Intro To Vintage Middleweight Bicycles

Series Summary

Vintage bicycles are different than antique and classic bikes. Vintage typically means more than thirty years old. An antique bicycle is generally going to have wooden rims and they may have a steel cladding over them. People tend to use the terms classic bicycles and vintage bicycles interchangeably. A classic bike could come from many different eras maybe only five years old, it's generally some model that had some defining factor that changed the way bicycles are looked at or there is something unique about it. Do you keep calling your bike a cruiser? Ever think you may be riding around on a vintage middleweight bicycle? How can you tell the difference? In this free video series, you'll get the facts you need to figure out what you're pedaling around town on. Let our bicycle expert show you every piece of a middleweight bike. Learn when middleweight bikes were produced and about key frame features. Go in depth on each part like the tires, rims, front forks, saddles, chains, hubs, brakes, handlebars, fenders, racks, lighting and various accessories. Cruise your middleweight with confidence!

Video Transcript

"In this series, I'll talk about middleweight bicycles. A lot of people confuse middleweight bicycles with balloon tire bicycles. They use a generic term, cruiser, which could apply to a balloon tire bicycle, or a middleweight bicycle, but I'll show you the difference between the two, and what makes it a cruiser, and not a cruiser. I'll talk about how to identify a true middleweight bicycle, from a reproduction bicycle. I'll talk about the design influences. The balloon tire bikes were designed like streamlined, art deco motorcycles. The middleweight bicycles have more of a space age look to them. The rear racks will be more pointed. The headlights will be integrated. Usually, you have double headlights. The tanks are slimmer. The frames have thinner tubes, and are much lighter, and the gearing on the bicycle is different, than on a balloon tire bicycle. The front chain ring on these cycles is larger. I'll show you how to look at that, and how you determine the general gear ratio of these cycles. I'll show you what manufacturers were successful, and what items were not successful."