Huffy Cranbrook mod suggestions?

[GrayMan646]

Hi folks, Im a newbie in North Florida and I'm putting a Zeda 100 Max on a Huffy Cranbrook. Out of necessity more than want, for about 15-30mile commuting. I do have an older Trek SLR, but I'd kinda like to keep it as-is because it's a retired police bike, might be more valuable as it is. Would be a fine candidate for a motor though, if it'd fit the wide lower bar and the cup holder bracket holes aren't a problem.
Also have an old ratty Kent Bayside, but it'd definitely need a full teardown and replacement of bearings, bolts, brakes..everything and feel like I could fit a larger engine in the Cranbrook eventually.

Can you fine folks please suggest a good set of:
-Heavy duty tires and tubes(I'm looking at Kenda and Shwalbe, but open to other suggestions)
-Clyde rims, Are the Mag wheels at bicycle-engines .Com good?
-Caliper rear Brake and lever
-Front fork
-Thumb throttle
-Replacement bolts, heavy duty
-Bike tool kit
-Rim tape
-Bearing replacements? Should I bother with this?

Thanks in advance. I don't want to get hurt on account of lacking preparation.

 

[ImpulseRocket]

If a non-suspension fork is what you desire, this one seems relatively popular, and successfl on a few members bikes here.

Amazon.com

That fork also comes with an IS brake caliper mounting bracket, so you can run a disc brake up front for the better stopping power. A cable pull hydraulic works excellent and would also work with a double pull brake lever.

Speaking of dual pull levers.

Amazon.com

The only Mag wheels that seem to be safe are a 3 spoke set. There are others here who run them and have for years that should be able to provide a link. The other wheels sold are all well known to crack and fail.

As for replacement nuts and bolts, the best thing you can do is replace them yourself as needed. Select the hardware you want to replace and find new Grade 8 (SAE) or 10.9 (Metric) at either ACE Hardware or a company like Fastenal.

I assume by bearing replacements you mean the wheel bearings? If the ones on it now are new, just make sure hey are clean, well greased, and adjusted properly.

 

[Johnny_]

Hi folks, Im a newbie in North Florida and I'm putting a Zeda 100 Max on a Huffy Cranbrook. Out of necessity more than want, for about 15-30mile commuting. I do have an older Trek SLR, but I'd kinda like to keep it as-is because it's a retired police bike, might be more valuable as it is. Would be a fine candidate for a motor though, if it'd fit the wide lower bar and the cup holder bracket holes aren't a problem.
Also have an old ratty Kent Bayside, but it'd definitely need a full teardown and replacement of bearings, bolts, brakes..everything and feel like I could fit a larger engine in the Cranbrook eventually.

Can you fine folks please suggest a good set of:
-Heavy duty tires and tubes(I'm looking at Kenda and Shwalbe, but open to other suggestions)
-Clyde rims, Are the Mag wheels at bicycle-engines .Com good?
-Caliper rear Brake and lever
-Front fork
-Thumb throttle
-Replacement bolts, heavy duty
-Bike tool kit
-Rim tape
-Bearing replacements? Should I bother with this?

Thanks in advance. I don't want to get hurt on account of lacking preparation.

Welcome to the forum @GrayMan646 !!! That looks like a good list of stuff. For starters;
Your bike. #1 Lets see a picture of it! We always like to see pictures lol. #2... I've heard not-so-good things about motorizing Huffy bikes. I know they have thinner tubing, and can tend to crack over time. Iirc @Gordy motorized a Cranbrook so I'm sure he can tell you more.

Ok as to your parts requests....

-Tires: Kinda depends on your planned riding. Off-road or street? I'd say just find a set on Amazon with good reviews that are for the style of riding you plan. I have a Kenda set and those are real good.
- Mag rims at bicycle-engines.com: @DAMIEN1307 runs those, I know he likes recommending them, so I assume they're pretty good.
-Brakes... I assume you're looking to add rim brakes since the cruiser has the coaster brake? I'd add two, one to the front, one to the back. An adjustable set like this... Amazon.com should be suitable. (Might have sturdiness issues, probably wanna look at reviews before ordering.) Also more on the brakes in the throttle section.
-Front fork... not sure, why do you wanna replace it? I know dual springer forks look pretty awesome, not sure how it'll work on that bike.
-Thumb throttle.... Amazon.com That is a thumb throttle and dual brakes. So both your brake cables will go into that, and both will be activated when you pull the lever. That is kinda necessary, as the handlebars can become cluttered and the controls unusable real quick.

Not sure on the other stuff. I know you'll get more assistance shortly.

Hope that helps some!

 

[Gordy]

Long story short, Cranbrooks suck. How much is your budget?

 

[Gordy]

I'll give you a bit more info when I get home

 

[DAMIEN1307]

I also had a Cranbrook, my first motorised over 11 years ago...The frame cracked because of thin walled tubing, Huffy bikes in general suck because of that thin walled tubing with a motorised bike.

My existing bike right now I built 5 years ago with many things that have already been suggested.

I bought a much thicker tubing bike with much better welding, it is the Hyper Beach Cruiser and it is still standing up to everything I throw at it including when I changed out the Zeda 80 motor with the much more powerful and very torquey Phantom 85 motor.

It is a bargain at 148 bucks from Wally World...lol.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-Bicycle-Men-s-26in-Beach-Cruiser-Bike-Black/299035532

I have also included my tutorial in this post that tells you all the things I used to build it, where to get the parts with the links to the product which also shows current prices etc...Lets see if that helps you out any in your quest to build a decent road bike.

I also replaced the front fork last week with the one that @ImpulseRocket pointed out in his post, I haven't taken any pics of it yet though...lol....I bought the black one rather than the chrome to keep my bike black with its red highlights as much as possible...lol.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084FL7K5...=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

Whats the best bike for a 2 stroke?

Were miles away, but I bet our side of the railroad tracks are pretty similar. Before I found cranbrook in trash, I picked up a 74 schwinn world traveler & a 74-75 schwinn varsity people were throwing away, was going to build 1 of them, but long skinny front forks were scaring me. They can be...

motoredbikes.com

Here are a few picks of my present bike that now has a few thousand miles on it.

 

[Amwicr]

Mine felt bad. When new, the front wheel was out of true by like an inch. Also I guess geometry (?) made it feel sketchy.

 

[Gordy]

Okay, so the Cranbrook sucks. But you can make something outta it. I would just go with brakes like this...

Amazon.com

And these are the rims I have...

Amazon.com

If you get those rims you can run discs, but the rim brakes work too.


The Walmart brand tires aren't bad, but I like Maxis tires. Use the SLIME ultra thick self sealing tube and slime puncture proof tube liner. That has stopped 1" screws in my tires before.

Front fork, what style do you want? Dual springers are nice. They would come with disc brake mounts.

I like to use old inner tubes for "rim tape"

Get a dual pull lever from bicycle engines.

Never used a thumb throttle so I couldn't tell ya.

Bolts, just get 'em at the hardware store.

And bearings, just pull them and grease them. If you're upgrading wheels the rest of the bearings aren't nearly as important.

The bayside is a better candidate. Do you have the Cranbrook,.or were you getting one? And most engines.are roughly the same dimensions no matter the CC

 

[Gordy]

Mine felt bad. When new, the front wheel was out of true by like an inch. Also I guess geometry (?) made it feel sketchy.

Yup. The frame geometry is odd. Not much rake. Makes it wobbly around 25-30+

 

[GrayMan646]

Okay, so the Cranbrook sucks. But you can make something outta it. I would just go with brakes like this...

Amazon.com

And these are the rims I have...

Amazon.com

If you get those rims you can run discs, but the rim brakes work too.


The Walmart brand tires aren't bad, but I like Maxis tires. Use the SLIME ultra thick self sealing tube and slime puncture proof tube liner. That has stopped 1" screws in my tires before.

Front fork, what style do you want? Dual springers are nice. They would come with disc brake mounts.

I like to use old inner tubes for "rim tape"

Get a dual pull lever from bicycle engines.

Never used a thumb throttle so I couldn't tell ya.

Bolts, just get 'em at the hardware store.

And bearings, just pull them and grease them. If you're upgrading wheels the rest of the bearings aren't nearly as important.

The bayside is a better candidate. Do you have the Cranbrook,.or were you getting one? And most engines.are roughly the same dimensions no matter the CC

Was thinking of buying the cranbrook because its $77 at walmart . Com. Could just use the Bayside I have if I can get all of the rusted bolts off of it..
My budget sucks. Trying to go as inexpensive as possible while having something usable, safe, and can take upgrades later. That's a hard scale to balance though... but Def wheels/tires and brakes, probably a spring fork, will probably have to do a lot of ditch-riding and backroads until I get it upgraded with the other safety features or an off books job affords another car or motorcycle.

If anyone reading is in North Florida, i may have aome items to trade for a decent enduro...
Long story short, going thru a split, she took my lexus, spent every dime of money I had and I'm on disability trying to get to a job.. so the budget is tight.

I'll have to re-read all of these replies tomorrow And check out the parts suggested.

Very appreciative for all of the suggestions