Timothy J’s Huffy 626

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The Huffy keep huffing through, and spreading their good cheer all through the OTSG. This particularly smart rendition of the “all too familiar lines” is a Huffy 626 submitted by Timothy J.

Finally I have aquired a genuine junky old ten-speed.  I got this little gem as part of single lot of bikes and parts for a smoking deal.  After amusing myself with the Huffy, I will make some necessary repairs and put it on Craigslist where it will find a home with someone who will love it as much as I didn’t.

Huffy model 626, vintage unknown.  All the weight of a Schwinn Varsity without the cachet.  Despite having plastic brake lever housings which have cracked, the Huffy aspired to greatness with its Selle Royal seat and its dignity intact after all of these years.  By the way, if anyone has ideas on how to repair the cracked housing on the brakes I’d love some advice.  I suspect some sort of epoxy is what’s called for.

Thanks Timothy

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  4. Paul H (Doohickie)’s 1973 Schwinn Varsity
  5. Tom R.’s 1982 Huffy Kensington
  • older1

    I don’t want to be harsh with you, personally, Timothy, but here’s my two cents from living in lawsuit-happy USA: remove, discard, or better yet, destroy, and replace them with even-less-crappy, ‘real’ stamped steel sheet metal ones you can easily scavenge from millions of older Huffy/Murray/Columbia/Free Spirit ten speeds. I don’t think anyone would give you a hard time for not using original parts during restoration.

    In fact, I wouldn’t attempt to repair any important bike parts, especially those made of cheap plastic (like the BRAKE assembly, for crying out loud, HUFFY, what the heck were they thinking; were they trying to kill off their customers?).

    • older1

      Sure enough; check out the recall from the cpsc:
      http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml93/93097.html

      “PROBLEM: Affected bicycles have a defect that may cause the plastic hand brake levers to break during use. If the lever breaks, the rider could fail to stop and fall from the bicycle. The bicycles also fail to meet the Federal Bicycle Standard that requires the hand brake levers to withstand a force up to 100 pounds.”

  • Timothy J

    Good advice. I have replaced the levers with some vintage Dia Compe aluminum ones that don’t look as smart as the black plastic ones but they will work without breaking. The alternative I guess was only allowing someone with a maximum of 99 lbs of hand strength to use the bike. That’s a joke son, Ah say, Ah say that’s a joke.

    • older1

      That’s great, Timothy! You could just give them a shot of flat black, but it’s probably more trouble than it’s worth.
      Actually, I was half expecting you to try to call Huffy, as suggested in the recall (if the number is still active), just to see their reaction!
      “WHAT TO DO: Consumers who have an affected model should call the Huffy Bicycle Company at 888-366-3828 for free replacement brake levers”