7

This is my bike from the 1970's and now 49 years later I would love to start looking for another one. I do not know the brand. Can anyone help?

My Bike from 1970

2
  • It is an unusual bike, especially for that era. You probably know better, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was custom-built. Definitely not a K-Mart special. Too bad the focus/resolution of the image is not a bit better, so one could pick out more details. Feb 1, 2015 at 23:53
  • 2
    Would you mind giving a little feedback as to whether we've answered your question, @Jim Stanton? Maybe mark one as the correct answer, or ask for clarification?
    – digijim
    Feb 24, 2015 at 16:26

9 Answers 9

13

It has to be a Huffy Rail. The decal on the chain guard is exactly the same. All the geometry, too.

enter image description here

7
  • That looks a lot more similar than my answer. Basically identical except for the colors. One difference though, is the bar holding up the back of the seat goes quite a bit higher than the edge of the seat, whereas in the question the bar basically stops just above the seat, but that could just be a girls model vs. boys model difference.
    – Kibbee
    Feb 3, 2015 at 16:05
  • 1
    Yeah, the bar may have even been an option. Or a mod by the owner, since it was extremely cool to have that tall of a seat bar in the 70's. The color may actually be a match, too -- other than the seat, that is. We're comparing a polaroid to a digital image here. :) Notice even the tires have that purple sidewall.
    – digijim
    Feb 3, 2015 at 16:09
  • 1
    It looks like yours has a white pie plate/spoke guard on the back, whereas in the question it looks metallic. Also, the crankset on yours is hollow to look like a flower, where as is the question they look more like the Sting-Ray, although it's hard to tell. Also, I don't think boys rode purple bikes in the 70's, although I could be wrong, so I would have to guess the picture in the original is somewhat color accurate, although now that you mention it, you really have me thinking it might have been purple.
    – Kibbee
    Feb 3, 2015 at 16:15
  • Unfortunately, I'm not the proud owner of that beauty. Found the pic online.
    – digijim
    Feb 3, 2015 at 16:18
  • Yeah, looks very, very close. The geometry of the tubes where they come together in the front is pretty much identical, and that arrangement is a bit unusual. Feb 3, 2015 at 20:11
8

That's definitely a Huffy/Sears "The Rail" 5 speed. My got one in '65 in 6th Grade. In Purple. Not an exactly un-cool color, but border line. I was doing a Google search for my old bike and came across your post from 6 years ago and couldn't stop myself from adding 2 cents worth. That tall bar behind the seat was called a "Sissy Bar" back in the day and a necessary mod if you wanted to be cool, lol. Hope I didn't bore you.

2

It looks quite similar to the Schwinn Stingray. If you Google around they seem to have made quite a few models, and were quite popular, and hence, many knockoffs were made in order to mooch off their popularity. Your's looks similar to the one in the 1977 catalog, except your's has the gear shifter, and they do list 3 and 5 speed models.

enter image description here

enter image description here

5
  • This was back when Schwinn was still actually building bikes. Feb 2, 2015 at 3:48
  • Comparing the above pictures to the OP's picture, his seems to be a "stretch" model. Feb 2, 2015 at 3:50
  • @DanielRHicks Yeah, I couldn't find a model that matched exactly. The basic design is a Sting-Ray, and looking for that would be the best bet for getting something similar in the current market. I looked at a lot of pictures on Google last night, mostly because these are such nice bikes to look at, and I didn't see anything that matched the bike in the question, especially in relation to where the chainstays/curved tubes meet so close to the headset tube. The drive train, seat, rear fender and handlebars are pretty much identical to the pictures I've seen.
    – Kibbee
    Feb 2, 2015 at 13:47
  • It almost looks like it's been modded. Feb 2, 2015 at 16:40
  • Huffy and Schwinn are two different bike companies. The frames are made using different technology. The Schwinn uses a solid forged Ashtabula fork and the huffy has a tubular fork. The bike in this answer is similar looking in some ways but the Schwinn Orange Krate and Sting Ray are very different bikes than the Huffy Rail.
    – David D
    Mar 14, 2021 at 1:01
2

I had one. It was a sears rail. Mine looked exactly like yours. I wish I still had it for my grandson

1
  • Can you provide any additional details, like what year this was?
    – DavidW
    Jul 26, 2021 at 0:03
1

My grandmother worked for Sears for 40 years and almost everything I ever got from her came from there. She got this bike for me for Christmas 1970. It was the sickest bike on my street and was stolen by the end of the year.

I have been looking and believe it might be a Sears Spyder 500 5-speed?

1
  • It's not unlikely that Sears sold rebranded Huffy bikes back then. Feb 3, 2015 at 20:10
1

I had one in these Huffy bikes in the 1970’s. It was called the Judge 5.

1
  • 1
    That's awesome - but it's a bit short. Do you remember any more about the brand name or manufacturer ? Use edit to include any more relevant details - do you know what chain of stores sold it ?
    – Criggie
    Apr 12, 2021 at 2:44
1

I don’t believe it’s a Sears Sider I would bet because of the T handle 5 speed shifter it’s a Western Auto bike but I don’t know the name of it.

1
  • 1
    Hi, welcome to bicycles. This would be better as an answer if you could provide some (any) details - preferably photos - of a Western Auto to compare to.
    – DavidW
    Jan 17, 2022 at 19:42
1

Definitely a Sears branded Huffy Rail. The Sears Rails had the black seat, while the Huffys had Magenta metallic seats that matched the “midnight magenta” paint. Purple and orange were very cool colors in 1966-70. These bikes had double redline tires… a cheater slick in the rear and a middle weight front. The frame was about 5” longer than a typical high-rise bike. Huffy had drag-racer “Big Daddy” Don Garlits promote the Rail in advertising material.

1

I had one in the late 60’s, in fact I still have it and want to sell it. Mine was from Sears and it has “ The Rail” on the chain guard. It is a 5 speed with the “T” handle shifter.

2
  • Hi, welcome to bicycles. As it is this doesn't really add anything to the existing answers that give the same identification, but you could improve your answer by including pictures of your bike to show the match and all the labels/badges that identify it.
    – DavidW
    Feb 8 at 2:13
  • 1
    You still have it? Please take some clear high-resolution photos and add to your answer with edit That will be great, thank you.
    – Criggie
    Feb 8 at 9:41

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.