Mystic Cycle Centre's Beermobile
Our beloved Beermobile is the most senior employee at Mystic Cycle Centre. Although its main responsibility these days is to retrieve lunches, it still has enough spunk to go out on the occasional group ride, usually when someone has no bike to ride.
How it ended up at Mystic Cycle Centre is a bit of a mystery. According to Rick, Mystic Cycle Centre’s former co-owner, it appeared around 1996 at the previous MCC location on Williams Street. It was a customer donation (read: abandoned.) Instead of getting rid of it, Rick rode it to the bank. Others used it to fetch lunch or grab beers at the end of the day. Hence, the Beermobile.
It was, and still is, the perfect errand bike to get around Mystic’s notorious traffic and parking headaches.
The bike has proven racing power. Many moons ago, Rick rode the Beermobile with other MCC team members of that era- including our present owner, Chris- in Misquamicut. They were all on vintage bikes. Rick spied a guy in full triathlon gear and TT bike up ahead and decided to ride a pace line to catch up to him. They blew past him.
The shop sticker on the downtube indicates the bike was sold brand new from Tempe Bicycle in Tempe, Arizona before making its way east. The Beermobile is a Takara, a bike brand built by committee for the U.S, market. Around 1973-1974, a group of ten distributors, with the help of Mitsui Trade Company, contracted with the Kawahara Company to build Takara bicycles. Other various Asian manufacturers built the bikes later on.
Interestingly, the bikes were shipped to dealers almost fully assembled. Securing the handlebar stem into the head tube and installing the pedals were the only assembly tasks left to do.
Another sticker on the down tube informs us our Beermobile was made in Taiwan. Year is unknown and size is unknown (we just don’t want to measure it.) But our tallest MCC team member, Caesar at 6’4”, and our shortest, Elaine at 5’3”, can both ride the bike.
The Beermobile is a lugged steel bike with Cr-Mo 4130 Main Tubes (we’re just reading the sticker here.) The split/dual top tube is a mixte step-through design. Unlike a lot of mixte touring bikes, the Beermobile has swept back bars rather than the usual drop bars.
2x drivetrain, 6 speed. Sun Tour downtube shifters with a Sun Tour rear derailleur and a Shimano Tiagra front derailleur. Caliper brakes make it stop. Wheels are 27” with a Sunshine quick release skewer on the front. The handlebars and the bike are burnished with rust spots, which pop against the wildly unexciting gray paint job.
A Wald front basket carries the groceries. Two bike bells give it dynamic bell-ringing power. What bike has the very best in spoke protection: a metal dork disc? The Beermobile!
The following are unvarnished, unbiased reviews of the Beermobile, free of any hyperbole, from MCC team members:
Service Manager Jackson, 5 stars: Basket is perfect for whatever you need to carry: beer, water bottles, or enough GU for a century ride. The bike has a wonderfully compliant ride and the larger 27” wheels with wide tires really smooth out the road and maintain speed. The stem shifters are in the perfect spot for ergonomics and aerodynamics. The bike is paired with optimal gearing for Mystic, whether you’re trying to go fast or just crush the hill. The comfortable geometry lends itself perfectly for an around town bike.
Co-Sales Lead Caesar, 4 3/4 stars: Great at everything. Smooth, compliant, versatile. Accessibility is insurmountable. Dual downtubes make it a handsome machine.
Bike Fitter Michael, 5 stars: Shifts well, comfortable. Can carry a whole bunch of shi—stuff.
Service Writer Chris, 5 stars: Handles like an old truck.
Mechanic Nick, 4 stars: Great bike.
Owner Chris, 5 stars: No better bicycle that’s ever been sold, no better bike!
Inventory Lead Elaine, 4 1/2 stars: I can’t believe I rode it. Shockingly not bad.
Co-Sales Lead/Marketing Coordinator Ryann, 5 Stars: Classic, cozy and easy to ride. There's even a basket!
The Beermobile is priceless.
