El Rey de Tres

Bikes For Tykes took on this unique project, for a young man who has mild autism. He is unable to balance on a regular bicycle, and his Mom asked if we had a solution. Well our solution included starting with an old donated Huffy and making it into something that truly doesn't exist anywhere else.

The original bike was donated to our program in 2006, along with some other kids bikes, by a retired man moving out of his home. The Huffy was actually the nicest of the batch, and fit our need for the project. It had character, wasn't particularly valuable, and could be modified without feeling like we were destroying a piece of history.

After stripping it down to the frame and fork we took the parts into Bulldog Powdercoating in Mukilteo WA for a shot of EJ's favorite color - medium blue. We checked the condition of the bottom bracket (crank bearing and races) and the head set. The head set was junk; the bearing race was channeled and nothing rolled smoothly. Historically these are cheap parts, so it didn't surprise me that a head set from the 1960s hadn't survived. The bottom bracket, on the other hand, was fine and cleaned up nicely. Some time during the previous decades a Schwinn chain ring had been swapped onto the bike. It was a bit tweaked but we were able to salvage it by bending the ring back into place.

The trike kit and accessories came from Bicycle Designer in Northern California, which specializes in lowrider bikes and parts. We chose a narrowed ape hanger and blue grips for the front, and a velvet blue banana seat. Even though the colors of blue aren't quite the same, it still looks good. The trike kit bolted together easily, and the bike frame only needed minor modifications. Initially we had intended to use a nicer crank, but the design of the frame didn't allow for any design longer than the one that came with the bike. A replacement head set was purchased, but only portions of it could be used since the head tube was an unusual size and required that I use some of the old parts.

When we handed the bike over to EJ he rode down the street, turned around, and came back. What seemed like an uneventful ride was in fact very important; it was his first bike rider ever and Bikes For Tykes was a part of it. We felt honored!