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This is going to be another vintage bicycle geek-out post and this time we'll be looking at the oldest bike in the stable. I picked this unique and gorgeous Huffy Sportsman from a craigslist post many years ago for $40 and in a rather sad shape. After a complete overhaul, a lot of new parts and time, it now looks like this:
(additional photos at the bottom of this post)
The original red has faded to this lovely red-orange with an attractive patina. She was nicknamed the Red Devil by a good friend of mine that has ridden her a lot and is totally in love with the bike. He has tried to buy it off me numerous times but ultimately couldn't go through with it because he knows the love and sweat that went into the rebuild. I send him a photo every time she gets a tune-up and wash and he knows he's welcome to come to ride her any time :).
While Huffy is rightfully not a name that is revered by bicycle enthusiasts, that is one thing that makes this one somewhat unique. Branded a Huffy but from a brief time period where Huffy contracted the much more prestigious bicycle manufacturer Raleigh to produce this model. The Huffy Sportsman is essentially a rebranded Raleigh Sports 3-speed which is a dependable high-quality bicycle. Bikes from this era are generally identified by the year the hub was manufactured which is stamped on the hub shell. This one is stamped "59" for 1959 making the bike either a 1959 or 1960 model. Bikes this old are not the rarest of the rare but are pretty hard to come by. They were very well made too and it still rides like a dream. Even better than when it was new thanks to some of the small upgrades I made when rebuilding her.
As with my rebuild of my Motobecane, all the choices I made were with a mind to keep it feeling like a vintage bike. The upgrade that makes the most difference with ride quality was replacing the rims with much lighter alloy ones in a modern diameter. The rims have a similar profile and shiny finish and fit the classic look. Other upgrades like alloy cage pedals, a new Brooks leather saddle and a headlight also work with keeping the look. Sturmey Archer internally geared hubs last nearly forever and this one is kind of the heart of the bike so it stayed. I used a dynamo hub when I rebuilt the front wheel to power the headlight. The leather top tube protector, brown faux leather grips, chrome frame pump and beat up New Belgium bell are the finishing touches.
It doesn't get ridden a lot these days but it is a workhorse. In the last six months, I have loaded two child seats on it and gone for rides with both kids 3 or 4 times. Let me tell you, a 60-year-old bike and 2 kids is a good workout!
More photos:
