Ashtabula CRUISER

[Metalbender]

Maybe someone can shed more light on this bike. The bike came from a non collector, the wheel set was out of a late model cruiser and I put a similar set back in with a little higher gear ratio. The gearing is low and a lot of fun. Other then the aforementioned the bike is as I received it, original matching paint everywhere and all pieces look to be of the same vintage. I did some searching on the Cabe and Google. I haven't found another picture of an Ashtabula CRUISER bike. From what I can figure this is late 70's from the Sun Cycle, Bradenton, Florida company. Rear dropouts, crank gear, stickers, fork, all look to match up with the BMX bikes they built. In researching, Sun used a lot of Wald in their early days which matches up with the handlebars, stem, chain guard, and kickstand. There is a serial number on the rear dropout, pictured. The sticker on the seat tube is from a business in TX.

Update: From my research on the internet....The store this bike was sold at opened around 1972 and appears to have closed in 2017 (as best I can tell)

Sun Cycle in Bradenton, Florida has been sold to new ownership at least once and sell imported bikes now, not sure if they actually BUILD any in the USA. I contacted them but they were less then enthusiastic about helping research the history of their company.

I have contacted an old bike shop in the Bradenton, Florida area that is still in existence and had a relationship with early Sun and the BMX world. Stay tuned....

I'm also including an image and caption from the BMXMUSEUM of a BMX from 1977 that looks very original. Sticker, chain ring, etc. look very similar. Caption read: 1977 ashtabula made in july 1977 one of the first bike made with the ashtabula name at sun cycle in FL There is a whole write up on the bike

 

[mongeese]

Whoa - most likely not Ashtabula built.

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

Whoa - most likely not Ashtabula built.

The fork looks to be an ashtabula

 

[Metalbender]

This is a link to a submission on the bmxmuseum site....the best info and images to sort of match up with what I have

1977 Ashtabula bmx - BMXmuseum.com

bmxmuseum.com

 

[Metalbender]

Here is the best article on Ashtaluba though it doesn't help me much, from the BMXsociety

https://www.bmxsociety.com/interviews/Ashtabula-Forge-White-Paper-Sodbuster-BMXsociety.pdf

My bike fork has those weird fork ends pictured in the article

If you look close there is a small newspaper cutout referring to the Sun Cycle Florida plant....my best guess as to where this was built...l977 to 1985ish

 

[sworley]

Very cool cruiser, Darrel!

 

[Metalbender]

Very cool cruiser, Darrel!

Thanks Sam!

 

[koolbikes]

Looks very similar to the Worksman Cycle Co. They made many frame configurations, bicycle frame & parts similar construction ... maybe something to promote the Ashtabula Co.

 

[PhxBuckeye]

It looks like a Trailmate.

 

[Metalbender]

Interesting read I found on the Ryder site related to Sun Cycle, BMX, Mountain Bikes and Ryder Cycle. I have contacted them, waiting on a reply.​

Origins of Ryder Bikes​

In 1972 a United States rocket scientist felt Bradenton needed a premier bicycle shop. The founder, Bruce Ryder opened ”The Bicycle Center” with a small nine hundred square foot space, next to a pub called the “ Inn” in the back of the old K-Mart Plaza, at 14th Street and Cortez Road.

All the neighborhood kids would come by and set up ramps behind the shop. He talked a Bradenton adult three-wheel manufacturer, Sun Cycle, and his Sertoma Club, into building a BMX racetrack on 23rd Street East and the rest is history. Manatee County became the model for the State and then the Nation. Bruce recalls, “I took a van of our local riders around the country and we set them all back on their heals. We could hear them announcing over the speaker systems at the tracks as we pulled in, “The riders from Bradenton are here!””

“I remember Frankie John had a bunch of buddies from the Islands who wanted “Moon Cruisers” that were more than just single speed bikes”, Bruce recalls. We kept building custom off roads for all our locals and called them TR- STARS. Each one wanted it better than the previous one. Now many manufactures make them and call them “Mountain Bikes”.

Bruce says to customers leaving the shop, “If this was the finest experience you had, tell every one you know, if not tell me”. His employees convinced him years ago, to change the name of the shop to Ryder Bikes. Now, the oldest and largest shop in Bradenton, features the Nation’s most unique bicycle shop. “I receive more pleasure launching lives, rather than launching rockets.” Says Bruce. His daughter, Alanna, and wife, Madeleine, exclaimed with a smile, “Manatee County community opened their arms and hearts to us and we’ve never looked back”.

Bradenton Herald - March 2002
Readers choice
"Best Bicycle Store"​