RecumBum

I purchased this bike from the “Coast to Coast” store in Higginsville, MO in May 1980. Coast to Coast was a chain of hardware stores that also offered a wide variety of general department-store products, including bicycles. Before the advent of big discounters such as Walmart, it was common to find small chains such as Coast to Coast in small town across the nation.

Coast King 10-Speed Bicycle

The bike is a model 86949D, and is labeled as a “Coast King”. I no longer have the receipt, but my recollection is that I paid $150 to $200 for it, which was a substantial sum at that time, particularly for a high school boy paying for his own bike. It was the highest-end model they offered, though I don’t know how it would have compared to bikes sold by bike stores, as there were none anywhere near me at that time.

I added fenders and a rack, as well as a mechanical odometer (which eventually fell apart and was removed). The bike still has it’s original platform pedals. The drop handlebars are covered with rugged non-slip rubber sleeves, and the brake levers have extension arms so that the brakes may be accessed whether your hands are on to or on the drops.

The bike has a Shimano “ThunderBird-II” front derailleur, a Shimano “Positron II” rear derailleur, and Shimano Positron friction shifters. The front brakes were dual-pivot centerpull brakes (the brake pads were lost at some point, and never replaced).

The most unusual feature of this bike is the rear disk brake. It’s described as a “free floating disc brake”, and is a pretty massive hunk of metal. To it’s credit, this brake has always worked perfectly, and provides a great deal of stopping power.

Coast King 10-Speed, Disc Brake Detail

I don’t know how many miles I have on this bike, though I suspect it’s somewhere between 1000-2000. I commuted to my first summer job on this bike (about 17 miles round-trip over west-central Missouri hills during one of the hottest summers on record – over 100°F for 17 days straight at one point). I then took the bike to college and rode it quite a bit.

I crashed the bike in 1982 or 1983, and messed up the front wheel, which a local bike shop repaired (though the wheel has never been quite true ever since).

I replaced the tubes and tires in 2004; other than that the bike is 100% vintage. It’s a rock-solid bike, but it’s heavy – 39 pounds, 5 ounces.

Since I started riding recumbents, I’ve only ridden this bike once.