Butterscootch Blunder - Don't buy Huffy

GoldenMotor.com

mapbike

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2010
5,502
109
63
Central Area of Texas
1000 miles on my Huffy Karaoke bike, stock everything as far as the wheels and hub goes, I will put my harsh rough riding conditions up against just about anyone here, this bike has been beat and bruised without a single failure, the hubs and bearing have been great in mine, I pulled mine down the day I got it and put good quality grease in the wheel and hub bearings and the cranks as well, I don't have fenders on mine because after trying to run the rear fender it did break at the mounts, I say to each there own and I will never argue that the Huffy Frame is better than an older American made frame because they aint nearly as good, but to say they are complete junk and that they cant be made into a nice reliable motorized bike is just flat out wrong, many people have done it and the Huffy bikes dont scare me one bit.

If you just grab one off the rack stick a kit on it and take off you are likely to have some failure because they are not assembled very good sometime or probably most of the time, I haven't made a single adjustment of any kind on mine and wheel bearing and rear hub are just as tight and slack free as they were the day I put the bike together after doing proper maintenance on everything on the bike.

I think instead of trashing the Huffy bikes, the first time builder or some one with a small budget would be better served on this forum by being instructed in detail what they need to do to ANY of the cheaper bikes as far as packing bearings with high quality grease and making sure everything is adjusted properly than to be told they just bought a piece of crap that will not ever be worth having, I say its ok to tell someone that there are better options in some areas, and most will agree that the older American made frames are better, but several of us have proven that the Huffy bikes can be good builds and just as reliable as many of the high end bikes or the older ones and if my rear hub fails, I can get a new wheel master wheel with 12ga spokesand a Shimano CB110 hub for about $40 at my local bike shop and I still have a budget build with a really nice rear wheel and hub.

no offense meant toward anyone here in this post, I just know what I have done and several others like Huffy D and xseler, we have had good success because we did ours right and I try to share that helpful information with other Huffy owners instead of putting there choices down even though I also know there or overall better bike options out there that some people may not be able to swing or just don't have access to.

I'm actually gonna give my Huffy bike to my brother for his Birthday this year, he doesn't know that yet but that is my plan, engine runs great and cruises nice at 32mph, and it wont worry me one bit to have him ride the heck out of it because I know for a fact it will hold up.

Peace, Map
.wee.
 

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
8,325
670
113
northeastern Minnesota
1000 miles on my Huffy Karaoke bike, stock everything as far as the wheels and hub goes, I will put my harsh rough riding conditions up against just about anyone here, this bike has been beat and bruised without a single failure, the hubs and bearing have been great in mine, I pulled mine down the day I got it and put good quality grease in the wheel and hub bearings and the cranks as well, I don't have fenders on mine because after trying to run the rear fender it did break at the mounts, I say to each there own and I will never argue that the Huffy Frame is better than an older American made frame because they aint nearly as good, but to say they are complete junk and that they cant be made into a nice reliable motorized bike is just flat out wrong, many people have done it and the Huffy bikes dont scare me one bit.

If you just grab one off the rack stick a kit on it and take off you are likely to have some failure because they are not assembled very good sometime or probably most of the time, I haven't made a single adjustment of any kind on mine and wheel bearing and rear hub are just as tight and slack free as they were the day I put the bike together after doing proper maintenance on everything on the bike.

I think instead of trashing the Huffy bikes, the first time builder or some one with a small budget would be better served on this forum by being instructed in detail what they need to do to ANY of the cheaper bikes as far as packing bearings with high quality grease and making sure everything is adjusted properly than to be told they just bought a piece of crap that will not ever be worth having, I say its ok to tell someone that there are better options in some areas, and most will agree that the older American made frames are better, but several of us have proven that the Huffy bikes can be good builds and just as reliable as many of the high end bikes or the older ones and if my rear hub fails, I can get a new wheel master wheel with 12ga spokesand a Shimano CB110 hub for about $40 at my local bike shop and I still have a budget build with a really nice rear wheel and hub.

no offense meant toward anyone here in this post, I just know what I have done and several others like Huffy D and xseler, we have had good success because we did ours right and I try to share that helpful information with other Huffy owners instead of putting there choices down even though I also know there or overall better bike options out there that some people may not be able to swing or just don't have access to.

I'm actually gonna give my Huffy bike to my brother for his Birthday this year, he doesn't know that yet but that is my plan, engine runs great and cruises nice at 32mph, and it wont worry me one bit to have him ride the heck out of it because I know for a fact it will hold up.

Peace, Map
.wee.
Map,
You make some good points and you are correct in saying that some people on the forum have had good luck with their Huffies. I don't know the models well enough to have an opinion of which are better and which of them worse. I've had experience with three Huffies. One is older and was made in America.Two looked like new (Chinese) and I bought them at a yard sale with the idea of making some money on them by giving them boygofast motor kits and selling them pretty cheap. A neighbor lady wanted to buy one of them and then I got to having second and third thoughts about her getting hurt and how I would feel about that, aside from issues of liability. I withdrew the sale, removed the motor and have used a couple parts for other things. Maybe I was being overly paranoid, but maybe I was also being guided. I have built a couple of bikes for other people, but it has been the other kind of build with Worksman wheels, custom this and that, so on the expensive side and ones I felt OK about passing along. I felt like the bikes were solid and if the owner got hurt it was not going to be from parts failing or my workmanship. And I quit building bikes for others. Each one now is for me whether I need one or not or end up giving it away.

People will buy the inexpensive department store bikes because of the price and will buy the kit motors for the same reason. Being economically challenged I understand that. I have easy access to old frames, moped parts, etc. while others do not. Some will be successful with their department store bikes and some will not... I suppose those are the ones you find on Craigslist with some real problems. What I worry about are the ones who get hurt. I guess that's why I come off a bit harsh about what I see as poor quality... just not wanting to see people get hurt or even killed. Every time I ride I'm aware that it is a dangerous activity and try to be careful even when I ride a little too fast. Being wary helps to keep us safe.

Since people will keep buying them anyway you are quite correct in that it might be more helpful to give tips on how to do things right, etc. Both approaches to a safe ending have their merits. I will be the crabby old fart who says to save money by buying good quality (American or otherwise)stuff used and your approach may be to encourage making the best installation of what is bought new on the inexpensive side. In the end we'd like to see the same thing... smiling people safely riding their motor bicycles. Peace...
SB
 

1kbike

New Member
Aug 24, 2013
98
0
0
Missouri
Well, I am not going to spend a lot of money of my first build. I may not even like these. I am sure I will but I never know. So I am going to stick to a Cranbrook and follow the advice of others. Also, I know Wal-Mart workers assembles those bikes you see already put together at the store. I already know about having to tighten everything up. I had bought my son a bike that was put together at the store and literally had to tighten every single bolt on the thing. No but anyway, I'll do what some of these other folks have suggested as far as setting it up (probably wouldn't hurt to take that advice on any bike) and I think I will be fine. After this build and if I like it, I will go all out.
 

paul

Well-Known Member
Dec 23, 2007
5,547
44
48
66
Kalamazoo, MI
you are going to love motorized bicycle riding. most important any bike you buy check the brakes. fine tune them. you will be doing speeds a regular bicycle are not meant to do and you want to be able to stop. welcome to the world of motorized bicycles 1bike
 

1kbike

New Member
Aug 24, 2013
98
0
0
Missouri
you are going to love motorized bicycle riding. most important any bike you buy check the brakes. fine tune them. you will be doing speeds a regular bicycle are not meant to do and you want to be able to stop. welcome to the world of motorized bicycles 1bike
Thanks Paul. BTW I understand how others feel about the Huffy Cranbrook now and I don't expect it to be my last especially if I like it. I just can't see forking over a lot of money for something I've never done before. I want feel so bad for a 400 dollar investment and hate it compared to a 1000 dollar investment and hate it. Besides that, I am a car guy so breaking stuff just comes naturally. Live and learn. ;)
 

1kbike

New Member
Aug 24, 2013
98
0
0
Missouri
This isn't a Carnbrook but it is a Huffy that had the typical self-destructed coaster brake I let the customer talk me into taking in for trade, $100 off a new build.



I don't know if the motor is any good but by the look of the tires it didn't get many miles on it before it broke.

I put a $50 gasbike HD hub with screw on sprocket and band brake on it.



If the bike itself holds up it may end up being a decent ride.

There's a huge difference on working on someone else's crap and working on your own. You don't have a clue as to how hard they are on their stuff even if they tell you, you can't always count on that. I am pretty sure if you built one you'd make it right to start with. You will know more than a noob on how to properly configure and beef one up. I am not gonna sit here and say I know all about these bikes because I don't and you may very well be right, they may be crap BUT from what I've seen they seem to be very popular, especially for noobs such as myself so perhaps the breaking issues are due part to inexperience on the builder's side and the fact there's a lot of them floating around so you just hear/see of the breaks more.
 

stinky

New Member
May 21, 2011
84
0
0
The South
This is pretty much the bible on bicycles!!! I would never have done anything to a bike
without this!!
http://www.amazon.com/Glenns-Complete-Bicycle-Manual-Maintenance/dp/0517500930

You will need tools as well. I got a like 35 dollar do it all set from EBAY.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/44pcs-Brand...668?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35c3ac1df4

I posted this as illustration, shop around for best price!!!

I don't like the wheel cone nut wrenches though, They pop off before i can get a good tightness. Thats what almost did me in with the loose rear wheel.
 

mapbike

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2010
5,502
109
63
Central Area of Texas
I really kinda figure the new chinese made huffy bikes are sorta like the engines we put on them, you may get a good one that may give you great service for a long time and then again you may get a lemon that gives you grief from the get go, I still say much of that potential grief can be avoided by proper preventive maintenance before anything else is done with the cheaper bike, this is the same thing many of us do with our little china girl engines before we ever mount them on a bike, I dont know of any regular bicycle that was designed specifically for being motorize accept maybe some of the wizzers or something like that, I would do preventive maintenance on a $500 bicycle the same I will a $100 bicycle just to make sure all is the way it should be, it makes no difference how e pensive a bike is, a bad or dry bearing will cause you a break down.
I go to my local bike shop and see $700 bicycles in ther with a made in china sticker on them, pick them up and they are light weight thin wall tubing, no way im ever under any circumstance paying that money when I could buy 7 Huffy bike for the price of that one that will serve me well even if I have to eventually upgrade the wheels.

But its all about preference, I dont condemn anyone for whatever they ride or want to ride, I just always hope that people build them safe by going over the bike well and make sure things are aligned properly, things are well lubed, and all the bearing are tensioned correctly.

And even people like Tom and baird who I know are very safety oriented have still had trouble from ther bikes, anything mechanical or that moves faster than you do is always a risk for injury.

Keep the rub er side down y'all. ....
Map
 

bluegoatwoods

Active Member
Jul 29, 2012
1,581
6
38
Central Illinois
And I can't help but suspect that the rider himself has a lot to do with whether a bike lasts or not.

I've known folks who destroy everything they touch while others just seem to 'get it'.
They know how much force an object can take under whichever circumstances and they don't go beyond the limit. Even if it's not conscious.

I sound like I'm saying to those who've had these bikes crap out, "You're beating up on your bike". But that's not really it.

Rolling down a road subjects a bike to all sorts of shocks and stresses. From different directions, with different intensities, etc. Some folks are able to dodge and soften these better than others.
 

KCvale

Well-Known Member
Feb 28, 2010
3,966
57
48
Phoenix,AZ
It's ALIVE!​





I like to keep work to a minimum this time of year so I stop advertising, get all the pre-paid builds and repairs out the door, then see what big stuff I have around taking up space I can make good and get rid of.

After 3 months of it just sitting around looking stupid we finally got to this Huffy.

Just to re-cap, this Huffy started out as a crap build on a bike with a crap rear coaster brake hub that self destructed I let a guy trade in for $100 off one of my new solid builds.

I paid my local bike shop $50 to install this $50 HD Hub from gasbike in the wheel using the 12g spokes http://www.gasbike.net/bike-motor-engine-heavy-duty-axle-kit-non-free-wheel.htm



Pulled the engine and redid all the mounts, pulled the stock wiring and re-did it like I usually do, put HD tubes and liners in both wheels, redid the throttle and cables, put a front brake and dual pull brake lever on, bla bla bla.

In short this is a darn fine bike now as the engine wasn't even broken in before the rest failed so a score regardless, good enough for me to put my name it which makes the first Huffy or non-Skyhawk engine build to get one so a double whammy.

So ya, done right even a Huffy can be made good, I just wouldn't want to intentionally start there ;-}
 

fatdaddy

New Member
May 4, 2011
1,516
4
0
San Jose, Ca.
After some thought, I am gonna go ahead and stick with a Huffy. One, it is my first build and I don't expect it to last forever. I am hoping this will be a great way for me to learn. After all, I'd hate to plop out a lot of money on a bike and mess it up. So if they are POS's. I am not going to stress over it. I just want to have fun so, here I go. Who knows, maybe I will get lucky and get one that was built by a worker in China that was having a good day that day. ;)

EDIT:
Oh yeah *snaps fingers* Wal-Mart has that extended warranty thing so I'll get that just in case so I wont be out if something should fail.
If they find out ya stuck a motor on it the waarranty is VOID. I've been riding my Cranbrook/66cc for over 2 years,no problems except flat tires. STOCK wheel bearings with good high temp auto bearing grease,Put better brakes on it, of course. I LOVE my Hussy.
 

mapbike

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2010
5,502
109
63
Central Area of Texas
If they find out ya stuck a motor on it the waarranty is VOID. I've been riding my Cranbrook/66cc for over 2 years,no problems except flat tires. STOCK wheel bearings with good high temp auto bearing grease,Put better brakes on it, of course. I LOVE my Hussy.
Ditto, I have a Huffy I ordered shipped to my door about three years ago off amazon.com, did the bearing up right with qualtiy high tack grease, caliper front break and a few other odds and ends, over 1000 miles on it now and zero failures with bike, hard roadmiles on mostly rough dusty dirt roads, I wont say that Huffy makes the best bike by any means, but it is an excellent budget platform for a motorized bike that holds up nicely if wheel bear tension is adjusted correctly and the bearings are packed with a quality grease, 1000+ hard miles on mine and I've yet to have any slop or slack in any of my wheel bearing and they roll smooth.

Im sure the huffy wheel are kinda like the typical china girl engine, you might get good ones that hold up great and you may end up with a lemon that fails prematurely..... roll of the dice on anything from china in my opinion.

By the way thats a nice looking Huffy build KCvale, nothing to be anything but proud of.

Map
.wee.
 

Intrepid Wheelwoman

New Member
Oct 29, 2011
2,830
61
0
Hauraki District, New Zealand
We don't have Walmart here in New Zealand we have the Warehouse (Big Red Shed). The bikes they sell look different and have different names, but they all suffer from poor assembly faults as a rule. At a recent sale at the Big Red Shed I purchased a seven speed, full suspension 'Repco' mountain bike for my daughter and when I got it home and could properly examine it I found exactly what I expected; - the wheel bearings and BB bearings were adjusted far too tight and they were innocent of grease.
To the Warehouse's credit they did have a yellow notice in a plastic sleeve attached to the bike saying, 'WARNING. In the interests of safety it is recommended that you have this bike assembled by a skilled mechanic.' Only I do wonder how often anybody buying one of these bikes does that.

My daughter is planning on installing an electric motor drive onto this bike once I've finished giving it a complete service and check over so I fully intend to be very thorough. She is my daughter afterall and she is very precious to me.
 

apex

Member
Aug 27, 2013
62
0
6
indy
All I know is what little grease they use on the bearings seems to be crusty ear-wax.

Ive noticed this on a couple chinese bikes.
 

mapbike

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2010
5,502
109
63
Central Area of Texas
We don't have Walmart here in New Zealand we have the Warehouse (Big Red Shed). The bikes they sell look different and have different names, but they all suffer from poor assembly faults as a rule. At a recent sale at the Big Red Shed I purchased a seven speed, full suspension 'Repco' mountain bike for my daughter and when I got it home and could properly examine it I found exactly what I expected; - the wheel bearings and BB bearings were adjusted far too tight and they were innocent of grease.
To the Warehouse's credit they did have a yellow notice in a plastic sleeve attached to the bike saying, 'WARNING. In the interests of safety it is recommended that you have this bike assembled by a skilled mechanic.' Only I do wonder how often anybody buying one of these bikes does that.

My daughter is planning on installing an electric motor drive onto this bike once I've finished giving it a complete service and check over so I fully intend to be very thorough. She is my daughter afterall and she is very precious to me.
You are so right here, people get into trouble on management bike because they assume all is good..... I dont care where its made or who makes the bike, it is wise to look it over very good or have someone with moderate to excellent mechanical skills look it over for you while you watch to make sure everything is inspected, the small amount of time it takes to look things over is a small investment and small amount of trouble compared to the cost and pain that could accur from a sime failure because things were not inspected.

Im not perfect at it but I like to check for loose bolts and nuts and wiggle my bikes and check to be sure I dont have slop in bearing adjustments and such, my bikes really take a beating where I ride and things have got to be right and check often, thank goodness for loctite or I never would keep my bikes together but honestly I rarely ever have to tighten or adjust anything on my bikes, they hold up well.

Map
.wee.