AdventureManCO 

…from the department store


So, this next one should come as no surprise as my latest ‘buried treasure’, found in the rural farmlands of northern Colorado.





I needed a bit of a break from the Huffy saga (you needn’t worry, it will return), so what better way to take a break from a bike project, than a bike project?

I’d like to introduce you to the mid-1960s Sears Ted Williams Sport Racer. In keeping tradition with my recent build, we have, yet again, another garbage dept store bike with Campy Record! Bahahahaha! Only they were innovative and visionary enough to think about this beautiful and lovely idea nearly 60 years ago and spec the bike with Campy in STOCK form. Brilliant! What is old is new again!

I actually saw this bike a month or two ago, and it was listed for $150, which I suppose compared to the $45 of the Huffy, would be considered a steal. But there were some questions I had about the condition and informed the seller what I would be willing to pay, given the age, condition, project-y status, and dubious, questionable origin (the dept store link). Seller thought it was a little low (fair enough) and countered. I actually forgot about it, but about 5 days ago the owner reached out to me to let me know he still had the bike and wanted to sell it to me at the price I had suggested. I felt bad for forgetting about it, and offered just a little more, then finally had the chance to meet up with him this morning on my way up north and pick up the bicycle.





After picking up the bike, here is where we stand:

Wins -

- the paint is great!
- has the COMPLETELY ALL ORIGINAL Campagnolo drivetrain
- super sweet original gold anodized brake levers
- the original hubs are freakin awesome
- the bike is surprisingly light, given the fact that it has a kickstand, steel corrected cranks, steel seatpost, etc. LOTS of potential here
- has the original Ideale saddle!
- came from original owners family…says his grandpa bought it when he was about 15yo

Fails -
​​​​​​
- the chrome is horrible
- replaced front brake
- bar sag is prolly gonna crack them in half soon
- the front head tube lugs…are they…even brazed?
- the saddle is what Chevy should have made their truck seats out of…like a rock!
- the super awesome hub bearings are super crunchy





Bike is in worse shape than any of the photos let on. When the owner says it’s been sitting in a damp shed for 40 years, yep I can believe that.

Expect full documentation of the project, including weigh outs.





This is going to be my ‘therapy / recovery’ build from the Huffy, until the next ‘Project Abomination’ is ready to roll.

I’m thinking of entering this one in the ‘On The Road Again’ challenge hosted by USAZorro who has done a swimmingly admirable job in filling the gap with the absence of the Clunker Challenge. Because this one has been off the road for 40+ years, it fits the bill perfectly.





More to come soon, including some history, detail shots of the carnage, and plenty of laughs along the way. I just can’t stay away from the trash builds…they are too much fun! When you see rust pockets on your barn find barn find Italian Pina-botta-nago, you start sweating bullets. On a bike this this? That cancer on those thick tubes? That’s just weight relief!



NDS shot completely intentional

HelpSingularity 

Nice bike, for what it is, amazing shape for that vintage shed find.
Just a quick point of reference, that is not a bike that has been in a damp shed. That is a bike that has been stored in the ultra dry climate of Colorado.
I can guarantee you if that bike was stored 40 years in a damp shed in the Seattle area all that would be left is a pile of rust and aluminum oxide.

SwimmerMike 

I'm thinking a little elbow grease, repacking the bearings, replacing the consumables and it will be a nice bike. This shouldn't take more than 500 posts to get it on the road.

cudak888 

I'm afraid that you're starting to lose your department store mojo, AdventureManCO.

I mean, it's got chrome lugs, and look at that twin-plate(ish) looking fork crown. You are practically starting out with a Confente. Don't tell me you're jumping the shark this early in the game?

I think you have to send me a certain Paramount to make up for this sin to the Almighty Department Store Rubbish.

-Kurt

nlerner

Do I spy a missing spoke in the rear wheel? Probably should just remove every other one on both wheels for the full effect.

Bad Lag

I'll bet a buck that is the original chain ring set - steel rings last forever.

If anyone made steel rings that fit my Campagnolo crank, I'd give up that small amount of extra weight for the extreme longevity.

Germany_chris

Is this one going to take 4 months and 60 pages?

Lattz

If you look carefully it's balanced out perfectly since the front is missing one as well. Whoever didn't ride the thing had OCD for sure.

But this thing definitely gives the impression of a real classic bicycle, even a good one for the untrained eye. I would actually strangle people for that Record RD, but its just me...

dddd

The axle bearing tension might only be adjusted too tight, seems most vintage hubs were.
What brand are the hubs?

I like the way that these Steyr bikes ride. I've used longer 22mm stems together with wider handlebars on both such builds of mine, was very happy with the results.

The challenge on bikes like this is getting the original cotters out without damage, torch heat is your friend even if you will be using a proper cotter press.

Expect to find low-ball-count retainers at the headset and bb assemblies, I went with full-complement loose bearings to improve smoothness and durability.

Is there a date on the rear derailer knuckle or on one end of the handlebar?

Steerer is 26.0mm OD x 22.0mm ID, bottom bracket is English, seatpost is 25.6mm.

The bike's decals and frame construction resemble my 1967 SEARS TEN SPEED, which came with an Ideale saddle and the same 0.6lb Italian kickstand.



My front derailer was cracked, and my rear derailer didn't want to pull quite far enough outward for my new 6s freewheel and more-flexible modern chain, so I ended up faking the simplex rear derailer and using a chromed Suntour Seven cheapy at the front. I ended up also replacing all of the rusted spokes while having to replace the rear chromed rim that got damaged when a riding companion rear-ended me.

AdventureManCO 

Longer, so thank you for your contribution!

AdventureManCO 

Heading home!


No seatbelt as this one won’t attack me like the Huffy would have


EDIT: okay okay it’s still gaspipe so you can’t be too safe….

John E

As my signature list attests, I have a thing for Austrian bikes of that vintage. I hope you do bring it back into service successfully.

Fairlane63

Remember those Sears bikes well. Look forward to your rebuild!

HelpSingularity 

Oh, "Ted Williams", I think that was Sears' top of the line. (maybe)

stoneageyosh

This relic reminds me of a Puch Burgmeister that I bought in 1960/61 to tool around while at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Sorta limey green with Campy DRs and Weinmann CP. Way better than most anything else others were riding.

Hmmm, most memorable events during my (short) time there were definitely not scholastic.

AdventureManCO 

Wait, the front is missing one too!? I totally missed that! Ahh, well, there must be balance in the universe...


I slightly get that impression as well, but I'm also biased by nearly 60 additional years of seeing the way cycling has advanced, along with parts development, frame geometry changes, etc.

In the mid-1960s, I'm betting that Cinellis and such were pretty uncommon, and most people were probably more accustomed to 3 speeds and Schwinn style cruisers, which were true boat anchors.

I'm getting the vibe that if I lived in 1965, this would have been a very nice bike. It may have been the first time a lot of lay people looking for a bicycle ever heard of 'Campagnolo', or saw a lot of alloy components on a bike.

AdventureManCO 

I'm glad to see that this is evoking some fun times/memories! For some reason I find myself drawn to the slightly older 'traditional road bike' years of the 50s and 60s, and early 1970s. Not that the 80s were slacking, mind you - that was probably the pinnacle of the 'steel road bicycle' before aluminum and carbon took over. But...if I'm being honest, some of the classy lines and artistic finesse took a backseat to some of the advancements we've seen in the 80s and 90s. While I'm usually more a fan of 80s type of bikes simply due to the advancements that helped make them faster and lighter, I gotta say...the more time and experience I gain around steel road cycles, the more appreciation I gain for the 60s and older bikes.

Currently, this is the oldest bike at Le Grande HQ.

AdventureManCO 

It was. And in 1965-1966, it had this configuration, with the chromed lugs and Campagnolo drivetrain. Then, poof. Gone, not to be seen again. Then, around '73 or '74, comes the Sears bike with the 531 tubeset, almost 10 years later.

I would put this model, and the 531 model, at the top of the heap. This ones got the style and the parts, the later versions got the tubing.

AdventureManCO 

Thank you! And I'm getting more into the older stuff. This pickup was TOTALLY my jam right now. Old, crusty, with hope for a classy return w/ some love. If anything, it will be 1000 times easier than the Le Grande, even if I had to separate the frame tubing and rebuild the frame all over again

Chombi1 

I would imagine. BITD, that might have been considered a mid level bike by some.....

AdventureManCO 

dddd thank you for all the information! I'll look for a date code - it should be somewhere around '65 if there is one. Appreciate the heads-up on all the things you mentioned. I was researching threads on this bike before I picked it up today and found one that had a link to replacement headsets -

https://www.treatland.tv/puch-maxi-f...arings-set.htm

I haven't been able to confirm if these will fit it, but if they do, its real nice to have the option. Of course, I prefer original, so we'll assess the condition once we get it apart. I'm also not opposed to going with some alloy components to lighten it up. We will keep any parts removed off the bike and not toss them, just in case we want to go completely all original. But I really was expecting this bike to be heavier, after reading that the Sear Marketing Dept touted the fact that it is under 31lbs...like it was quite an amazing feat! Course, experience being...the Huffy...31lbs stock is quite amazing.

I'm gonna get this one on the scale tonight and you all can see where we are starting from!

dddd

I think my Steyr Clubman (now wearing upgraded alloy wheels and tires) only comes in at 27#, and it's big (but the saddle and post are lighter modern parts).

The Sears-published weight is the shipping weight, back when the carton might have had wooden reinforcements.

Was there a similar Ted Williams bike with 531 in the 70's?

I do remember a neighbor around 1976 getting a decent new silver Sears road bike with Shimano components and perhaps blue trim, Free Spirit I think.

BTW, I bought one of those Treatland Puch headsets, never installed it yet since my very thin steel original cups have remained smooth, due to my use of full-complement bearings for reduced stress concentration. It does seem to have all of the right dimensions and seems more heavily constructed.

AdventureManCO 

So! Little bit of a history lesson!

In another life of mine, I collect vintage stationary woodworking tools, and have decided to specialize in vintage Craftsman tools, specifically from the 1940s to the early 1960s. Once the cost-cutting of the mid-60s started, there was an abrupt drop off in aesthetic focus, and a decline in quality followed soon after that. So, I'm familiar with the Sears catalogs to a degree, but more of the specific earlier Craftsman catalogs, which are awesome to peruse through. Therefore, it was a fun exercise to wade through the early 1960s-1970s summer catalogs to look at all their bicycle offerings. Some of the marketing is quite creative

The fashion was as fascinating as the bicycles, but I did end up finding this specific iteration of the Ted Williams Sport Racer. I think others have found it as well, so I'm not the first or anything, but I did want to find out what was the date range on this bicycle. I was curious about the Reynold 531 Free Spirit as well.


From the 1965 Sears Spring/Summer catalog

This specific model was offered for two years, 1965 and 1966, and then disappeared.

Just for anyone interested, 94.50 in 1965 dollars is equal to over $900 in todays money! It's really saying something that I think I would have had a slightly hard time paying 94.50 in today's money (!!) for this bike (in it's current condition). But I guess if it was brand new, on the showroom floor, that would be an easy sell.

Nonetheless, it means that anyone who purchased this bike almost 60 years ago did so by making a very substantial investment in their purchase. I wonder what that potential buyer in the mid-60s would think about our deflationary bicycle market of today, with just an insane myriad of choices. I don't think they had many bikes like this one back in the 1960s unless you specifically went to a dedicated bike shop, and even then, I have no idea if there were many high-fallutin' Italians available in main street USA.

That being said, while there are obviously cost cutting measures on this bike, like the crushed stay ends, the stamped dropouts, etc., this is a nice package, and presents as a really nice bicycle, probably one that would have turned a lot of heads in the 1960s. I'm really excited to see this one come together.

Some obvious, 'right away' thoughts:

1. I will be replacing the spokes w/ stainless steel spokes and rebuilding the hubs. I'm reaaaaallly hoping that the hub races aren't shot. I don't care about the cone nuts, and if they are, I'll either source some new ones, or use that trick where I find a fresh section of the cone nut, and orient it downward so that the majority of pressure from the bearings rides on the smooth point. I want to weigh the rims, and of course if I'm taking the wheels down to the components, it begs the question: keep the old rims? Upgrade to 700c? Tubulars? LOTS of options here. I got really inspired by a completely beautiful version of this bicycle I saw on these forums, posted by vintageracer :




https://www.bikeforums.net/21264705-post10.html

VintageRacer, if you are still around, I'd love to hear more about this project of yours. It looks like your rims are different than mine. I really like the look of them. Any idea what they are?

With the black leather saddle, the alloy Nuovo Record RD, the rims, etc., this bike has been extremely tastefully upgraded, and it one of the classiest bikes I've seen on here. It also helps that it is in stellar condition. If I found another one in that nice of shape, I don't think I'd be able to turn it down. Just a real headturner, and has this nice 'period correct upgraded' aura about it.


2. I'm going to try to save the saddle. It is rock hard, but I've seen worse. It is relatively crack-free, and I would consider it in better condition than my old PX-10 saddle...



Still going strong today



3. Bars. I'm wondering if the bars might be toast. I've read up on sagging bars, but I thought it was a French-only thing. Maybe not! I'll take some more detailed pics and let you decide.

4. We'll check out the AVA death stems wedge area and add some relief holes at the ends of the slits.

5. I appreciate your thoughts on the cotters. Haven't had much experience there. I removed one once before, without the intention of re-using them (was on a scrap rescue), but I like the creative ideas shared about getting them off - using a socket, heat, etc.


I'll pull the saddle tonight and get started on that, and I might as well inspect the hubs for wear. Stay tuned!

AdventureManCO 

The shipping weight was actually like 38lbs haha, so I'm hoping we come FAR under that!

Yep, 1974 on the 531 Free Spirit. I only saw it for one year in the catalog.

What is the 'full complement bearing' thing? Never heard o' that one.

AdventureManCO 

Will I need to turn in my 'Garbage Gaspipe Bike' card?