Department Store Bicycles / Parliament Update

Hello and Welcome,
I have just recently found-out that, The vintage Brake Levers I ordered for the "Custom Built - Parliament- Made in England" are not going to arrive till sometime after the Holiday. I had been thinking about doing a post about "Department Store" or "Cheaper" Bikes anyway. So I guess this is "as good a time as any". Below: A Huffy Le-Grande. Built I am guessing mid to late 1980`s

What makes this Huffy a good purchase as far as restorable Old Huffys go? First, overall condition. Notice the lack of rust on the Crank and Chain-Ring guard. Notice the wheels have only very light surface rust. Also a Huge Plus "It has newer tires". The tires appear to have 75% + of the original tread. And the tires (side-walls) are not "cracking" or "dried out" and ready to start cracking. And the Paint is in pretty fair condition and should clean-up very nicely.

Above: The derailleurs although dirty are in working order and don`t show any signs of damage. And the bike is complete. All the major stuff is there and working fairly well. And the wheels spin fairly straight and the brakes work. Although the shoes are all hard, glazed and squeaking.

Above: A good shot of the rear wheel and brake caliper. There are some things that I will replace. Like the calipers, brake levers and pedals. I will use salvaged parts. If this was not possible, I would probably take a pass on this bike.The things I will be paying for, like all the cables and housings, brake shoes and handlebar tape, are all fairly inexpensive. If I replace the saddle I will try to use a salvaged one.
Now the most important factor "The Price" of the bike. Believe it or not the Thrift-Store had a $54.00 US price-tag on the bike. Instead of walking away, I decided to ask to speak to a manager about a price. When the manager arrived I took him over to the bike and calmly explained. "This is a Huffy" and on "a really good day" might be worth 19.99". I went on to explain that these are cheaper road bikes and just don`t command that kind of price. He came back with a counter of 24.99. I told him I was being honest when I said that the bike is only worth 19.99 Tops. And a similar one would sell at any garage sale for 10.00 or less. He came back with 19.99. I agreed and purchased the bike.

So why bother restoring this "bottom feeder" of a Ten Speed bike? Well two reasons really. First "it`s fun." Second, I get a lot of emails from people who just can`t afford to pay much for a bike. Usually students who are on a tight budget. So I try to keep a few "more affordable" bikes around. If I make any money on this bike, it won`t be much. After expenses are figured in, I might break-even, "If I`m lucky". But, It`s not always about the money. It just feels good to make something useful out of something that is on the brink of becoming scrap metal. And it feels good to help someone who might otherwise end up with some piece of junk that some s.o.b. dusted-off and pumped up the tires then sold as "All Original". But that my friends will be another post in itself. I think I will call it "All Original,and What That Really Means!".
Before I sign-off. Here are a few other "cheaper bikes" I have Cleaned-Up AND Repaired lately.

ABOVE: A NEXT "Clutch" Free-Style replica bike that basically needed to be re-assembled and lubed and cleaned.

ABOVE: Two tyke bikes that basically needed the same thing. The Trek got a new rear tire and bar-end plugs and the remnants of a fender removed. The Kent got a flat tire repaired and was re-assembled, cleaned and lubed. Poor assembly is a common problem with these department store bikes. The Kent also had the front fork mounted backwards.

ABOVE: This Ladies Huffy needed a front spoke replaced and front wheel trued. I also replaced the front inner-tube. And cleaned and lubed and adjusted the derailleurs. The rear derailleur cable just needed the slack taken out, then it was fine. The bike was also cleaned-up. Those wheels are alloy 700`s (made in the USA) with a front quick release skewer. Not too shabby for a Huffy. It also has the "Life Time Warranty" frame sticker on the seat-tube.

ABOVE: This petite ladies or girls NEXT Mountain bike needed lots of adjustments but very few parts. After it was all cleaned-up and lubed, the twist or grip shift to the rear derailleur seized-up. I have replaced it with a salvaged one that is only slightly better. Now I either have to order a new grip shift with cable, or change it to a index or paddle shifter. I am not a big fan of grip-shifters.

ABOVE: I do not consider this "Raleigh Rowdy" a Department Store Bike. The spring on the rear left cantilever was not connected which caused the rear brake to rub badly. Also poor cable routing compounded the same problem. I guess it should have gone back to the bike shop for free repairs. It must have drove the kid nuts to try to ride this thing. Also it would not shift onto the smallest (7) rear gear. The rear derailleur guard was bent inward just enough to stop the derailleur short of reaching the 7th gear. Also the grips were damaged on the ends
and the saddle was scuffed badly. No doubt the kid threw the bike down in frustration. I think I might have done the same thing as a boy. I can`t help but wonder, why didn`t they take it back to the shop? Or maybe they did and got no help. Either way it is a shame. I have corrected the problems and replaced the saddle and bar-ends. This is now a fine little bike. I could have had a BLAST on this bike 45 years ago :)

ABOVE: The Pletscher Classic Rack mounted on the Parliament. I had no idea they still made these! This is not N.O.S. This is a New Classic Pletscher Rack. I found it at bikemania for $29.95 The load capacity is 55 lbs. I don`t know if it is "exactly" the same as the original. But it looks original to me. I will not be showing any more pics of the Parliament till it is finished.
Till Next Time, RIDE SAFE and Remember to always RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers, Hugh