Today’s OTS was sent in by another veteran of the OS section, Julie in OKC. This is Julie’s 1980 Takara Horizon Mixte.
Editor’s Note: I’m loading up Baby and Mrs. Ten Speed and heading down to Indianapolis for the NAHBS this weekend. You can look forward to some sort of old, crappy, 10-speed slanted report of the event in a post next week. Until then, have a great weekend and ride safe!
Taiwan made, bottom of the food chain model. She is being refitted with donor parts from the old Matsuri. Drive train/bars/even seat post. Shown is the old DT. A WIP, more pics this summer when I’m done. As a side note; I’ll keep the drops intact. Happy belated BD OTSG!
Thanks again Julie
Today’s OTS is not likely to be repeated here anytime soon. This is Bob H.’s “Custom Built” Haack’s of Madison, Wisconsin 1967 Schwinn Varsity. Purple and proud, fender’d and ready. I’ve never been so excited to see a Schwinn Varsity roll in the door as I was with this. No offense to previous and future Varsity submitters/owners, your garden variety Varsity is loved and welcome. Jan V. loves to talk about character and patina and so forth, well this one should suit him well. Bob, if your other OTS are half as good as this, we’ve got a spring and summer of which to look forward—to be sure.
This is an OTS I no longer have (as opposed to the many I still do – just ask my wife), purchased two summers ago from a neighbor down the street whose parents bought it new. It’s a Varsity of course, and a relatively early one, if I remember correctly a 1967 (I looked up the serial number online) with mostly French parts including the Sprint aka Huret derailleurs. I thought the downtube shifters were awesome, along with the headbadge (featuring Mr. Bicycle) from Madison’s now defunct Haack’s cycle and of course that purple paint!
I took it off my neighbor’s hands for the princely sum of $5. I overhauled it and gave it a thorough cleaning (the pics are as purchased), and I mean it sparkled! I’m not going to tell you how much I sold it to a UW student for, but suffice to say I turned a tidy profit. He planned to ride it as a winter bike but told me several weeks later that he’d sold it to another student so he could get his car out of the impound lot! Why one would need a car on the UW Madison campus is beyond me.
Hope you enjoy this and I look forward to sharing some of the OTS I still have!
Thanks Bob
Today’s old ten speed was sent in by Russ, owner of that sweet old Huffy Scout from a few months back. This time around it’s a custom 1971 Murray Road. Modifications include a TTMS, some sort of FNCish bull horn bars, and of course a SDGCS! Also pictured, Russ’s Huffy Scout with a new bar setup.
I have owned this old Murray steel frame bike since new…1971 to be exact. It was my faithful transportation while growing up in the then beautiful city of Miami, FL. Somehow, about 10 years ago, I “misplaced” it. A visit to my brothers house found it hanging in his garage next to its twin, which he bought at the same time. Home it came for a major overhaul which turned out to be mostly cosmetic as the paint was shot and decals worn off. The first picture is how it stands today, with the bull bars and original no fenders configuration. When I had gone through it the first time, it got all new bearings, tires, tubes, cables, brake pads, chain, gear cluster and pedals. ALL the chrome you see is the original stuff, including the “M.O.” stamped wheels. I like it much better without the fenders and with the new bars. I calculate this bike to have carried me at least 3000 miles in its 38 years of faithful service. Oh yes, I have the obligatory chushy gel seat !!! LOL!!!
Thanks again Russ
Here is Steve H.’s contribution to our collection, The Giant Bikes and their Un-Giant Owners, a Nishiki Century.
I got this Nishiki Century 12 speed off of FreeCycle. It was in pretty rough shape, it fell apart as I attempted to ride it home. After a lot of cleaning, and replacing parts, it’s finally ready to ride again, just in time for spring!
Thanks Steve
