Eric F 

A good price for whom? For the seller - anything. For the buyer - nothing.

Schweinhund

I'd have zero problems popping out a twenty for that, but that's about it.

LesterOfPuppets

I'd be willing to go $25.

They are absolutely terrible bikes, but get some decent '90s wheels on there, set it up singlespeed, and it would be a blast around town. Probably want to replace the seatpost, saddle, BB and cranks (cottered cranks on a mountainbike, can you imagine???)

Look how relaxed that seattube is!!!

Schweinhund

Have you seen my Firenze it's got a cottered triple. lol.

Maxey

This thread jolted my memory and reminded me of a Sears bike I had in the late 1970s. It had what they called hydraulic brakes, but they always seemed to be more of a pneumatic brake to me. A cool gimmick to be sure, but in practice they didn't work very well. It took all my might to lock up that rear brake, and there was no danger of going over the bars from the front brake. CORRECTION: further reading has revealed that there was only one lever and the brakes were linked via the single master cylinder, and I agree, that's how mine was now that I think on it. My bike was exactly like this one I found on the interwebs:



The 'arms' coming out of that big black barrel were pushed outward when you squeezed the lever causing the pads to contact the rim. The large barrel was made all of plastic if I remember correctly. Man, just looking at that green, 'perforated' tape brings back some memories. Aside from the, uh, interesting brakes, the bike was your standard gas pipe tank from that era.

bikecommuter13

So they are worse than the bikes sold at walmart? It did feel better quality than huffy bikes to me. Are they bad because they are too heavy? Or do they break easily?

Eric F 

It is essentially a 30-ish year old WalMart bike. They are bad because the quality of everything - frame and parts - is low. With some knowledge and massaging, it could be made rideable, and possibly even moderately reliable.

Schweinhund

It and the Spalding were sold during the same era, both rode good. I consider yours and the Spalding to be pretty much equal.
They were lugged mild steel with heavy inexpensive components.

LesterOfPuppets

I like it better than bikes currently sold at Walmart, but that's not saying much. The steel rims offer terrible braking. The whole thing weighs a ton. The frame manufacturing processes are pretty cheap. Many of the lugged Free Spirits from that era they didn't even properly notch the tubes before brazing, they just cut 'em off flat!

But I've put many a mile on my Free Spirit Sunbird and haven't broken it yet (knock on wood)

Schweinhund

I have seen many a free spirit in horrid condition, but I can't recall one with frame problems besides having the weight of a battleship anchor.
Ride On and Right on.

Cdubs

My new tinker project. Sat in the rafters of a barn for 30 years. I think it will be a bike for my wife to ride since it is in amazing shape. Weighs a ton but it is going to clean up really nice for an old brown bike.

AdventureManCO 

I hear these are great bikes.

Pompiere

I have one of the Reynolds 531 Free Spirits from the 1970s. They don't have the reputation of the other European brands, but it's still a pretty nice bike. Sears cut some corners on components to bring the price down, but they are easy to upgrade.


1974 Sears Free Spirit 531

cocoabeachcrab 

I've heard of a free spirit.. i was married to one many years ago. unfortunately (for me), she was a bit too free and with more than her spirit. yes, i've had a few cocktails today... but hell, it's independence day!

now back to your regularly scheduled cool bike thread....