Fetching

Road trip!  My father, bless him, is now helping feed the family addiction.  A friend of his from work offered us a group of bikes that his kids and grandkids have abandoned in his yard.  Off we went in the little red thunder truck (no exhaust, lot-o-rust).  Keep in mind, most situations like this are usually nothing to get excited about.  Most large bicycle groups like this tend to be half ruined, cheap Wal-mart bikes.  Nothing against some of the Wal-mart bikes, but there are some high end that you rarely see in store, and then the really low end, that everybody buys.  Anyway, I expected the typical odds of 1 for every 10, that is one good find for every ten boat anchors.
Upon arriving, I was much more happy and surprised.  A Schwinn Breeze, another Sears Daimler, an 80's Murray 10 speed, a 10-speed Niitaka, a lugged Free Spirit 10 speed, and a non-lugged free spirit 10 speed (a cheaper later production).  There was a few more in the mix, a few cheapies, and some very stripped out frames, but not a bad haul.  Most were girls frames, with exception of the Murray, and the cheapies.  My girls once again win out.

A good bicycle group like this is also plagued with another problem, bad wheels.  It never fails, a great bicycle find but the spokes are ripped apart, the rim is bent, the hub is trashed, it is rare to get it all in good shape.  Needless to say, when we keep getting volume like this, it runs better odds of getting a broken or crappy frame in the mix that has good wheels to swap out.  The sears Daimler will be a parts piece for the other Sears, the breeze will get parts from a Free Spirit 3 speed we found earlier in the summer, and the Murray is going to be my sons first 10 speed build.

The Muray is not much of a bike overall, but it has some unique features that make it a piece of cycling history beyond its cheap box store brethren.  The Murray is outfitted with a Shimano Positron drive-train, the father of modern index shifters. That dates the Murray to the 70's and 80's as the Positron was short lived.  The positron was the first attempt at index shifting where the freewheeling mechanism is up front.  That allowed shifting while coasting.  Not very effective, but unique.  The frame is solid, no bad , shallow or burn through welds that I can find.  I'm not sure of the steel used though.  No marking is noticeable, but it has some flex to it. It may be gas pipe tubing, but is it possible to be the high end?  A google search found nothing on the model either, a Murray Outrage.  So being such a unique specimen, I won't mind him putting some work, and money into it.  Really all it needs is handlebar tape, chain, brake pads, tires/tubes, and cables.  A good polish and wire wheel work on the crankset and good as new.  The best part is the rims and hubs are in good shape, no missing spokes as well as the special hub for the positron system.
Another interesting bonus in the group was the only other mens frame.  A Niitaka.  What?  let me say it again, Niitaka.  After quite abit of searching, all I could find on Niitaka was that it is a knock-off of Nishiki bicycles.  makes sense.  From the component group, it seems like a really well built bike.  Lugged frame, Suntour honor drive set, and centerpull cantilever brakes.  Surface rust, and a lack of a seat are the downside.  Considering the amount of work needed to fix it up, and the parts needed, it will be a long term project bike.  No problem, It can sit with my Herc's in a place of honor in the Ant cave.  Here is a pic.

Niitaka 10 Speed