The $100 Time Machine

Supercycle 70th aniversary bike

Canadian Tire Supercycle 70th Anniversary Cruiser. For $149 ($119 on sale)you can amble down to Canadian Tire and ride home on a state of the art single speed bike. Some folks we know will spend more than that for a set of pedals or a saddle. Based on the motorcycle-inspired boys bicycle cantilever frame dating back to the 1930's but probably best remembered as the iconic 1950's Schwinn Phantom and it's siblings and descendants. This bike glows with nostalgia. Generations of paperboys rode bikes like these- simple, easy to fix, close to indestructible steel "clunkers" that were later stripped down, rebuilt and resurrected as the first mountain bikes that screeched down Mount Tamalpais in the 1970's.

This bike screams to be customized! Pimp your ride with ape-hangers and chopper forks or turn it into a primitive hucker for old skool downhill thrills. Or strip it down and turn it into a BMX cruiser by throwing on a set of Skull Skates cruiser bars(skullskates.com). We found as well with modern features such as quick-release seatpost the bike could be adjusted to accommodate a rider from less 5 feet tall to well over six feet. An ideal bike for a still growing person or an adult wanting to recapture the magic of their first ride. The single speed coaster hub hasn't changed much in a hundred years- and a 44/19 gear ratio gives is nice for level cruising. Of course for bigger hills there are the two hidden gears-standing on the pedals and pushing when the going gets heavy.

The Unpopular Mechanic put this bike together straight out of the box just like the first Supercycle UM's dad bought him in 1969. Nostalgic memories flood in..."What $5 dollars to have it assembled by he store-bah! You think I'm made of money?" In about half an hour with basic tools from the kitchen junk drawer we had a rideable classic. Today you can ride ride your Supercycle out of the store fully assembled without an assembly charge.

The ride… A stately cruiser with white walls tires and a sharp red paint scheme with matching fenders and chainguard make this a beautiful-and practical-bike right out `of the box. No nasty road spray or ruined trouser legs. The attractively styled and wide comfy saddle will accommodate even the biggest car-potato butts. But the performance is here too-the coaster brake has a nice bite that allows you to lock up the rear wheel and do skidding contests like you did when you were a kid. Accommodation for racks and baskets, wide tires and a low stable centre of gravity make this an excellent potential sturdy shopping or utility bike. It ain't light-you won't want to carry this thing up two flights of stairs to your bedsit but it's heavy duty cantilever steel construction uses probably the strongest production frame design ever made. Modern features like the quick release adjustable seatpost allow different family members to use the same machine though hardcore city riders might be well advised to deter seat thieves by installing a locking bolt.

For $99 US dollars our US readers can pick up virtually the same bike, a Huffy "Cranbrook" (where do they get these sexy names?) at Target.

UM

The Unpopular Mechanic is unpopular in bike shops for good reasons.

COASTING? When a Lime is a lemon. And two kinds of slime.

The fugly alien junk shop group of "Coasting" group of parts presented by the billion dollar brain trust at Shimano are little more than an expensive reinvention of the wheel. Targeting new riders and those who haven't ridden since they were ten or so, is the ostensible purpose but it really looks like an excuse for Shimano to add yet another just slightly different item to a flooded marketplace with an already dizzying array of choices. Adding yet more choices is a dubious strategy to attract a very fickle consumer who according to recent psychological research will often wind up buying nothing rather than make the wrong choice.* Why not just give folks what they really want-their own personal Rosebud-the same bike they had when they were ten available for for about one fifth the price at Target?

A few well-meaning manufacturers have stepped up with bikes using this new group. After a first peek at the hideous and bizarrely named TREK Lime using the "high tech" Shimano parts we've found nothing new here, just some questionable taste. Dyno hubs have existed for generations and a coaster hub hidden inside the totally gay iMac style housing hardly justifies a price five times greater than the basic cruiser presented by Canadian Tire or Target. The only other selling point for the Lime is puncture resistant tires. Please. Just add some Slime tube sealant(slime.com) and you likely won't get a flat that can't be quickly fixed with a quick pump up.

Know your slimes.

This stuff is pure Kryptonite to slimey bike shops that prey on riders with flat tires without the skills and tools to fix it for themselves.

UM

*

THE PARADOX OF CHOICE: Why More is Less. . By Barry Schwartz. Harper Collins 2004.