Thoughts on Huffy Cranbrooks

[Sgt. Howard]

Well, five years ago I joined this forum after I built my first MAB- I used a Huffy Cranbrook in blue. Last week, the motor died. Of the several MABs I have built, three have dead motors... two have broken frames, these being the 'Panama Jack' flavor and are broken where the rack is welded to the frame.
All the other Crannys are intact except for fenders which were either re-enforced or removed.
I will stand by what I have said all along- the Cranny is a good choice for a MAB base as long as you avoid the 'Panama Jack' or the 'Nel Lusso' varieties. They are cheap, sturdy and easy to use- you have to open the sprocket hole to fit it to the hub, and do something with the fenders- other than that, they work fine.

I have purchased two of the 'Millennial' Huffys with 29" wheels, but have yet to motorize them- I have been busy with a small mountain of other priorities the past three years and am only now getting on top of it all. I am thinking of getting a four-stroke motor for one of them once I do a custom tank as the space between the cantilevers and the top bar is sufficient to hold about a gallon. I have also improved my brazing skills considerably to the point that such a tank is less challenge than I would have suspected.

-keep on biking!!!

So, no... I am not dead yet. And yes... I still tout the Cranny

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Count me in! I think the Cranbrook is a fine bike for this job.

The one weakness is the rear hub. They're not very good. Yet mine is still going. After a couple thousand miles on my Cranbrook. I just recently used it as my spare wheel while rebuilding the wheel of my current motor assisted bike.

So even the rather poor hubs on Huffys can be made to work with gentle use and good maintenance. Plus switching it for a CB-E110 is not hard at all if one wants to do that.

The Cranbrook is just fine for this use.

 

[JunkyardDog]

I tried a Cranbrook. It fell apart. Would have probably been ok without the motor. I finally found the bike I needed on Craigslist. A former high dollar ($700-$800) bike in remarkably good shape for not that much more than twice the price (and 1/2 the weight) of the Cranbrook, with real bike shop components on it. A Staton friction drive and a Robin-Subaru motor, and I have been riding it to work almost every day for over 5 years (at 15 mph max) with virtually no problems. By keeping my speed down, and riding responsibly, I have not once been harassed by the cops.