Featuring the "Cheater Slick" 20 x 2 1/4 rear tire! As a kid in the early 70's, this was the object of lust -- the thing in the Sears or JC Penney Christmas catalog that you couldn't take your eyes off of. It looks like that picture also shows a portable AM radio mounted to the handlebars. These people must have had money! This kid obviously went on to owning something with a hemi in it later in life.
And to think that as a country, we stopped manufacturing these things and gave it all to the Chinese, who clearly have no sense of style, quality or emotional context. What a profound loss. How will we ever MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN when kids today go to Wal-Mart (the end of the Chinese conveyor belt) and buy cartoon bikes stylized as comic book action figures. They will never know the immense sense of pride and adulation that comes from riding such an exquisite machine!
Soul brother of the 70's, you speak the truth from the heart. That is most surely was a rich kids bike, and the envy of the whole grade school crowd.
Yes, he grew up to own something hemified, but he also grew up and became some management type who outsourced the work to the chinese, and robbed his own kids of spiritual enlightenment that could only come from a banana seat and slick shod shifter enhanced little grade school dragster bike. We had dreams in the 70s that could only be satisfied by riding our bikes over boards to jump as far as our little skinny legs could propel us. We were 1st graders with hopes of meeting Armstrong, Garlits, and Jungle Pam. We spent all day riding our bikes and jumping off anything we could catch air from. America will never be great again. The days of it's glory are past, and we ask how many Syrians we can take in... not how many homeless we can help. Our GDP isn't even mentioned anymore, and we gave up on making the best of everything. The best tools, trailers, snowmachines, lighters, tractors, etc. We were the inventor of all the cool stuff, then greedy bastard tycoons bought up the companies, and sold off the pieces. Wrecked the whole nation because they were greedier for more cash than a human could ever spend.
Pretty sure that was an Archer AM Bike Radio (http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/radioshack_archer_road_patrol_12_197.html)
It had a horn (button in the center) that sounded at the same volume as the radio, and out the speaker facing the rider, making it essentially useless, or even dangerous if you had to take your hands off the bars to press the nearly silent horn button.
That thing also used 3 D Cell batteries, adding even more weight to a bike made out of oversized Pittsburgh steel. That someone added the STP sticker to it was total class!
That radio was $19.95 at Radio Shack when new. Again, was this picture taken in Beverly Hills? What god among boys had a ride like this?
Thats a sweet sweet ride, just needs a Wham-o wheelie bar and some Raw-Power at the flick of your wrist. The wheels were a plastic type insert made bt Wacky Wheels. Them and some red band tyres and you stylin my friend.
You are totally correct though. Uwning a bike like this, or at least the desire to, was only part of the story. How good was gravel rash? Taking the skin off the inside of your ankle on the crank? or squashing your nuts on the goose neck when you come a gutsa? Did it stop you? Or did it spawn a determination that you still carry today?
These are but part of what makes us what we are and why we do what we do. Essential rights of passage that can't be explained.
Featuring the "Cheater Slick" 20 x 2 1/4 rear tire! As a kid in the early 70's, this was the object of lust -- the thing in the Sears or JC Penney Christmas catalog that you couldn't take your eyes off of. It looks like that picture also shows a portable AM radio mounted to the handlebars. These people must have had money! This kid obviously went on to owning something with a hemi in it later in life.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think that as a country, we stopped manufacturing these things and gave it all to the Chinese, who clearly have no sense of style, quality or emotional context. What a profound loss. How will we ever MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN when kids today go to Wal-Mart (the end of the Chinese conveyor belt) and buy cartoon bikes stylized as comic book action figures. They will never know the immense sense of pride and adulation that comes from riding such an exquisite machine!
Soul brother of the 70's, you speak the truth from the heart. That is most surely was a rich kids bike, and the envy of the whole grade school crowd.
DeleteYes, he grew up to own something hemified, but he also grew up and became some management type who outsourced the work to the chinese, and robbed his own kids of spiritual enlightenment that could only come from a banana seat and slick shod shifter enhanced little grade school dragster bike. We had dreams in the 70s that could only be satisfied by riding our bikes over boards to jump as far as our little skinny legs could propel us. We were 1st graders with hopes of meeting Armstrong, Garlits, and Jungle Pam. We spent all day riding our bikes and jumping off anything we could catch air from. America will never be great again. The days of it's glory are past, and we ask how many Syrians we can take in... not how many homeless we can help. Our GDP isn't even mentioned anymore, and we gave up on making the best of everything. The best tools, trailers, snowmachines, lighters, tractors, etc. We were the inventor of all the cool stuff, then greedy bastard tycoons bought up the companies, and sold off the pieces. Wrecked the whole nation because they were greedier for more cash than a human could ever spend.
I'm not sure about the handlebar STP thing, it's gotta be a radio, or sound making machine... no reason for a headlight to be there
DeletePretty sure that was an Archer AM Bike Radio (http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/radioshack_archer_road_patrol_12_197.html)
DeleteIt had a horn (button in the center) that sounded at the same volume as the radio, and out the speaker facing the rider, making it essentially useless, or even dangerous if you had to take your hands off the bars to press the nearly silent horn button.
That thing also used 3 D Cell batteries, adding even more weight to a bike made out of oversized Pittsburgh steel. That someone added the STP sticker to it was total class!
That radio was $19.95 at Radio Shack when new. Again, was this picture taken in Beverly Hills? What god among boys had a ride like this?
Thats a sweet sweet ride, just needs a Wham-o wheelie bar and some Raw-Power at the flick of your wrist.
ReplyDeleteThe wheels were a plastic type insert made bt Wacky Wheels. Them and some red band tyres and you stylin my friend.
You are totally correct though.
Uwning a bike like this, or at least the desire to, was only part of the story.
How good was gravel rash? Taking the skin off the inside of your ankle on the crank? or squashing your nuts on the goose neck when you come a gutsa?
Did it stop you? Or did it spawn a determination that you still carry today?
These are but part of what makes us what we are and why we do what we do. Essential rights of passage that can't be explained.
truer words have never been spoken... you nailed it. And landing on your nuts was deadly
Delete