Johnny Mullet

Don't laugh. I have better bikes in my stable, but I have a special connection with my favorite bike and that is my 1995 Huffy Thunder Ridge mountain bike. This bike was abandoned at the store wifey works at and I brought it home in 2002. Here is a pic of it when I first starting riding this year after dragging it out of the garage where it's been for over 12 years...........



I was 261 lbs (down to 230 now) when I started riding this bike and put over 500 miles on it so far since May. I also have better high end bikes that I also put many miles on and for my first year I clocked 1100 miles between 3 bikes. I have this Huffy at work where I ride it indoors and outdoors every single day before work and during lunch. This bike has always been very comfortable for me (maybe because it's steel) and it's my favorite one to ride. I got new wheelsets and tires coming for one of my other bikes and swapped these better ones on my Huffy. Here is how it looks now.............





Upgraded the worn out seat and got a better, lighter seat post from the LBS put on it............



Upgraded to these much better Mavic Oxygen rims with Shimano Deore XT hubs and Shimano 7 speed cassette. These rims are mounted with Kenda Kwick tires.........







Keeping the one piece "Ashtabula Crank" and stock front chainrings basically because I really like how easily serviceable the boat anchor crank setup is and also because I live in Ashtabula, Ohio so the crank stays and I am keeping the original Powerclaw pedals.........





Future plans for this bike are to upgrade to a better, lighter handlebar and replace the twist grip shifters with thumb shift. The stock low end Shimano SIS indexing system works flawlessly and the brakes work really well so I have no plans on upgrading these items. Since doing these minor upgrades this bike feels faster and it is lighter, but I still have some more weight reduction coming up along with removing the kick stand. Original weight of this bike was 38 lbs and it's currently down to 33 lbs.

I might even ride this bike on my next 30+ mile ride I normally do on my better bikes

higgins617

Hahahahahahaha, this is great. Glad you're enjoying the ride and getting some use out of something that would otherwise be hucked into the trash, just remember more weight means a better work out!

I've always thought of doing this with one of the junk Schwinns you get at target just for the hell of it, but usually more logical thoughts prevail. Keep us updated.

jwarner

Excellent!

I've got all kinds of odd bits and pieces and parts laying around my shop, and have often thought about doing similar to a box store frame just to see how it rode. Kudos to you.

bluegoatwoods

You won't hear me laughing at you.

It's not very well known, but, Huffys ain't all that bad.

They often have some component or other that just isn't acceptable. No matter how charitable you are. But once you've replaced them, then what's left actually feels good and operates pretty well.

Maybe they can be compared to a Plymouth Valiant or Dodge pickup from forty years ago. There are some things about them that are wrong, wrong, wrong! Yet they're also strangely loveable.

You've got a nice bike there.

Johnny Mullet

Thanks guys! It's been a really good bike for me. I have even taken it on a couple small group rides and the jokes were non-stop, but all in good fun. I could see no reason not to do this when I had the parts. Why leave the spare parts sit when you can upgrade something else? You can always reverse the procedure.

Next year just for fun I will take it on longer group rides since it should keep up with some of the competition like I could with my better, lighter mountain bike.

roccobike

I know how you feel about your bike. I'm the same way about that old 88 Nishiki Ariel that I ride on MUPS. Nothing special, others may snicker, but like you, it was one of the bikes that got me back into riding and for that it's something special. I'll bet you remember your first ride on the Huffy. I've got to tell some freinds I saw a Huffy with Mavic rims laced to XT hubs. That's too cool!

Dannihilator

Hey, if you like it, run with it.

Johnny Mullet

Looks like I will be upgrading the grip shift to thumb shift before I get new bars for it since I had trouble dropping to the small chain ring and twisted the shifter too far and broke it. For now, I will remove the front derailer (more weight reduction lol) and leave the chain on the middle ring.

Sunday and Monday looks like warmer temps with just some chances of rain in my area, so I will try to get a good, long ride in with the better wheel/tire/hub combo and see if I can match my average speed of 13.5 MPH like I did on my better, lighter MTB.

Johnny Mullet

Here are a few better pics since the sun came out finally.......................

Johnny Mullet

Here is a quick video of today's ride. This upgraded Huffy is not a "lunker" any more. Check it out................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJRPr_FhLVU

tk1971

You sir, have my utmost respect. These two pictures say it all. It's never about the bike or components. It's all about riding it (whatever bike you like).

I know guys with expensive bikes who don't ride them. In fact, I can safely say that even I have never worn down a set of tires like you have on your Huffy.

Great job.

Johnny Mullet

Those tires are not bald (yet) and they are designed like that. These are the Kenda Kwick tires. I really like having a kick stand and that is why I have not removed it yet.

A few pics from today............

degan

I know you said you want to keep the crankset but converting it to a 3 piece will make a huge difference. They're pretty cheap on ebay so you can switch back without too much of a loss, they're about as easy to overhaul, and open up tons of options.

Johnny Mullet

I read somewhere that a conversion piece can be used to swap the American BB with an Engish BB. I have a Sakae crank set that I would like to swap over. Is this possible without any special parts besides the conversion kit? I just got done doing more upgrades. The lighter, better Mavic rims were cool and all, but I wanted this Huffy to go even faster. I just got done doing a 700c wheel conversion. I will have pics tomorrow. I was able to swap over a set of 700c Araya rims mounted with 700cX35 tires on it and swapped over the DiaCompe brakes and removed the V-pull brakes.

This Huffy is getting lighter and lighter now

I also want to do a drop bar conversion on this bike, but the Sakae stem I have is too large for the forks on this MTB. Still working on it.

SalsaShark

I dig it! Keep on riding it!

Bandrada

Steel is real.

Good to see the Huffy getting some love. Your bike looks comfortable, and somewhat modern after all the upgrades.

Bandrada

^this should be your next investment.

Johnny Mullet

OK. I liked the Huffy with the upgraded components, but I wanted it to go even FASTER!!

I have a Fuji Ace racing bike that just like other road bikes I had, I cannot ride due to discomfort from the frame geometry. I took some of the Fuji Ace racing bike components including the 700c Araya rims, tires, Suntour racing gears, and Diacompe brakes and transferred them over to the Huffy mountain bike which is now 29 lbs...............









This swap was easier than expected even with the brake swap. The reflector mounts were in the perfect spots to mount the different brakes and the stock V-brake cables fit not problem. The frame had enough room for the much taller rims and tires. except in one spot where the kickstand used to be, but nothing the Dremel could not take care of. There was a different spacing between the rim sizes, but I was able to adjust the rear shifting mechanism to make up for the 5mm difference.

I need a stem adaptor to swap over the Sakae drop bars and another adaptor to swap the racing crank gears over so that is in the works, but for now this bike is the fastest bike I own. I made it from home to the lake in record time and averaged 16 MPH (yes I reset the computer and reprogrammed it for 700c wheels). I had no issues with the brakes or the wheels. The only issue I had was getting into the lowest gear it skipped on me a few times, but I can adjust it.

I plan on making this Huffy a fast road bike that I can ride without the discomfort I get when riding road bike frames. I am also training extra hard this year and signing up for the United Way benefit ride coming up in August. I am making it a goal to keep up with all the roadies on their $5000 racing bikes with a Huffy on the 62 mile ride

This is gonna be awesome, so stay tuned as I continue to hod rod the Huffy

Bandrada

Nice!

Johnny Mullet

The next upgrades I need to do require me to look for some adaptors. I posted in the Bicycle Mechanics section for advice on what I need. I want to swap out the original crankset with an American bottom bracket here...........



With this better crankset from an English bottom bracket...........



I also want to do the drop bar conversion, but I need an adaptor to install an 1 1/8" stem on a 1" headset..........



Any links to the adaptors I need?

swampboy62

Nice way to rescue an old bike.

I live down on the other end of the WR Greenway (Warren).

My well-intentioned father-in-law bought me a 1984(?) Huffy Stalker at an auction for $6. I stripped all the junk plastic etc off of it and cleaned & tuned it up - thing pedals pretty good for a heavy steel frame.

Switched out the saddle, and then put on a set of Bontrager wheels from a dead Trek in the basement - not a terrible bike to ride any more! Next would be new handlebars...

Steve Z

Johnny Mullet

Here is the bike in it's current status. It keeps getting lighter.............

tk1971

How are you liking your drop bar conversion? How are you shifting?

For me, I had raise my stem in order to get the correct height to be on the drops (my primary position).

I currently have this adapter:

Dimension Quill Stem Adaptor > Components > Handlebars and Stems > Stems | Jenson USA

https://www.amazon.com/XLC-Avenir-Hig...=1418773998981

Here's mine in its current configuration.

Johnny Mullet

Forgot to update this, so sorry for the pics from the garage, but I decided to add stem shifters since I do not like the look of bar end shifters and brifters were out of my budget. Got new cables and housing and a set of Suntour stemmies. The gears work flawlessly. I can ride comfortably in the hoods and the hooks so no adjustments needed. I did have to move the seat forward a tad. Once I get new brake cables, I will run them all through the stock cable bosses. For now they are ran under the top tube...............

Bandrada

My very first official MTB was a Rockhopper.