques on the old bikes I rehab today. Aligning forks, bending chainrings and derailleur hangers are all part of getting a bike back on the road and in good nick. So these are good bikes to learn on. Just not worth squat before or after fixing.

repechage

Yes, but even if/when you did get them to run safely, there was little guarantee what you did would stay that way, either by the quality of the mechanisms/materials or care/attitude of the owner. These bikes took way too much time to work on and little reward in return, profit or satisfaction wise.

Glennfordx4

It's a great bike, if you have a small boat that needs an anchor.

Glenn

sirupate

Funny thread. My first 10-speed was a Columbia (used) that my parents bought me. Probably a good thing I was run over by a car when riding it. Got a Raleigh as a replacement via her car-owners insurance. Should have sued her, but that wasn't done much back in the day.

Straightblock

A big +1 for Eugene Sloane's book. I read it back in the 1970's when I was in college, and it helped jump start my passion and knowledge.
Toward the end of college, I worked at the LBS, and sometimes local department stores would contract with us to assemble their bikes. The Santa Fe and another model with a denim seat were among the worst of the bike boom junk. The reason there are bikes like this in almost new condition after 30-40 years is that they were ridden around the block once and parked for good.