PRESERVATION BICYCLE # 24 (2021: 1 of 12): 1969 Sears Spyder!
Preservation Bikes Are Here To Stay!!!
With hand painted flowers!
*Quick preface before we jump into a new year of BBP Preservation Bikes …
Our hope, goal, and intention with our Preservation Bike Society (PBS) is to create new life for bikes that deserve it. We hope that they will be ridden, loved, and passed on to generations to come. What a beautiful story! In 2021, we will feature 12 Preservation Bikes, one each month. We’ll do our best to offer a little bit of everything (sizes, shapes, conditions, eras), and we’ll be here to help you throughout your restoration journey. Don’t let bicycle mechanic experience scare you away from participating. Many newbies have created beautiful bikes. Courtney’s story is my favorite!
On more than one occasion in 2020, individuals took advantage of the program. They parted bikes out and sold them on ebay or flipped them for some quick and easy cash. Please don’t do that. We realize that people can fall into a tight spot, situations can change, and at some point people will part ways with these bikes (that’s ok, please do what you need to do), but if it is your sole intention is make money off of the Preservation Bike Program, you are invited to not participate.
Everyone else, please jump in. This could be your intro into the joy of bicycle maintenance, tinkering, and restoration. This could be a fun project for you and your family. This could be a little piece of your own history that you pass on to future generations.
1970 Sears Spyder 5-speed!
Why not start 2021 with one of the sweetest Preservation Bikes BBP has ever featured?! I think this Sears Spyder is from 1968 or 1969, and if you were around 12 years during this iconic bike craze, you probably referred to is as a muscle bike, wheelie bike, dragster, high-riser, spyder, or banana bike. No matter what you called it then, or whatever description tickles your fancy today, it’s not hard to see why these high-rising-dragnanas captured the heart of every child and “tween” from that era and still turn heads today. Really they’re designed for kids, but a 28-year-old hipster or 63-year-old grandma is going to get nothing but love if they choose to cruise on the Spyder. With a little love, and one hand on the stick shift, this will likely be the hippest ride in town!
PRESERVATION BICYCLE NUMBER #23
MAKE: Sears
MODEL: Spyder
YEAR/AGE: 1969 (The year the Beatles cut their final album, Abbey Road, and we landed on the moon).
SIZE: Once size fits none/all.
ADOPTION FEE: $69 (and we’ll throw in a $31 BBP gift cert to help with used parts)
RECOMMENDED REPAIRS:
BASIC: You could likely ride it as is, but with $31 BBP gift cert covering most everything needed and some new grease, you’ll be cruising a lot smoother. Every bearing will need deep cleaning and new grease. The chain could certainly be oiled or replaced. It wouldn’t hurt to replace the cables and housing. Steel wool should take care of the rest. I’m guessing 4-6 hours of total work! In total.
BETTER/Best: Anything in addition to what’s listed above, is all up to your personal style and flair. So just freaking go for it!
BICYCLE HISTORY:
I can’t find anything that would tell any past stories (where it was sold, previous owners or where it was ridden). Lack of rust is allowing me to make an assumption that it’s from high desert mountain west Boise areas…that it rode wheelies up and down Main St, turned heads at Garfield Elementary, and won skid contests in front of the old 20th-Century Bowling Lanes