Alf on beaters

Alfred A Fickensher, beater bike champion, proposes this alternative work bike. He's got a point--although is could be difficult to think of this nicely restored bike as a "beater." I'm guessing Alf spent a fraction of what an extracycle or Dutch import would cost on this beauty.

Here I go again, bringing up those inelegant, not-at-all-trendy old Schwinns. This one's my grocery-getter beater bike. In uncounted shopping runs it has successfully carried (so-far) up to 130 pounds in the form of two (dry weight 50-lbs) wringing-wet bags of landscaping sand. That was one in each old-fashioned cheapie WALD rear basket. On the more regular trips, it carries whatever I bring out of the stores. In the photo it has 6 Hosta plants in 4" pots that I bought on impulse when I passed one garden center having a late-spring close-out sale. Miss Caeleigh is making sure I don't smuggle in any interlopers.
This bike is a very sun-faded 1964 Schwinn with a Sturmey Archer 3-spd hub. The yellow fenders are from some non-Schwinn who-knows-what. I fitted the Sturmey Archer DynoHub front wheel and home made a super-bright LED head and tail light circuit which are powered from the DynoHub. The wheels are 26" generic non-Schwinn so tires and tubes are available for $8 and $4 at KMart. The crankset is a used Shimano Deore that I singled with a 39T chainring (22T cog) for utility-bike old-man gearing.
Admittedly not the kind of bike that the equipment-freak roadies lust after but doggone, it _does_ fulfill its raison d`etra and it sure as hell was inexpensive. I spent about the same on the stainless spokes when I laced the DynoHub into the old steel rim, as I have invested into the entire rest of the bike.
And while I don't get the oohs-and-aahs for this bike, neither is it likely to ever get stolen.
Finally, I believe every man ought to have at least one beater bike.

alf