Back Alley Bikes Rebuilt Cruiser Bicycle, circa 2000
THF150972 / Back Alley Bikes Rebuilt Cruiser Bicycle, circa 2000
01
Artifact Overview
This bike was built by a youth participant in the Back Alley Bikes earn-a-bike program at The Hub of Detroit, a nonprofit, collectively run community bike shop. Made of miscellaneous parts mounted onto a trusty Schwinn town bike frame, this bike demonstrates the increased attention to making things in the 2000s -- both as an outlet for creativity and as a tool for community empowerment.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Bicycle
Date Made
circa 2000
Place of Creation
Creator Notes
Bicycle was assembled from salvaged and donated parts by Back Alley Bikes in Detroit, Michigan.
Location
at Henry Ford Museum in Driving America
Object ID
2011.323.1
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
Material
Steel (Alloy)
Aluminum (Metal)
Nickel (Metal)
Rubber (Material)
Plastic
Vinyl
Plastic foam
Technique
Homemade
Color
Light blue
Dimensions
Height: 41 in
Width: 22 in
Length: 65 in
Inscriptions
Stenciled on frame: DETROIT SUMMER / BACK ALLEY BIKES
Specifications
Title: Back Alley Bikes rebuilt bicycle, about 2000
Maker: Schwinn frame, rebuilt with used and donated parts by Back Alley Bikes volunteers and Detroit summer youth-employment-program participants, Detroit, Michigan
Speeds: 3
Brakes: side-pull stirrup
Weight: 34 pounds
Height: 41 inches
Width: 22 inches
Length: 65 inches
Price: 6 to 9 hours' work in the Youth Earn-A-Bike program
Market value: about $25
Keywords |
|---|
02
Related Content
SetAlternatives to Cars
- 25 Artifacts
Starting in the 1970s, concerns about traffic congestion, pollution and the plight of cities spurred the construction of new commuter transit systems. This postcard celebrates the 1972 opening of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit's (BART) Lake Merritt station in Oakland, California. The reproduction BART ticket was "not usable for passage."
SetVehicle Viewer
- 99 Artifacts
Americans didn't invent the automobile, but we embraced it and quickly made it our own. Cars cruise through our music, movies, and dreams. They drive innovation and create frustration. They are objects of beauty and sources of blight. The vehicles in the "Driving America" exhibit reveal how the car reshaped our culture and landscape. The decisions we make now, individually and collectively, will define our automotive future.
articleCelebrating All Things Bicycle
Celebrate National Bike Month with artifacts and photographs from our collections.