AdventureManCO 

100% approve


Much like the rest of the project as well. I'll address the joke aspect a little bit more below.



Maybe its time to add Huffy to your profile bike list?



Nice truck!



I think I prefer 'Quality Gas Pipe'

Overall, thank you for your contribution, as someone who has been yanking around a Huffy day after day, I acknowledge that took considerable physical strength and personal sacrifice. I had a bit of curiosity around what the inside of a Huffy looked like. You know, I have that other Huffy frame as well, and I've been tempted to cut a lug transition out, and then in half, to see exactly what the joint looks like, the braze penetration, etc. You've removed a bit of the mystery for us all, and if anything, have encouraged me to keep on with the build. The only part I'm getting more and more concerned curious about is what that frame is going to weigh all by itself. At this point, maybe we should rejoice if it is under 10lbs. I've listed my ideal build weight goal here before, but I wonder if I may need to move some goalposts haha.


Haha, well I'm sure this thread has raised plenty of eyebrows since it is likely to be sandwiched between threads in the list like 'Here's my 1950s Cinelli that I just picked up'...and'Grail bike acquired...Bianchi X4 content'... and so on. In the spirit of the build, we will take all comments, criticisms, praises, death threats, etc. To be honest this is what I kind of imagined most reactions looking like when 'Huffy' and 'Campagnolo' are not only put in the same sentence, but together on the same project -



In a figurative sense, you could say that this whole thing is a joke, well because I don't deny it when accused But I'm having so much fun here that it often may appear as so. But Drillium Dude is correct, and let me assuage all fears and concerns by stating we are 100% serious about mixing oil and water, putting the Huffy into 'vintage race bike' specification and going out there to events to ride alongside and compete alongside those highly-pedigreed brands we all know and love.


There, I know you all feel better now.

thumpism 

You surely know the old saying, "Paint hides a multitude of sins." Well, it appears that Vermont snow does the same thing, or tries to.

AdventureManCO 

Agreed - tis a shame that folks put those beautiful convenience store-tier bikes in a neglected pile instead of dressing them up in Shimano 600 at the very least

RandolphCarter

Really, who among us hasn't had a Huffy Pile within easy walking distance?

Ooh, old GMC truck! Was that how the Huffy Pile originally got there?

Turns of phrase like the above make sure i keep coming back to the posts here.

sbarner 

Oh, I think I understand the spirit of this thread completely. Since neither one of us is flying this thread, how about both of us just staying in our seats?

sbarner 

It's a '51 Chevy, almost the same thing, but it's just a parts truck. That was my '51 Studebaker pickup that did a Huffy-crushing cameo in the video. None of the trucks fit between the trees, though. The bikes were carried down by the competitors and ceremoniously thrown onto the pile.

I think AdventureManCO has hit on why bike mechanics almost universally hated these bikes when he described the braking. Imagine dealing with a customer who doesn't appear to have much money and who brings in a bike she bought at K-Mart for her kid, only to find that no one can get it to work. You want to help her, but the repair time is going to cost more that she paid for the bike and even then you know that adjusting, straightening, oiling, etc. isn't going to make the bike safe to ride in traffic. Maybe, if you are really creative, you can re-engineer some things and improve them, but you are two weeks behind on repairs. There's a direct human connection between your expertise and compassion and the customer's goals of providing her child with safe recreation, but this abomination of a bicycle is a giant obstacle between the two. When you have experienced various versions of this scenario over the years, you'll understand why mechanics love to heave bikes like these.

Of course, that's not the point of this project. The OP plans on eliminating everything but the frameset in the comparison. Perhaps this will reveal the true potential of these bikes and we might even find that everything Huffman Manufacturing (in this example) did was fine, it was the parts they hung on these quality frames that made them disasters to ride. Time will tell, though my money is not on that number. My goal was merely to inform the conversation by revealing a bit about the materials and joinery that were used.

ascherer 

I'd pay good money to have my 1980's GMHT t-shirt back. Long lost to the years, it was gloriously pink with an early headbadge as the graphic.

smd4

More than 45 minutes to pop a headset and BB, face them and re-install? Sounds high.

AdventureManCO 

I think it was sort of an ‘assume the worst’ moment from the tone of the conversation, where they were not willing to believe in any previous bike mechanic knowledge. Bringing up the ‘low quality bike’ thing I think kinda sealed the deal

joejack951

AdventureManCO A quick skim didn't reveal an answer, have you picked a headset for this project yet?

smd4

Nice.

Loving this thread, and your writing style, BTW.

sd5782 

I found the comment on the Ashtabula crank being the best part kind of interesting. I’ve played with Schwinn Super Sports and kept the indestructible solid crank setup. It was possible to only put on a crank spyder to accept 110 bcd chainrings at only a 1 pound weight penalty over the bb conversion and retain the easy service attributes too.

Of course, that wouldn’t do for this build as every half ounce counts. I guess my point is the 1 piece cranks DO have virtues in some applications. Bad brakes and steel wheels NO though.

AdventureManCO 

Campagnolo Super Record, of course!

Good news is that the Huffy head tube ID is a little larger than a normal 1” head tube instead of smaller. Now, they make BMX to 1” headset adapters and I think the BMX size is like 32.5mm, and that size is also listed for several ‘American’ style bikes. Sort of like the ‘American’ bb.

However…I have not yet taken the forks off to measure. We may be opening up a huge can of worms that will necessitate a custom made headset adapter which would of course be a gigantic waste of money just like everything else in the build, so it would fit right in and we would absolutely do it.

but secretly…I am hoping the $25 adapters work.


The major ‘whew!’ moment in this build came when I took a regular 1” headset nut and threaded it right on the Huffy’s steerer tube threads. That would have been the other nightmare to deal with but out of all the things to be right, I’m super glad it’s that.

jdawginsc 

I believe Campy produced a BMX headset for a year or so. Good luck finding one however.

Drillium Dude 

His writing is most definitely on point - oh, yeah! And it seems he's a natural-born comedian, too

DD

joejack951

Well, just sayin’….

AdventureManCO 

Whoa, is that the threadless stem adapter I've seen on here before? Suuuuper slick. If the Record headset doesn't work for some reason, that is going to be a top contender.

AdventureManCO 

Just wanted to follow up on this - apparently amazingly intelligent minds think alike, because this is exactly what I had intended to do - literally...even using the stays as support, and doing some artistic weight relief. Like you read my mind. It will come soon.

AdventureManCO 

Happy Friday all!

Today was a looooooooooooong day!

Hauled a few hundred lbs of equipment up and across a roof and back down. Up and down the ladder. Up and down, up and down, up and down...must have gone up and down a ladder like 10 times today, at a few different places.

By end of the day, I was tired, exhausted, burnt out. Then it started to snow.


Couldn't wait to get home, get out of the work clothes, take off the boots, grab a snack, sit down on the couch, kick up my feet, and crack open a cold one...



















...in my mind at least...as I RODE THE LE GRANDE!!! Mwahahaha!!





I told my buddy I was on the roof with that hopefully the weather would hold out to go for a bike ride, and he looked at me like I was crazy. Good thing, because I am!

I wheeled the bike out and as soon as rubber touched the wet pavement, the brakes were like "Yeah, we're not working today" And they were right. Funnily, on the first turn from the street back into the park, I completely missed the entrance, just rolled right on by it, grabbing the brakes haha. Whoops! I needed to account for the wet brakes, so I've developed something called 'pre-braking', where one might have to deduce how far out to start braking, when the brakes don't work, to get to the reduced speed your are trying to attain. The simple version of the formula goes something like this:





In short, multiple braking effort time X number of thousands of feet that you need to stop, and you will have your number.

We only ended up doing 4 miles today, so total stands at 55mi.






The bike was riding pretty nice today - quieter than some modern creaky road bikes I've heard on my way commuting! I think the bike rides better the worse it is outside, saying 'C'mon...you can do another few laps, I'm riding sooo great right now, aren't I???' Sick, twisted freak bike! It just wants me to feel more pain.



A view from the cockpit

My hands were starting to get cold so I would sit up and ride with my hands in some jacket pockets to try to stay warm. It led to this interesting game where I would try to ride hands-free as long as possible, and the bike would try to violently veer to the left to chuck me off as much as possible. Fortunately I won. I also had an interesting observation about the seat. So, the seat is uncomfortable. Yes, yes, I know...I've said it feels okay and that it's not bad. And that is just the thing. You totally expect it to be a bum hatchet, so the fact that it is not...is so wildly different than your expectations, so you sort of put yourself into this hallucination-like trance where the seat is actually comfortable, simply because you expect it to be so much worse. So when I was sitting up riding hands free, I noticed that it was just as slightly uncomfortable as when my hands are on the bars. It is amazingly consistent! On the bars - slightly uncomfortable. In the drops - slightly uncomfortable. Sitting upright - slightly uncomfortable. Out of the saddle - slightly uncomfortable.

The park where I put in my laps is slightly up a small walking path that you have to climb to get up to it, so getting back down was interesting. I found myself checking down the street off in the distance, trying to time the impact with a car should one come around the corner the moment I blast right out into the street. Rolling on down the street to my house, it is downhill, but my front yard and driveway angles up toward the house, which I ended up being grateful for -



I hope the Le Grande appreciates that I'm probably one of the 2 best owners for any Huffy in the entire world (the other being @Johnny Mullet). Who am I kidding, of course it doesn't! The bike is a dumpster fire. But I still see the spark.

thumpism 

The bike does not appreciate, the bike does not care. It's like the honey badger in that respect.

AdventureManCO 

Lol the honey badger of bikes...

joejack951

You should have no issue using the Record headset with the BMX-style adapter rings. The Huffy’s headtube may possibly be a little oversize but Loctite 609 or similar cylindrical bonding compound will sort that out.

Where you may get stuck, and why I bothered tossing out the innicycle option, is when you go to fit a nice stem and handlebars. The ID of the Huffy fork is almost certainly going to be 21.1mm, with 22.2mm being the far more common standard. You’ll be limited to a few, likely lower-end, stem options, or one of those hideous threadless adapters. The latter may be your only option if you want to use a modern ‘oversize’ handlebar with a 31.8mm clamp.

But it’s your bike, of course!I just wanted to make sure you knew that the option was there, especially as you’ve previously expressed some interest in the headset.

AdventureManCO 

So, I've been getting a lot of fan mail over the Huffy project. Who knew it had so many admirers.


I wanted to share some of it with you so that you can see for yourselves that is a big world out there, with plenty of folks who love Huffy bikes, and that maybe the bikes don't quite deserve all the hate they get. Maybe all the criticism is undeserved! Maybe it's just a big echo chamber! I have edited or shortened the names to keep things anonymous, as well as editing any accompanying photos to hide identities.






















Letter #1

'Hi, I just wanted to write in and say that I love your project. It's so cool to actually see these bikes get the treatment they deserve! No matter where I go (not far, I usually stay close to home), it seems like everyone has something bad to say about Huffys, so I have taken up the mantle to protect the distinguished name and legacy of these fine machines that have silently given faithful service to millions of people. We don't get many Huffys over here (I'm in Europe), but when ever I come across a Huffy, it is an exciting day. Whether I'm riding one or eating one, they always seem to ride or taste great.

I've included a picture to let folks know that yes, there are real Huffy fans out there. Sorry it seems like an old photo - vintage B&W photography is a hobby of mine.

Sincerely,

L.N.M.












Letter #2:


Dear Sir,

I heard about your interesting bike project through the grapevine, and I'm writing to voice my support. I work in forestry, and I'm usually traveling between the Pacific Northwest and various parts of Eastern US. We have seen lots of these bicycles in the forest, particularly in the upper New England area. Most are too small for me to ride, but anytime I see a larger one and take a spin, it is always a relaxing experience, as I am often alone, with lots of time to reflect. I have found that these bikes tend to be underappreciated, and so - Huffy lover's of the world, unite! I know most people won't believe it, so here is a picture to show that Huffy fans actually exist. If you ever take your bike on a desolate path through the forest, there is a good chance I may try to link up with you for a ride. LMK. You get two big, hairy thumbs up from me.

Sincerely,

BF

cudak888 

PUT
THE
CAMPY
ON
IT
ALREADY

Sorry, Dave, couldn't resist needling you.

-Kurt

AdventureManCO 

Haha! You know, I was joking with Drillium Dude earlier today that up til now, almost 200 responses in, and this thread has basically been completely pointless because nothing has really happened yet

61.2 miles my friend. You have 38.8 miles of useless, inane verbiage to wade through like a word swamp until we get to the goods. Philosophically speaking, you can't quite fully appreciate the good, without knowing the bad. I'm just helping you refine your perspective!