Huffy bike fans worry as company hits bumps in the road

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | August 3, 2004 | JAMES HANNAH -- Associated Press

[Willie Green]

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Nancy Thickel has fond memories of the Huffy bikes she has bought over the years.

The first one she used to get around as a student at Ohio State University in the 1970s. Another was an anniversary present for her husband and two more were birthday gifts for her children.

One reason to buy Huffy bikes was to patronize a local company that had grown up in the city known for two famous bikemakers - Wilbur and Orville Wright.

"It was all about brand awareness," said Thickel, 53, of suburban Oakwood. "It was the Dayton brand."

But Huffy Corp.'s recent financial bumps in the road have Thickel concerned about the future of the Huffy name. Over the past few months, Huffy has seen its stock plummet, sold some units and talked about strategic options, including the possible sale of the company.

"A lot of people rode Huffys when they were young," said Fred Clements, executive director of the National Bicycle Dealers Association. "Huffy is a recognized brand. I think there is value there."

[Willie Green]

No, Mr. Clements, Huffy bikes lost all their brand-value almost 5 years ago.
(Huffy to stop making bicycles in the U.S.)
Nowadays, Huffy is just another piece of globo-junk with a label that's synonomous with poor quality.

[MarkeyD]

Was it ever anything but? Look up the phrase "Huffy Toss" on the web.

Huffy Toss

[Question_Assumptions]

Made me think of this article.

[reagandemo]

Exactly! Another example of poor management. Look at Trek Bicycles. Made in the USA. They have a whole line of bikes from the small children's to the very expensive Lance Armstrong racing bikes. They are doing very well. Good management and marketing.

[Question_Assumptions]

Try this correct link.

[Ladysmith]

No doubt! I have a Huffy mountain bike which I can count on both hands how many times I rode it. After a couple years of it sitting unused in the garage, I tried my brother's Schwinn while out camping. When I got home, I went straight to the bike shop and dropped $350 on a new Schwinn. I love that bike - others get to use the Huffy.

[Docbarleypop]

i had a great argument one day with my uncle about huffy, he thought it was a nice bike and i, of course, stated otherwise, he then tried to say that since huffy sponsored the 7-11 bicycling team in the 80s they must be at least TDF calliber bikes, i then showed him a close up of one of the bikes andy hampsten was riding, i showed him the welds (actually the lack of) they had the Colnago cloverleaf design and the components were not huffy components they were campignolo parts which unless you live in europe, they were and still are quite expensive.

then i asked him "if huffy made an airplane, would he ride in it?" he said "of course not!" my point exactly!! i would have no problem with huffy if they didnt outsoarce all of their production to developing countries. we need cheep bikes just the same as we need expensive ones.

[RepatriatedTexan]

Unfortunately, Trek mid-range and lower end bikes are made in China.. I was disappointed to see a 'Made in China' sticker on my Trek 820 when I bought it a few years ago.

[RepoGirl]

I have a sticker on my truck that reads:

"If Huffy made an airplane, would you fly in it?"

I remember way back in the early or mid 70s, when I was but a wee lass, Huffy put out these fake moto-cross bikes that made vroom-vroom! noises when you turned the grip-shift handlebars.

Funny, every kid I knew, even back then, thought Huffy bikes were crap. Schwinns, on the other hand, were COOL.

Now that I am older, though, its Specialized all the way.

[q_an_a]

about time some folks noticed the difference in well made and well run products vs popular products. Huffy could be doing well if the product was made as well as if it was made in Japan or a specialty American company.

[chilepepper]

my first real bike (one i bought with my own paper route money) was a 3 speed red huffy with sturmley-archer hub transmission when i was in my early teens...

it was NOT made in the US, rather in UK...

Huffy has been making K-Mart junk for years, and they missed the big bucks in the mountain bike boom (which is gone now, since its all made in China and has been for years).

sorry, huffy has been run by marketing types for about 20 years now and they deserve what they get. huffy to me now is synonymous with "junque".

[dhuffman@awod.com]

How many other brands once associated with quality have been bought and milked by the marketeers? How many were American and now are off-shore/globalist/one-world crap?

[Charles Martel]

I remember way back in the early or mid 70s, when I was but a wee lass, Huffy put out these fake moto-cross bikes that made vroom-vroom! noises when you turned the grip-shift handlebars.

Funny, every kid I knew, even back then, thought Huffy bikes were crap. Schwinns, on the other hand, were COOL.

Wow, I'd completely forgotten about the Huffy bikes with the twist-grip noisemaker. There was also a Mattel V-Room bicycle about a decade earlier; you can still find the "engines" on eBay. Very interesting artifacts, to be sure.

I remember the "Huffy = crap" opinion being prevalent, too. Of course, Schwinns *were* cool. Especially the Krates. I remember showing my dad an "Apple Krate" ad in Boy's Life magazine. He looked thoughtful for a moment, tamped down the tobacco in his pipe, and said: "No."

I did get a blue StingRay, so life was still pretty sweet. Wish I could still comfortably ride that little bike. Nowadays, both Schwinn and Huffy appear to have gone to the dogs.

[truth_seeker]

"Unfortunately, Trek mid-range and lower end bikes are made in China.."

Same is true in other industries.

BMW makes cars/Lt. Trucks in Germany, USA and Austria; probably other places, too.

Volkswagen makes Lt. Trucks in Slovakia.

Ford, GM own subsidiaries in Germany, Sweden, Japan, Britain (and probably other places).

Manufacturing of components is spread world over.

I have remote key devices for two different European vehicles; both devices are made in Canada.

I presume, therefore, that Canada has a niche for this part.

Back to bikes. In 1983 I bought a "Nishiki Professional" racing bicycle. Each model year, they made a different version of a top of the line bike, presumably aimed at professional racers. I wasn't one.

I bought a 1982 model, brand new, for pretty low price. The frame was made and bike assembled in Japan, but the components were entirely Campagnolla (Italian).

I believe the next model year, the frame and components were all Italian. The point is: Bike parts are fairly low tech, and companies have sourced things around the world for years.

I currently have a made in the USA Trek, and that was a reason I bought it; along with best value and features. Mid-range bike, too. Not high-end.

[itsamelman]

Huffy has always sucked - out loud. Any kid I knew that got one of those pieces of crap for Christmas was immediately out of the Cool Kids Bike Club and spent the rest of Christmas Day cursing Santa Claus.

Old school Schwinnn rocked, however.

[Chuckster]

I just looked at the sticker on my GT "Triple triangle" mountain bike sitting in the corner of my office (I rode it to work this morning). "Made in Taiwan". The welds on the aluminum frame are beautiful. The bike is rugged and still handles my 16 mile round trip commute quite nicely after 8 years of making the trip two or three times a week. Quality is where you find it; though, frankly, I'd still be riding my Haro Impluse (ca 1990) if it hadn't been stolen.

[gringo_in_Akita]

Hey Huffy,
When I need a 77-pound mountain bike, I'll be sure to get in touch with you guys.

[RepoGirl]

Were the Krate bikes those weird ones with the stick shift set in the cross bar instead of up on the handle bars?

I don't know about Schwinns anymore, but they're still sold in one of the local bike shops here. Right alongside the Treks and the Cannondales, so I guess some models are still pretty good. I don't know though.

Currently, I just have my beloved pre-Trek (made in the good ol' USA) Gary Fisher Marlin. But eventually I will be treating myself to a Stumpjumper, and if I'm real lucky: a Bianchi roadbike, possibly a Brava or San Remo. They's just so dang sweeeet! Or Dolce, as they say.

My only problem with bikes today: no banana seats. What in the heck happened to banana seats? Why can't I find a bike with a metallic lime green seat and an orange paint job? Why does everything have to be so tasteful these days. Bikes were so much cooler back in the 60s and 70s.

[BOBWADE]

I had an orange crate special with cheater slicks! That was a while ago.

[GATOR NAVY]

Huffy has always sucked - out loud.

That's what I remember. The 5-speed Stringray with stick shift-that's what me and all my friends wanted.