Whatever happened to hi-rise bikes?

[aquariuscsm]

“Kids today are such wimps!”






But yes, tell us more about the jump you made from a milk crate as a kid

^^These guys are professionals athletes. What MRC01 and a few others of us are talking about is basically 5-10 year old kids.

 

[y_p_w]

^^These guys are professionals athletes. What MRC01 and a few others of us are talking about is basically 5-10 year old kids.

I've seen 5-10 year old kids trying to do stunts on a skateboard or BMX bikes. And roller blades.

 

[SeaJay]

Well - kids did actually die from bike crashes. And of course years ago kids sat in the front seat on mommy's lap. When I was six I was allowed to walk myself to the bus stop and then walk to school.

I did some pretty crazy things when I was a kid, such as ride into a blind downhill T-intersection. No helmet either. I was lucky I didn't plow straight forward, slide out, or even get T-boned.

I think I was perhaps 7 and in the second grade the first time I rode my bicycle by myself the 1 mile trip each way to school.

 

[SeaJay]

Yep, it’s just the nostalgia. Frame “geometry” is horrific. Absolute junk of a design. And coaster brakes are terrible.

The brakes worked perfectly fine for the times when those bikes first showed up. Just like cars of those days with manual drums. Times change and technology has improved.

 

[y_p_w]

The brakes worked perfectly fine for the times when those bikes first showed up. Just like cars of those days with manual drums. Times change and technology has improved.

They're fine for the purpose for which they were intended. Kids riding at slower speeds on mostly flat land. Who would really want to climb in a single speed bike.

What most people don't seem to understand though is that front brakes are far more effective than rear brakes. That's why front brakes on cars are sized larger. I learned how to brake with the front only, although a novice would probably skid out without leaning back to shift weight.

 

[Kawiguy454]

Yep, it’s just the nostalgia. Frame “geometry” is horrific. Absolute junk of a design. And coaster brakes are terrible.

There are some awesome riders today on massively evolved rides. But back then we worked with what we had. At 8 years old children were patching tires themselves using "monkey grip" patch kits, modding the primitive designs and keeping the mechanicals in good order. It is NOT just nostalgia but a rich learning environment with no "authority" telling anyone it was unsafe or illegal. When you fell and got scraped up you darn sure learned a lesson about what works and what doesent and owned it. ill bet many pioneers of todays equipment came from that time of freedom of thought. A lot fewer neighborhoods today have those kind of kids and we're worse off for it. Incapable kids turn into incapable adults paralyzed with fear of risk. Not the kind of ppl that built this place and won the wars. the nostalgia part yes when we look at these ancient things we see a different much happier place to live where everyone was free to discover. Rant over

 

[Kawiguy454]

“Kids today are such wimps!”
But yes, tell us more about the jump you made from a milk crate as a kid

....uum my cousin lived on a farm and made a long ramp using scaffold planked ladder. He jumped over a 15ft high x 8ft round corn bin and ...alllllmost landed it. On one of these ancient steel bikes. Wish we had video back then

 

[AZjeff]

Banana bikes fell out of style, nothing more or less although BMX bikes probably had something to do with it.

If you think it's all helicopter moms and timid kids and we're doomed take a look at some vids from Fab Rats on youtube.

Here's a good one.

 

[E365]

The brakes worked perfectly fine for the times when those bikes first showed up. Just like cars of those days with manual drums. Times change and technology has improved.

Agreed, but the questions was, “why don’t they make bikes like this anymore.” It’s because they’re terrible.

 

[MRC01]

It's hard for people under the age of 50 to imagine just how terrible some bikes used to be. Even today's cheapest crap bikes are much, much better.

If the above photos don't do it justice, here's a personal anecdote. When I was in junior high, I had a Huffy 10-speed. The frame broke in half while I was riding it. The front downtube weld to the bottom bracket completely failed. Plus, steel rims, cheap-a$$ construction, brakes that barely worked even when properly adjusted, that kind of failure on a modern bike ridden only on the street and never crashed, would simply never happen.

 

[Pablo]

It's hard for people under the age of 50 to imagine just how terrible some bikes used to be. Even today's cheapest crap bikes are much, much better.

If the above photos don't do it justice, here's a personal anecdote. When I was in junior high, I had a Huffy 10-speed. The frame broke in half while I was riding it. The front downtube weld to the bottom bracket completely failed. Plus, steel rims, cheap-a$$ construction, brakes that barely worked even when properly adjusted, that kind of failure on a modern bike ridden only on the street and never crashed, would simply never happen.

We all thought Schwinn was top dog. I had a stingray new - 1968. I was 10 and in love.

This EXACT bike:

Then I got this for high school:

 

[y_p_w]

We all thought Schwinn was top dog. I had a stingray new - 1968. I was 10 and in love.

This EXACT bike:

Then I got this for high school:

View attachment 67637

Schwinn construction was actually quite good. I had a late 80s Schwinn when they had already offshore most production to Taiwan, although I can't be sure who actually made it. They had some higher end bikes such as their Paramount frames. Those were as good as any hand-built steel frames anywhere.

 

[y_p_w]

It's hard for people under the age of 50 to imagine just how terrible some bikes used to be. Even today's cheapest crap bikes are much, much better.

If the above photos don't do it justice, here's a personal anecdote. When I was in junior high, I had a Huffy 10-speed. The frame broke in half while I was riding it. The front downtube weld to the bottom bracket completely failed. Plus, steel rims, cheap-a$$ construction, brakes that barely worked even when properly adjusted, that kind of failure on a modern bike ridden only on the street and never crashed, would simply never happen.

I'll admit that some of the bikes I've gotten for my kid were Huffys. And yeah they're bad. But for less than $40 (I kid you not) new I figures that when the wheels bent, who cares when my kid got a year out of it. The one now is a Specialized Hotrock that we bought used ($40) in bad cosmetic shape, but otherwise riding fine other than a few repairs needed.

I used to love bikes when I just graduated college and my dad got me a Peugeot as a graduation gift. I hung around a bike shop and got to talk to the owner. He absolutely detested Huffy or similar bikes. He claimed that they were dangerous because they spot welded their dropouts to the frame, and they'd been know to break off right there. I never thought of their frames being that delicate though, other than the spot welds. They simply used heavy, cheap steel (often rolled and crimped tubes) rather than more expensive, higher aluminum or steel tubes.

 

[MRC01]

... I figures that when the wheels bent, who cares when my kid got a year out of it. ...

I was seriously injured when that Huffy frame broke in half while I was riding it... just saying'...

... He absolutely detested Huffy or similar bikes. He claimed that they were dangerous because they spot welded their dropouts to the frame, and they'd been know to break off right there. ...

Correct, yet not just the dropouts, but also catastrophic failure of major frame joints.

 

[y_p_w]

I was seriously injured when that Huffy frame broke in half while I was riding it... just saying'...

Correct, yet not just the dropouts, but also catastrophic failure of major frame joints.

There are people riding on carbon fiber bikes these days. They're plenty strong, but when they break it's spectacular. I still have one of my kid's Huffy bikes even though it's too small now. I can't say the quality is any good, but the major welds are beefy. The dropouts are only partially welded. And for a 16” kids bike, it’s heavy as heck.

 

[SeaJay]

Agreed, but the questions was, “why don’t they make bikes like this anymore.” It’s because they’re terrible.

They could easily change the brakes to the modern stuff and keep the styling. The reason its not made is because the styling is old and no longer desired.

 

[Snagglefoot]

I think I was perhaps 7 and in the second grade the first time I rode my bicycle by myself the 1 mile trip each way to school.

Same here and it was uphill both ways.

 

[y_p_w]

They could easily change the brakes to the modern stuff and keep the styling. The reason its not made is because the styling is old and no longer desired.

Braking systems aren't really all that different. That was just a decision based on cost/styling. My hi-rise bike didn't have a coaster brake, but two caliper brakes. If you look at some of the classic photos and photos of older bikes, some had caliper brakes.

Even many bikes today have coaster brakes. My kid's two Huffys only had coaster brakes. The Specialized Hotrock ridden now has a rear sidepull brake and a coaster brake.

 

[vavavroom]

“Kids today are such wimps!”






But yes, tell us more about the jump you made from a milk crate as a kid

Those "kids" are in their mid-20s and around 30. They are also dedicated experts. Many kids age 4 through 17 can't even ride a bike these days.

 

[Jim K]

Here is a good tall bike if you can find one.