Retro Find.. 1979 Montgomery Ward Open Road Mens bike

While I love my Beach Cruiser "Brunhilde" she's not exactly the type of bike I want to use daily.  She's beautiful, she turns heads, and is fun to ride, but with all the work I've done to her.. I cringe at leaving her on a public bike rack, or on the back of my car for too long.   Therefore, I've resolved to bring her out for trail rides and special occasions such as bike parades and bicycle events.

I had such grandiose plans for biking this summer.  Nonetheless.. I didn't do a fraction of the biking I wanted to, for the aforementioned reasons.  I'm in desperate need of a bike that I can use as a daily driver.  Nothing too fancy, just a well built vintage single speed or three speed bike.  Yesterday.. I found one that fit the bill.

1979 Open Road Mens 3-speed

I found this gem at a thrift store for just twenty clams.  She was in great shape and ride-able to boot!  It was obvious from the wear, or lack thereof.. that she was only ridden occasionally.  Major oxidation of the paint, gave me a clue that she had been stored outside much of her life.  Thanks to the thick coats of paint they used to spray on bikes back in the day, she was only rusted where nicks and pits in the finish were present.

Open Road was a brand of bikes sold in Montgomery Ward department stores, possibly Sears, as well as others.  They were immensely popular back in the day because they were a solid built bike, sold at an affordable price.  Many of my friends growing up had Open Road bikes, and they all loved them.

  Three speed Shimano rear hub

The three gear hub needs nothing more than cleaned and oiled.  This 32 year old Shimano hub (and bike for that matter) was made back when things were built to last. This bike project I'm embarking on I guess could be classified as recycling and or re-purposing.  Heck.. it can probably be considered "going green" in its own right.  I can't describe how happy it makes me, to be able to buy a bike this old and be able to use the heck out of it. And.. I got it for a song!  Definitely bargain of the year for me thus far!

Later in the day.. I sat in front of the bike in my garage simply to admire it.  The yellow paint, the orange and brown graphics, and brown handlebar grips, all had this bike looking like it rolled straight out of 1979.  I almost felt bad about what I was getting ready to do..

Single and 3-speed bikes were my life as a kid, so once I got a wrench in my hand, I had the bike stripped down to the frame in under fifteen minutes.  Another clue that this bike had a pretty easy life, was the condition of the crank and fork bearings.  The bearing grease on both sets of bearings was clean and translucent, and the bearings themselves showed no wear.  

My vision for this bike is a cross between a road and comfort bike with a low key look to it. (Hope I don't get carried away with the customization)  Flat black is the color I'm going to paint it, and I already have a few bells and whistles in my possession that I'm going to outfit her with.

After 1/2 hour, the sanded frame is ready for primer

Voila!  Here she sits primed and ready for paint.  If it wasn't for a busy weekend, I would have this bike painted, and put back together before Monday.  However, it will probably be another week before it's finished.  I want to take my time painting it, and I have a few parts I need to buy for it to make my vision a reality.  I'll post a couple of pictures once she's done so you can see how it looks.

!update! See the finished bike here