Club members take a shine to old bicycles

May 9, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

READING, Pa.

They move along the panorama of Reading’s City Park like a caravan out of the past.

Twenty riders on vintage bicycles — horns honking and foxtails dangling from the handlebar grips — conjure up images of cyclists on the boardwalk in Atlantic City when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president and Elvis Presley was king.

Members of the new Reading Classic Bicycle Club are enamored of Schwinn and Columbia bikes built when Cadillacs had fins and Detroit was the automotive capital of the world.

On a recent Saturday outing, they proudly displayed bicycles with balloon tires, coaster brakes and ching-a-ling bells on the handlebars.

“They don’t make ’em like this anymore,” said Frank Martinez, who rides a ’56 Schwinn Corvette. “These bikes are part of history.”

Martinez, 50, one of the group’s founders, scours junk yards and flea markets for American bikes built from the 1940s to the 1970s.

His Schwinn Corvette, for example, had been discarded in a Reading scrap yard. When Martinez got it, the three-speed gears were jammed, and its chrome fenders were pitted with age.

Laboring over it for months, Martinez restored the luster of newness that had been tarnished by more than 40 years of use.

“People throw ’em out, and we bring ’em back to life,” he said.

The club members, who are mostly Latinos from Reading, work on their bikes in center city garages, basements and backyards.

The restoration projects range from a Schwinn Panther from the 1940s to a 1971 Schwinn Hollywood girls bike.

As was typical of the day, the Panther is adorned with foxtails, a handlebar bell and a mud flap on the rear fender.

“It’s nice and light,” said Juan Vasquez, 49. “It really gets a lot of attention.”

William Gonzalez blended the old and new into a custom three-wheeler he crafted from parts of several bikes.

Featuring a seven-speed gear system and a car stereo, Gonzalez’s bright-yellow customized trike is a definite eye-catcher.

“I don’t have to worry about balance,” said Gonzalez, who’s 55. “And with a seven-speed transmission, I don’t have to worry about hills.”

Luis Perez, 24, who’s restoring a Schwinn from the 1960s, said working on bikes has had a positive effect on his outlook on life. Since he’s been involved with bikes, Perez said, he’s less likely to be hanging out on the streets.

“You get a bike when it’s rusted,” he said, “and you try to make it shine.”

Younger club members have taken an interest in low-rider bikes of 1970s vintage.

Juan Vasquez, 19, keeps a close eye on his ’71 Schwinn with high-rise handlebars and a banana seat.

“It stays in my room,” said Vasquez, known in entertainment circles as “DJ Brooklyn.”

Martinez said parts for old bikes aren’t always found easily. He swaps parts with collectors and finds some on eBay.