The year was 1973. My middle brother was home on leave from serving in the navy. While on tour in the far east, he stopped in Japan and picked up a Bridgestone ten-speed and had it shipped stateside. He had it with him when he arrived at our Pea Ridge, Arkansas rural home.
Thus, at the age of fourteen, bicycling became serious business for me.
It was that way with many of us Boomers. During the 70's, we gave up our Schwinn Sting-Rays and began riding sophisticated machines that would gear down so that we could climb hills with ease, or gear up so that we could approach forty miles per hour on downhill stretches.
The ten-speed had actually been around for a long time prior to that. The derailleur gear shifting system was "invented" in 1949 by the Campagnolo bicycle company of Italy. They actually reworked an existing system that had been around for many years previously, but their innovation was such that European bicycle manufacturers began cranking out ten-speed bikes in large numbers.
However it took twenty years for ten-speeds to begin showing up in force on American roads. The problem was price. While definitely a stylish ride, they were out of reach of most working-class WWII vets who were happy to buy nice things for their kids, but not nice things that would put them in the poor house.
All of that changed after 1970. Japan, which was rapidly shedding its reputation as the world's manufacturer of cheap junk, began flooding the market with well-engineered, sturdy, affordable ten-speed bikes with Shimano gearing.
Thus, the biking boom of the 70's began. By the end of the decade, more bicycles were sold in the US than cars.
It wasn't just inexpensive bikes that caused the boom. It was also that lovely group of sheiks who gave the US and its allies a spanking because they didn't like us getting all cozy with Israel. Faced with tripling gas prices and long lines at the stations, Americans began riding bikes to work in record numbers. It became stylish and trendy to be seen arriving on two wheels, and the ten-speed's amazing ability to switch gears to match the road conditions made it practical to get around, even up and down hills. Plus, it felt good to know that King Faisal and his buddies weren't making any money off of us while we were pedaling.
I remember making a trip from my home near Pea Ridge to Bentonville, a distance of eight miles that included two steep hills. I was amazed and pleased that I arrived in a short time and in a relatively fresh state. From that point on, I was pedaling all over the place on that bike. Once viewed as a strictly local conveyance, the bike was now a vehicle that could go practically anywhere, weather permitting.
Those skinny 27" tires, perfect for racing, were pretty lousy for general wear and tear. I was constantly patching holes, many that were of my own creation. There was a fine art to installing a tire with a screwdriver doing the prying. It was VERY easy to pinch the tube.
Plus, dirt roads weren't good on the lightweight wheels. It wasn't long before I warped the front tire, making the front brakes nearly worthless.
I sold the bike when I got my first motorcycle the next year. I've owned bikes since then, but most of the time they have sat unused.
Hey, I'm about to turn 50. I think I'd better take a long, hard look at making the bike a major form of transportation once again.
Comments (7)
I never could get the hang of using those gears on the ten-speed.
I had to stick with ME-speed!
Posted by NCeddie | May 18, 2009 4:11 AM
Posted on May 18, 2009 04:11
Ah, 1973 spring was the year I got a Schwinn Varisty 10 speed. I had tried my friend’s Sears Free Spirit and was hooked. It was incredible. I was put off by earlier 3 speeds although I think it was just because I was too young and had never really tried them to see the advantage. I was skeptical.
I was 14 in 73 and the age was important. The 10 speed, as Ron pointed out, was a sophisticated piece of equipment that really opened up range and distance and at 14, I was ready for that. Bikes were still a very big part of life at that age then. I can’t recall hardly a day when I was not on mine throughout junior high and high school (HS). I think I was a junior in HS when that winter, I stripped the Varsity down and painted it fluorescent yellow. It looked awesome! It shined in sunlight. Everyone noticed it. In fact, it was stolen a year later.
Yeah, bike theft at that time was huge. And while your neighbors might be trustworthy, there were always strange kids cutting down your street to get to the main drag and also looking for “opportunities wherever they may find them.
I graduated in 77 and got a Schwinn (was there any other kind? ;-) World Traveller, red. It was a dream. Lighter than the former Varsity but still had some strength. The Free Spirit was very light but the rims warped if you just breathed on them. I probably could have bent the frame with a hammer. I still biked a lot in my early adult years. I was used to it. Most of the 80s I was still biking. Exercise had always been important. And being young, I could take the heat and loved expending the effort. It got tougher in the 90s as the years went on. Work really put a damper on things.
Health (got fat) went to hell in 98 onward and in 2004, I decided enough was enough. I revitalized my bike and got back into the groove. Also got a fitness club membership. 195 went down to 165. That might not sound like much but I had put on a lot of muscle since 89 onward so that 165 looked pretty buff! But using the bike has ceased. I walk, rollerblade and lift weights a little to stay fit. Not enough time for much more.
But I recall how we used stingray types in 70s to take jumps, ride trails, etc. Did it even using my 10 speed and faired better than Ron at that. It took the rough stuff pretty good. Evel Knievel was the rage at the time for us. And BMX type bikes began to surface, knowing the interest in daredevils and such.
We liked jumping plastic water bottles and even kids. No, nobody got hurt ever. We went for height. We went for distance. We went. Deflated tires on old bikes some to get some great squealing sounds out of the tires. Foot brakes were needed for that. Riding slick tar covered parking lots during a rain was great fun. Jam the breaks on and it was great. My (by this time) old Huffy was best for this. I still had my 1st grade bike, too, which did the best squeals and jumps.
But what I recall was that eventually, Mountain bikes (so called) became the rage. They still had the 10 speeds or ever 15 or 21, but they had more adequate tires, very light yet sturdy, with handle bars more suited to rough riding. But as an adult in the 80s, I was only into road riding and had no used for the trail stuff by that age. But mountain bikes would have been great when I was a teen. But those who come along later would benefit from our early days of experimentation and fascination with “dirt bikes” and motorcycles as well.
I wonder if development, which went crazy in the 80s and ate up much of our old stomping ground trails didn’t do a lot to kill bikes. Further, it seemed like kids got a lot more rides from parents rather than ride their bikes. It seems like bikes are no where as big now as they were when I was a kid. It sure ahs changed. Yeah, I am long winded, but bikes were and are close to my heart. They were so much a part of my childhood.
Posted by Scott Irv again | May 18, 2009 3:09 PM
Posted on May 18, 2009 15:09
I still have & use my Columbia Dream Machine several times a week. I bought is new in 1981 for $110. A lot of money to a minimum wage earner ($2.35 an hour). I could make 2 car payments with that money. I just outgrew my Rollfast sting-ray style bike.
Posted by Lynn | June 9, 2009 5:25 PM
Posted on June 9, 2009 17:25
I was given a ROADMASTER and not sure if it is a 10,12,upwards. How can I tell as on one handle (right) it has #1-5 and on the (left) it shows 1.......2.... as I turn it.??
Any help will be appreciate it.
Thank you,
Joe@Salt Lake, Utah
Posted by irish_draco | July 25, 2009 8:40 PM
Posted on July 25, 2009 20:40
In seventh grade I was riding to school, the other side of the tracks, which went through at what I considered to be halfway through town. I had a paper route, and was balancing a huge front-mounted basket with 30-40 newspapers in it.
I don't really remember how much biking I did in high school. I remember some from the first half of ninth grade (fall 1968), but we moved a lot during my high-school years.
College, starting 1972, and I was biking all over campus. ( www.berry.edu ) The main campus was probably 1.5 to 2 miles from one end to the other. The road to the associated academy was about three miles long. I had two or three bikes during that time. One was a Raleigh three-speed, with lever-action rod (not cable) brakes and rugged tires.
I had another Raleigh multi-speed, but it was stolen, and I replaced it with a Jeunet 10-speed.
After college, there wasn't much terrain that I could comfortably ride. Getting back home was up a grueling hill. I haven't really ridden since. It would help if we had showers at work, but that won't happen any time soon.
Oh, and, yes, Scott, there are others besides Schwinn! Comparable Raleigh bikes are (or when I bought them, were) lighter than the Schwinn counterparts. I don't keep up with any current bike models, though; that could have changed.
Posted by Barc | July 27, 2009 10:43 AM
Posted on July 27, 2009 10:43
As a kid, all we ever rode were Schwinn bikes. The sting-ray's with the sissy bars, the orange crate, with that 5 speed gear shifter. On the first sting-ray, my parents got something called a V-Room motor, which looked like a motorcycle engine, and it made noise like a motorcycle.
We eventually graduated to the 10 speeds, starting with the Varsity, then the Continental, and eventually the LeTour.
Our Schwinn dealer was one of the most popular places for kids. We'd hang around there, looking at all the bikes, and pining for the accessories. The coolest thing was that the owner would actually deliver your new bike to you at your house. Seeing that Schwinn van pull up was the best feeling in the world back in the 60's and 70's to any kid.
Just found your website. It's very cool!
Posted by Patchouli Sky | November 5, 2009 5:03 AM
Posted on November 5, 2009 05:03
Great stuff. I got started on ten speeds about 1970 when I inherited a green Varsity. After that was stolen, I bought a silver Schwinn Sports Tourer. Kept that a year and moved up to a 1972 Nishiki Pro. I still have the Pro and the Sports Tourer plus about 20 other road bikes. I got the bike bug in the early 70's and never recovered. In my middle 50's now and I still bike every day to work. Don't ride anything newer than 1980. What the world needs now is another bike boom and the return of the entry level 10 speed.
Posted by Killerbug | December 25, 2009 9:09 AM
Posted on December 25, 2009 09:09