dbakl

Here's a frame I just saw on ebay, probably a 60s one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-56cm...item5ae501b50f

Kanegon

I didn't have a Free Spirit, but my SCREAMER was cool looking if not impossibly heavy. I remember drag racing with my neighbor who had a green Stingray. Mine had the rear slick and parking brake. Yup, I saw the ad in Boys Life!



Looks like full suspension, but i remember the rear coils didn't telescope!

k_as_in_knife

I had one of those too! I'm pretty sure the rears springs did work, but both front and rear springs were so stiff they rarely moved much.

Had a heck of a crash on mine - started to shimmy down a hill (somewhere over 35mph probably) and turned into a real tank-slapper and pitched me off. Of course I went right back riding it after the collarbone healed :-)

Oh yeah, the shifter had detents, so it was more-or-less indexed.

sailorbenjamin

That's one of the better looking $56 bikes I've seen.

Mos6502

It's a Murray made model. $25-$50 tops. You could put it on CL for $400 though since that is what most people do with these.


On topic again, Sears applied the Free Spirit name to dozens of manufacturers. There go-to companies were Murray in the U.S. and Puch in Austria. But during the boom years they had to sell bikes from just about anybody they could find.

Huffy was a big one, but they also got some bikes from AMF, and Ross. In years of watching ebay auctions, I've only ever seen one Columbia badged as a Free Spirit. Rollfast may have escaped re-badging since they seem to have gone under about the same time Sears was struggling to meet demand. In the late 70s/early 80s they began importing bikes from Taiwan too.

They even sold some French made ten speeds, but I have not seen one in person.

Norgale

New guy here. Have a Brittany Free Spirit with a coaster brake and standard handlebars, It's a three speed girls bike in pretty decent condition but the shifter handle ,which is mounted on the right side of the handlebar,is busted. The cable end is there but the top part and the shifting lever is missing. I'd really like to get this bike repaired but it's been impossible to find the part so far. Any help will be appreciated. Pete

TNDave

It's funny that you posted this - I was just at my parent's today and my dad had pulled my sisters old bike out of the shed. It was an old 5-speed Free Spirit from the mid 70's and was in great shape. I gave it a quick look and am planning on looking it over more carefully next time to see if I can fix it up for my wife or daughter.

Mos6502

It would help to know what brand is on the coaster brake. I'm going to guess Shimano though, so you're probably looking for Shimano 333 parts. Easy to find on ebay.

Chris_in_Miami

Does it say "Shimano" on it? I might have one in my parts bin.

Chris_in_Miami

Wow, no love for the girls?

Norgale

I'll look at it later today as I don't have the bike where I live. Appreciate the replies. Pete

Norgale

Yes it says Shimono 3CC on the rear drum and the little handle that is tied to the frame. Guess you can tell I don't have a lot of knowlege on bikes and their parts. Let me know if you have the shifter part and what you want for it. Thanks very much.
I would also like to know where I can get some of the original color paint for this bike. It's a real pretty metallic maroon. Pete

Mos6502

The 3CC uses the same shifter as the 333 hub. Should be pretty easy to find the lever and cable for it.

Chris_in_Miami

You can have the unit I've got, sent you a PM with my email address.

Michelle702

We recently came across a Sears Free Spirit 1.0 HP Bicycle Assist Motor. A co-worker was going through his garage found it and was going to trash it. Offered to take it off his hands for next to nothing. All we knew was that it was old, never used, still in original box with all the paperwork.

Was wondering if it's worth anything or some history on it. I would assume since it was made by Sears it was readily available and not rare at all. Just wanting to see if anyone could shed some light on this item.

Thanks,

Michelle

akcapbikeforums

We have this three speed listed in our local CL... nice rear rack, one piece crank (?)
hub controls on the left... interesting:





https://norfolk.craigslist.org/bik/3375779568.html

wrk101

Not rare, not valuable, its a novelty piece.

Sears did not make anything, they just branded stuff others made.

qcpmsame 

I avoided this thread for a few years, don't know why I did, it brings back so many great memories for me. My very first "10-speed" bicycle was a Sears, Puch, Free Spirit, I got new in June 1971. It was a pretty metal flake orange, had simplex derailleurs and shifters on the top tube. The usual Troxler vinyl covered internal springs saddle, steel Ashtabula crank and rubber covered pedals were on board. My parents ordered it out of our ubiquitous Sears and Roebuck spring/summer catalog for me, it was about $75.00 IIRC. Sears was out of the model we ordered so I was shipped the next model up, no extra charge. I assembled it in our den.

I swapped the stock tyres for Schwinn Puff Hi-Pressure 27-1-1/4", installed Weinemann center pull brakes and Schwinn "rat-trap" pedals with toe clips and straps. It actually rode well for a gas pipe frame, the steel rims and wet weather braking was the weak part of the build. I never broke a spoke or had a mechanical on it and learned how to work on bicycles and maintain them on this bike.

I rode that bike everywhere without a thought to traffic or anything else. It was my ticket to teenaged freedom at 14 and I loved every minute of it. The bike was really pretty, it caught the eye of this beautiful black haired, dark complected, brown eyed girl too. I married her in 1976 and now we ride bikes together.

Bill

Juggler2

My two younger brothers each had new mid seventy's Free Spirits. I remember they were primarily white in color, trimed in red and blue. Not saying they were '76 models, but those were the colors. Both were identical 10spd bikes.

loubapache

I also have one of these (white) Free Spirit using the Shimano 3-speed with coaster brakes. Very smooth bike. I believe it was a Shimano SC rear hub.

The front brake is actually one of the early dual pivot models. However, I moved the wheels to an aluminum cruiser frame I have and now I have a 3-speed with coaster brake cruiser that has 26x1-3/8 wheels.

jkbrink

I have a 1977 Sears Free Spirit 10-speed road bike bought used in 1978. After briefly using that year it ended up in the basement untl 2007. I started riding 20-30 miles 5-7x a week and really like this bike. Its got a soft ride and quick acceleration. There's a serical number stamped on the head tube: 502 474460S7300950. Some of the original equipment: DiaComp brakes, Uniglide Thunder Bird front derailluer; Shimano Eable II rear derailluer; Friction shifters (not marked) mounted on the quill stem; Jun quill stem; Three Arrows stamped on crank arms; C6 stamped on platform pedals;Permaco 741 saddle (made in USA)

dbakl

I have a couple of the top of the line Ted Williams Free Spirits with 531 frames, one as a single speed and one slightly upgraded from original. Yes, that was a Sears brand name.

mickey85

Jkbrink - That's a Puch made model - higher end than the American built Murrays, but given the cottered cranks in 1977, still not very high up the food chain...

Glennfordx4

Actually it's a Murray the 502. in the serial/model number denotes that, the first three numbers followed by the point . tells who made it for sears & 502. is Murray. I have a list that has been handed down to me from a previous boss that has a lot of the older Who Makes What For Sears info on it, some of it pertains to bicycles but most for power equipment which Murray is also known for. 917. is Poulan/weedeater/AYP which most of their lawn mowers are built by.

Glenn

zandoval 

I was going to ditch this bike after scavenging it for parts then realized the frame was very light and strong so I rebuilt it - Its a Sears Ted Williams (Also Free Spirit) - Its a real sleeper for speed...