# Most desireable middle weight bike



## oskisan

I am not much of a middle weight guy (I toggle between ballooner to muscle bikes but skip middle weights), and was wondering what you thought the most desirable middle weight bike is... (note: If a bowden is a middle weight than skip that one of course)..


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## Nickinator

oskisan said:


> I am not much of a middle weight guy (I toggle between ballooner to muscle bikes but skip middle weights), and was wondering what you thought the most desirable middle weight bike is... (note: If a bowden is a middle weight than skip that one of course)..



IMO it has to be these two






Roadmaster Skylark prototype and a Huffy Radiobike


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## oskisan

wait.. (I've never seen one up close in person).. the radiobike is a middle weight??!! I always loved this bike.


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## jd56

*Columbia Fire Arrow*

My 59 Fire Arrow is a dream to ride and everyone loves the tanklight....then there are the Spaceliner style bikes....you guys knew that was coming.

Nick that is an awesome choice, if it is a middleweight?...Huffy Radio Bike...HW or MW it is tops on my list too. Just don't have one.... yet






Fire Arrow





Then there is this perfect specimen of the PantherII


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## Nickinator

oskisan said:


> wait.. (I've never seen one up close in person).. the radiobike is a middle weight??!! I always loved this bike.




Yup I own one, I won best in show about a month ago at a local swap meet with it






.

Nick.


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## jd56

I know and your's is sweet.


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## cyberpaull

*I own the ones I think are.*

1962 Red Schwinn Jaguar Mark IV and 1960 Green Schwinn Panther III


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## Gary Mc

Early 60's Columbia Firebolt with rear rack that is part of frame & 1959-61 Huffy Eldorado would be 2 of my favorites.  Both also make great customs like my 61' Eldorado Beach Cruiser below.


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## oskisan

Nice Fire Arrow also...



jd56 said:


> My 59 Fire Arrow is a dream to ride and everyone loves the tanklight....then there are the Spaceliner style bikes....you guys knew that was coming.
> 
> Nick that is an awesome choice, if it is a middleweight?...Huffy Radio Bike...HW or MW it is tops on my list too. Just don't have one.... yet
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fire Arrow
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then there is this perfect specimen of the PantherII


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## Rear Facing Drop Out

*The Bowden Spaceliner is a Middle weight*

They are propabely the best. I like the spaceliners, chrome with red or chrome with teal.


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## GenuineRides

*my vote is Schwinn Jag*

My vote is for the Jag, Schwinn had great jeweltone paint colors coming out of the late 50's.  Here's my original paint '61 w/2spd.

GenuineRides


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## vincev

Bowden Spacelander is my pick .Bowdens rule, Boris.


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## cyclingday

While trying to decide which bike to ride this weekend. The poor unloved lowly Schwinn Deluxe Tornado got the call.

Though, I was a bit embarrased to be seen riding such a runt, I must say, that it cruised like a champ and actually looks pretty sweet.

I don't think that I would call it the best middleweight ever, but it does disguise itself pretty good, with that embossed straightbar tank and Delta Hawk fenderlight.

At first glance you'd think it was a Hornet, but with the lower rolling resistance of the higher pressure tires, you can zip around pretty good.

We ended up putting some miles on, and actually rode well into the night. So, I now have some new found respect for the sweet little middleweight called the Deluxe Tornado.


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## cyclebuster

56 American on my wall is neat. this 61 F85 is headed for wallspace


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## thebicyclejungle

*Desireable? I think so.*

How about those two?  Streamliner and 5 speed Corvette?


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## cyclebuster

very nice bikes never seen a streamliner of that vintage


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## jd56

*Astro Flite*

My additiction for the Middleweight gene' started with these nice looking Murray Astro Flites...again the chromed "Spaceliner" forward thrust tanklights is what gave me goosebumps






But are they still my favorites?
The search continues


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## bike

*roadmaster*



Nickinator said:


> IMO it has to be these twoView attachment 60084View attachment 60085
> 
> Roadmaster Skylark prototype and a Huffy Radiobike



Where did you see that? ANyone here have one?


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## mruiz

I lot of you folks never seen the deluxe Hornet,Middleweight fully loaded. I don't own one. There are realy nice. Schwinn of course..
 Mitch


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## thebicyclejungle

mruiz said:


> I lot of you folks never seen the deluxe Hornet,Middleweight fully loaded. I don't own one. There are realy nice. Schwinn of course..
> Mitch




Did you mean this one, Mitch?


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## kcjim

This is my favorite! 61 Fire Bolt,  I do not post here often but  hey this stuff is in my price range.


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## WarrenG

*Nice Paul*

Good to see the old girl in a new home.  I am digging out the spares and will be posting Schwinn Middleweight parts for sale soon. The kickback was my favorite bike. I also have a CD of the Schwinn dealer service manuals that shows how to rebuild the beasts. The best add to the bike would be a caliper front brake. The only thing I did not like about the 2 speed. 

Here is a partial list of MW items
Indexing springs 
1 set red Westwinds used but sweet.
1 also nearly new S reflector

1 NOS Bendix lever 2 speed hand shift and cables
I paid a pretty good price for these when collecting in the Midwest.

I am down to 3 bikes 
3 motorcycles 
3 cars 
Can only ride one at a time


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## Freqman1

I only have one middle weight in my collection--1959 Schwinn white Corvette. This is the only year the Corvette was offered in white. I need the correct seat for this bike if anyone has one. The other white Corvette is my '88 Callaway Twin Turbo. V/r Shawn


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## bikecrazy

I have to say that the Schwinn Corvette 5-speed deserves credit along with the Schwinn Jaguar. If they are Coppertone that is all the better!


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## jd56

*Nice 61 Firebolt*



kcjim said:


> This is my favorite! 61 Fire Bolt,  I do not post here often but  hey this stuff is in my price range.




I also have another firearrow that is a 64. Had a kickback. Right now that is on my 59


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## kcjim

jd56 said:


> I also have another firearrow that is a 64. Had a kickback. Right now that is on my 59




I just love these tanks. I think I need to find that front rack for the fire bolt, nice bike


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## 1959firearrow

I'm gonna have to say the 1959-61 Fire Arrow/Fire Bolt but I might be a little biased on that vote. Another Bike I would like to have is a fully optioned coppertone Schwinn Corvette. I have a weakness for them.


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## jd56

*4 sale*



kcjim said:


> I just love these tanks. I think I need to find that front rack for the fire bolt, nice bike




I hate to do it but, I've decided to sell this 64 FireArrow. But only because I have a nice 59 FireArrow. Why should I hoard 2 of these when they are so rare and hard to find in OG condition. Anybody interested? 
douglas.jd56@gmail.com

My apologies for highjacking this thread...additional pics can be seen in my gallery and the "for sale" forum.

JD


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## Schwinndemonium

*My favorite middleweight?*

My favorite middleweight did not even exist, until I built it, as Schwinn never built one of these in this configuration. So I ask a question. What do you get when you combine a 1961 Schwinn Mark IV Jaguar with a 1965 Schwinn Collegiate? You get a 1961 Schwinn Mark IV Jaguar 5 speed. I built it the way Schwinn would have built it, if they did. It works wonderfully, and is a fine stablemate to my 5 speed Corvette, which over course we all know, Schwinn did build that. (Sorry, Barack!)

And THAT is my favorite middleweight!

Jim.


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## jd56

Very well done Jim. Even with all the added bling it looks factory. Only the true Schwinn collector would notice or comment on the wrong added parts.
For the guy that has to have a sweet looking fully loaded Schwinn, this is one that would be tops on my list.

But, to some it might be called a frankenbike...I call it SWEET and well built
Great job!!


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## Schwinndemonium

*"All the added bling"?*

I really do not feel that I added anything to this bike. The only thing I added extra to it was the period correct aftermarket green and white cable wrap. Before I converted it, it was still a 1961 Mark IV 3 speed Jaguar tank bike. complete with front and rear racks, and Delta "Roadliter" ball headlight, as originally equipped from the factory. All I really did was swap out one gearing driveline for another, plus the custom decals made up as such. The seatmast tube decal was a modified 5 speed Corvette decal that I changed to read "Jaguar Mark IV" instead of "Corvette". The crossed flags graphics added to the chainguard below the word "Jaguar" is the exact graphic decal that was used on the 5 speed Corvette's chainguard. So basically the way I designed and built this bike, I was using what would have been the Schwinn design team's parameters, as to how this bike would have looked in order to be possibly marketed around 1962. Other than the stem mounted "S" shifter, and big chrome "pieplate" spoke protector, this bike would be period correct as a 1962 model Schwinn. If this bike would have been built, and marketed in 1962, it probably would have sold for ten dollars more than their 5 speed Corvette, at $89.95, a terribly expensive kids bicycle back in that day. The 5 speed Corvette was expensive enough.

Jim.


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## jd56

*I stand corrected*

Jim,
I thought it was a Corvette converted to the MarkIV Jag. My bad. 
Because of that ASSumption, I was under the impression that the Corvette did not have a tank and racks. 
I stand corrected and should spend more time reading the copy before making a statement.
It still looks SWEET. I love the green and chrome!!


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## Schwinndemonium

Yes, you are right that Corvettes did not have tanks, as they came from the factory. However, they did come with a front single or double hinged spring rack designed to carry small items with, as well as a battery operated headlight on the handlebar stem. Corvettes did not come with rear racks from the factory, though. You could have the dealer install one for you at an extra charge.

Jim.


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## jwm

Schwinndemonium said:


> ... Corvettes did not come with rear racks from the factory, though. You could have the dealer install one for you at an extra charge.
> 
> Jim.




Excellent point. I won't forget the kid in my neighborhood who had a Schwinn Varsity with banana seat, and ape hangers. He got it like that from the Schwinn dealer  because that's how he wanted it. A Schwinn dealer would pretty much set up any bike the way you wanted if you were willing to pay. Not all the odd Schwinns are necessarily frankenbiked together.

JWM


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## walter branche

*46 bowden*


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## partsguy

cyclebuster said:


> 56 American on my wall is neat. this 61 F85 is headed for wallspace




Such a rare specimen! I didn't know the F-85 was available yet in 1961?


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## jd56

*Wow...white vettes*



Freqman1 said:


> I only have one middle weight in my collection--1959 Schwinn white Corvette. This is the only year the Corvette was offered in white. I need the correct seat for this bike if anyone has one. The other white Corvette is my '88 Callaway Twin Turbo. V/r Shawn




I have readjusted my wish list since seeing the few White Corvette recently. Surfed the schwinnbikeforum galleries and saw pedalsnostalgia's and island schwinn's examples.
pedaslnostalgia





island schwinn





Shawn, want to sell yours?


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## island schwinn

bikecrazy said:


> I have to say that the Schwinn Corvette 5-speed deserves credit along with the Schwinn Jaguar. If they are Coppertone that is all the better!



the coppertone jags,or any other model,are real nice.as far as the coppertone corvette 5 speed,there is only one known example and it's currently being restored by pedalsnostalgia.coppertone wasn't available on corvettes until very late 62 for the 63 model year.the latest 5 speed was august 62 until the coppertone one showed up.


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## bike

*was a 46 bowden*



walter branche said:


> View attachment 68194View attachment 68195View attachment 68196




riding on 175s or some weird english rim?
What year were 26x1.75 introduced?


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## JOEL

The Evans - Colson middleweights seem to be quite scarce and under appreciated. 

Spaceliners and Schwinns seem to be the most collected MW's.

Here's an original BLUE Radio Bike.


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## stoney

Nickinator said:


> IMO it has to be these twoView attachment 60084View attachment 60085
> 
> Roadmaster Skylark prototype and a Huffy Radiobike




Never saw a Roadmaster Skylark before, never saw a green Radiobike before either, until I looked at Nick's. I think you made the right choice on the Radiobike, got a red one. Much nicer looking than the green.


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## jd56

Have to say Nicks Radio Bike is top of my list this week anyway....love that bike.

Hell I can't make up my mind!!!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## MaxGlide

*The Spaceliner.....*

Come on..... this is a sweet bike.... i have one coming from a Craigslist find in Darien Il.


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## rollfaster

*1959 schwinn jaguar mark IV*

cool lines with elligance.


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## BLWNMNY

Mine would have to be the 1959 schwinn "deluxe hornet".  Chris


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## baronvoncatania

*Tell me it wasn't green!!*



BLWNMNY said:


> Mine would have to be the 1959 schwinn "deluxe hornet".  Chris




I had a green hornet deluxe 1959 I really want it back! Do you have pics?

My second choice is this:


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## island schwinn

BLWNMNY said:


> Mine would have to be the 1959 schwinn "deluxe hornet".  Chris



they are one of my favorites too.should be one popping up around here soon.hope the new owner posts pics.


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## bricycle

Middleweights do nothing for me, but I gotta say, the Huffy Radio Bike has to be #1


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## dougfisk

1957 JC Higgins Flightliner.  This bike set the bar until the Stingray debut.  And everybody was obliged to copy it.


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## spoker

eyeryone has there favorite,there really cant be a most desirable nor should there be


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## dougfisk

Columbia Firebolt... because it was somewhat unique in an era of Flightliner copycats.


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## stoney

For me---Spaceliners


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## BLWNMNY

*Black and Red*



BLWNMNY said:


> Mine would have to be the 1959 schwinn "deluxe hornet".  Chris



Black with Red accents, not in great condition, but I still love it. I have another one on the way,Red with Black accents,

100% complete in very nice condition. I will have to post pictures when I receive it, can not wait.   Chris


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## jacobs132

*61 schwinn jaguar*




my 1961 Schwinn jaguar


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## rustystone2112

*middleweights are great for the longer rides*

i know it's a prewar tank and blackout pedals but it's all i had when i built this in 1997,also custom paint i wanted to do something a little different, got tired of painting the same old B MODEL OR DX paint schemes.
still ride great and always gets a lot of looks


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## GTs58

That is one sweet looking Spitfire rustystone!


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## rustystone2112

*1956 spitfire*



GTs58 said:


> That is one sweet looking Spitfire rustystone!



thank you,it took me 4 days just to paint the raised letters on the tires


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## rustystone2112

*more middleweights*

sold this pair of wasp's a couple years ago, with custom two tone painted DELTA "wasp" headlights.
his 1956 hers 1958


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## rustystone2112

*1958 HORNET little sister middleweight*

little sister to my 56 spitfire


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## willswares1220

*Original,  childs 1961 Schwinn Deluxe Hornet- 24 inch*

Here's a cute little guy I just picked up.


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## MAD BRAD

Just got a blue 1960


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## MAD BRAD

Like this a lot


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## Evans200

First, the obvious:
Bowden Spacelander, total no brainer in any weight range, IMO. It's the post war version of the Elgin Bluebird, collectibly speaking.
The Huffy Radio Bike.
Any "Dial Your Ride" bike.
The next 2 I'm biased toward because I have them, 59 Western Flyer Golden Flyer and 64 Sears Spaceliner Deluxe.


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## HENRY FLYNRC@PEOPLEPC.COM

oskisan said:


> I am not much of a middle weight guy (I toggle between ballooner to muscle bikes but skip middle weights), and was wondering what you thought the most desirable middle weight bike is... (note: If a bowden is a middle weight than skip that one of course)..


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## HENRY FLYNRC@PEOPLEPC.COM

Evans200 said:


> First, the obvious:
> Bowden Spacelander, total no brainer in any weight range, IMO. It's the post war version of the Elgin Bluebird, collectibly speaking.
> The Huffy Radio Bike.
> Any "Dial Your Ride" bike.
> The next 2 I'm biased toward because I have them, 59 Western Flyer Golden Flyer and 64 Sears Spaceliner Deluxe. View attachment 289078 View attachment 289079


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## HENRY FLYNRC@PEOPLEPC.COM

HEY HEY...THIS IS HENRY SAYING THE MIDDLEWEIGHTS ARE THE EASIEST TO RIDE.....RESTORE....AND MAKE BEAUTIFUL....ALL SCHWINNS FROM THE 50'S AND 60'S ARE EASY RIDERS...IF YOU HAVE A HEAVY BALLOONER TRY PUTING A SHARP QUALITY PAIR OF MID WEIGHT TIRES UNDER THOSE CHROME FENDERS...IT WILL RIDE COOL AND MAKE THE BIKE SEEM LIGHTER AND EASIER TO HANDLE.....AND SO IT GOES...SIGNED HENRY FROM HENDERSON


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## jason morton

I would put the Schwinn deluxe American in with the panthers and Jaguars and Corvettes .... Just my opinion....


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## CrazyDave

Most desirable middleweight?  The one a guy will trade you a pre-war bike for!!!


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## rollfaster

I had this 61 sears flightliner for a bit. Not really rare, but people seem to love them. This one was all OG including Allstate tires and missing nothing. Local find.


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## jimbo53

Also a fan of the great industrial designer Viktor Shreckengost's JC Higgins Flightliner.


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## irideiam

cyberpaull said:


> *I own the ones I think are.*
> 
> 1962 Red Schwinn Jaguar Mark IV and 1960 Green Schwinn Panther III
> 
> View attachment 60099 View attachment 60100
> 
> View attachment 60099
> 
> View attachment 60100



Agree..............


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## stezell

What about the Monark Silver King Imperial aren't they considered to be middleweight?


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## tikicruiser

Mine!


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## BLWNMNY

My 59 original red with black accents deluxe hornet.


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## BLWNMNY




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## piercer_99

I am biased, I lean towards the 1963 Flying O' Lancer.    For example, mine.


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## Phattiremike

cyberpaull said:


> *I own the ones I think are.*
> 
> 1962 Red Schwinn Jaguar Mark IV and 1960 Green Schwinn Panther III
> 
> View attachment 60099 View attachment 60100
> 
> View attachment 60099
> 
> View attachment 60100



Love the red Jaguar!


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## Goldenrod

This is not a middleweight because I make these on full ballooners.   I would like to make a point that should make us all proud.  In 1947 and 1948 two groups of kids crossed the country on Whizzer-schwinn middleweights.  The spokes were thin and many tires wore out but they all made it, sleeping on the road.  Kids who rode these had a lot of bark on them.


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## Sigh1961

jimbo53 said:


> Also a fan of the great industrial designer Viktor Shreckengost's JC Higgins Flightliner.



Just saw a girls version of this bike on craigslist for $125.  it was chrome and turquoise.


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## jimbo53

If this is the bike, they reduced it to $100. 

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/bik/5729345576.html

Bet they would take $75! Nice bike! Would like that as a companion for my boy's Flightliner, but too far to drive fro Charlotte NC


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## Sigh1961

Here is the listing
http://quadcities.craigslist.org/bik/5781318573.html




 
I guess it is $175.


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## Krakatoa

In my mind this is a very interesting frame style~ the 1967 Columbia Fire-Arrow. It's very progressive and jet-age and at the same time references some very early and ahead of their time loop tail styles of the 1930's. I've only seen a couple in the wild. I can't think they were made for very many years, and I live in the prime Columbia picking area!


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## phantom

This 57 has been by far the best MW I have ever owned.


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## Hobo Bill

i've put bout 100,000 miles on this bike...went down MT.tam once.....faster miles per hour...eh!


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## Nashman

"*Turn* on, *tune in ( Huffy radiobike), drop out*" is a counterculture-era phrase popularized by Timothy*Leary* in 1966. In 1967 *Leary* spoke at the Human Be-In, a gathering of 30,000 hippies in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and phrased the famous words, "*Turn* on, *tune in, drop out*".


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## Nashman

I just can't dig those M/W seats. We had those on most of our Canuck and English bikes..yuck..


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