# So....was there ever a good Huffy?



## rolondo (Jul 19, 2005)

No really....don't laugh. I only ask because it's a name that everybody recognizes. And really, there have been so many "brand name" bikes that started out with a quality name only to "sell out" and see their names slapped on crappy mass-produced bikes. 

The Huffy name is obviously the most deeply associated name with such bikes - I get that. But was it always that way? Did they ever produce a great bike - particularly a great mountain bike?


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## Zanetti (Sep 18, 2005)

Yeah. The frames with "Huffy" decals built by Serotta for the 7-11 road racing team.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

And the huffy made by Litespeed that was raced on the NORBA circuit, mid-90s... forget the name of the american pro on the thing.

Huffy was BIG in BMX racing in the 1970s... that's where the name was made, that's where the company got their sales presence and money. I haven't looked at the product line in a long time but they may still make good BMX bikes, but let's face it, a "great" bmx bike is only a $800 which is just entry/mid-level for MTBs.


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## RickD. (Apr 7, 2004)

*"Borrowed" from the 'Show me' thread:*


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## surly357 (Jan 19, 2006)

*greg lemond*

1986 (?) coors classic. riding his 'huffy' branded bike. i don't know if any teammates bikes were similarly branded (hinault's wasn't). also i think the 7-11 bikes were branded as 'murrays' ! (sorry about all the road content but it was a fun time to be a pro cycling fan in rural colorado!)


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## surly357 (Jan 19, 2006)

*oops...*

wrong scan, i'll put up the right one ('85) tomorrow. yawn.....


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

For mountain bikes... no, never. There was never a nice Huffy.

For road biking, the 7-Eleven bikes were nice. Even thought they were badged as Huffy, they were not made by them.

Maybe for some cruiser bikes Huffy's were okay. Are they a derevation of Huffman?


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

laffeaux said:


> For mountain bikes... no, never. There was never a nice Huffy.


Bzzzzzzzzzzzzttttt Wrong! But thanks for playing...

MBA, July 1994, page 96... the Huffy Race Bike feature... that one was a $3500 Easton Varilite Program frame with Machinetech hubs and brakes, Mavic M231 rims, Manitou 3 fork, XTR crankset and derailleurs, XT SPDs, Suntour XC-Pro levers, Gripshift shifters, Bonty Ti saddle, Tioga Psycho tires, Tioga bar/stem/bar ends, and a MMC cogset. 23.5 pounds total weight. The year afterwards they had litespeed make a bunch of titanium mtb frames for their team (think it was 3 or 4 riders). Don't think they bothered much past the 96/97 seasons.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Don't know if it would qualify as "good" but the Huffy Monoshock my neighbor had when we were kids got the holy living crap beaten out of it jumping...... "Wow cool, you can stay seated when you land!" The birth of a mountain biker, too bad they had no MTBs in the larger market in the late 70's


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## surly357 (Jan 19, 2006)

*lemond*

ok, here's the right pic of lemond. 1985 coors classic. didn't realize i had multiple years of slides in the same sheet until i noticed lemond and shapiro both in race leaders jerseys!


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## ameybrook (Sep 9, 2006)

In 1992, my Dad bought me a Huffy Revolution for Christmas. This was my first mountain bike. It had cantilever brakes and Shimano Altus A-10. The frame was definitely designed to withstand more abuse than the normal Costco Huffys. I never did much research on it after owning it, but it was obvious a weak attempt at the upper-end racing bike market. It worked though, I raced it, and it was because of that bike that I'm riding today. I wish I still owned it.


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## SuspectDevice (Apr 12, 2004)

Huffy's late 90's BMX product was top-level stuff sold only through IBD's
Huffy also owned Airborne, so you consider those hi-end, I suppose?

As far as wide production or sales of race-level MTB's, no


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## kingsting (Sep 18, 2007)

The only "good" Huffys made after the Horace Huffman (Dayton/Huffman) era were the bikes the factory riders used.

Anybody remember the "bike shop quality" bikes that Murray made for IBDs in the early 90's? They were basically Murrays with better grade wheels, headsets, and bottom brackets. The name Spectra sticks in my head for some reason....


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## ice_789 (Apr 19, 2007)

I STILL ride my revolution to work! I got it from Santa in 1992. Like you, it got me started mountain biking. I used to ride it on deer trails through the woods (now that's real singletrack). In college I put slicks on and commuted with it for four years instead of using my good mountain bike. Now I'm commuting on it again to work half the time. Every time I think I'm reaady to retire the bike I end up putting it back into regular service.


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## Thelonius71 (Jul 23, 2007)

I remember in the mid 80s at Huffy's place in Dayton they were making frames out of teardrop shaped aluminum tubing. I am fairly sure they were for olympic riders. It is a shame in the hubris of youth I didn't take better advantage of that time. 

I am biased though, my parents both worked for huffy in the 60s.


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## IF52 (Jan 10, 2004)

They had a custom shop that made national team bikes IIRC. Nothing to do with their productions bike lines, but Huffy built just the same.

I guy I know through Rennlist, who currently works for Huffy, mentioned that they are actually currently working on some 'interesting' top shelf BMX stuff.

And if I remember correctly, one or two of the 7 Eleven riders 'Huffy' frames where landsharks, there rest were Serotta.


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## First Flight (Jan 25, 2004)

Super crappy pictures @ http://www.firstflightbikes.com/olympic.htm

The white bike was from the 1988 Seoul games and is labeled as a Huffy. The 1983 Pan Am and 1984 Olympic bikes were labeled as Raleigh (which was licensed by Huffy at the time). Some of the earlier Raleigh frames that we have were later changed over to Huffy decals. Mike Melton worked at the Huffy Tech Center in Dayton to make these bikes.

The later bikes were also sold under the Triton? name and were supposed to be custom made to your dimensions. IIRC, cost was close to $10K in the late 1980's.


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