I took my 8 year old Marin mountain bike in for a tune up this week. When I got home I started looking at craigslist for something else entirely and ended up finding this gem:
It’s an early 1960s Huffy Eldorado cruiser. It’s got a sturdy steel frame and coaster brakes. And a tank. I loved it. The price was decent for what I want it for (see below). I went and got it.
It also looks not unlike the bike on the Fat Tire label and New Belgium Brewery logo. I’m a little jazzed about that.
I saw some cruiser bikes when I was in college but never got one because I wanted something with a little more flexibility since, at the time, I managed to bike a lot on muddy dirt roads. Since then fuel prices have increased drastically and I wanted something I could convert to a motorized bicycle (either electric or gasoline since even on gas it would be cheaper to drive for most errands than my Jeep is).
My plan is to–over the next year or three–fix up the chrome bits, add some carrying capacity (baskets and/or paniers), upgrade the lights, replace the rims and tires, upgrade the pedals and hopefully put on a motor of some kind (with upgraded brakes, of course). I’m not opposed to running both an electric wheel hub motor as well as a small 4-stroke gasoline engine. If I change the color I’m not sure what it’ll be. I like the red better than I thought I would.
Another thing I’d like to add is a side car for cargo and/or a dog.
This is a nice little side project that I can tinker with year ’round.
When I dropped off my Marin for its tuneup I picked up a little card for People For Bikes. Check them out–see if you can make a difference in your community.