Schwinn Bikes At Sunrise Cyclery!

This wouldn’t end up a “work” bike, that job would still belong to the rusty old Roadmaster in the garage. This is the yellow bike in Schwinn’s Krate series of Sting Ray kids bikes. Schwinn picked some of the best components available at the time too. There’s the venerable Shimano Deore XT component group (18 “Indexed” speeds), Araya RM-20 rims (simply the best available in ‘87), a Suntour XC Pro seatpost and a Nitto stem . The fact that Schwinn designed this bike to resemble a muscle car of the era does not mean that they made a style decision at the cost of performance.

In 1971 it was pretty awesome to have shifting options that went from about 55 gear inches on the low end to about 100 inches on the high end. For those of you not familiar with the concept of gear inches this meant slogging-through-wet-cement gears on the low end to washing-machine-spin-cycle cadence on the high end. Balloon tire cruisers had lost favor with America’s youth, and the increasing popularity of “English Racers” meant that Schwinn’s 67 pound Phantom was too heavy and inefficient for modern tastes. We got this bike from Steve Habener, Arthur Habener’s son who happens to be a cycling enthusiast who lives in Silverdale. This bike is an Oscar Wastyn Special, built by Emil’s son sometime in the late 1930’s.

The Paramount used high-strength chrome-molybdenum steel alloy tubing and expensive brass lug-brazed construction. During the next twenty years, most of the Paramount bikes would be built in limited numbers at a small frame shop headed by Wastyn, in spite of Schwinn’s continued efforts to bring all frame production into the factory. A. It’s not really a question of “better” but of which is more appropriate to the kind of bicycle. The big advantage of disk brakes is when it’s wet, because they clear water more quickly. In competitive road racing, they make changing wheels quicker in the event of a puncture. Rim brakes are cheaper and are still an efficient way of stopping a bike, so they remain popular.

Sadly, most Schwinn bikes are no longer suitable for more serious riders because they’re made with entry-level components that limit performance. If you’re a casual rider, though, you’ll be more than happy with any Schwinn bike. It features a large rear basket, fenders, and an extra-large seat. Therefore you can ride it to the grocery store and go out even when the road is damp.

Into the smog of the combustion engine era, Arnold, Schwinn & Co. pedaled on. But improved “safety bike” designs, mass production, and cheaper costs now made them the must-have mode of transport for millions of everyday Americans. The resulting two-wheel gold rush was making some men their fortunes, and crushing others under the weight of competition.

Offer not available with any other offer and is subject to availability and may change at any time. Offer is valid once to a customer and excludes previously placed orders. In October 1979, Edward R. Schwinn, Jr. took over the presidency of Schwinn from his uncle Frank, ensuring continuity of Schwinn family in the operations of the company. However, worker dissatisfaction, seldom a problem in the early years, grew with steep increases in inflation.

schwinn bike

Granddad was a blue Schwinn Paramount hand built by Oscar Wastyn. That bike, built in the ’40′s, had such a great reputation that every Paramount that rolled afterwards was judged against it. Dad was a orange bike from ‘74 built with a Campagnolo huffy mountain bike Record group. These days, with such nuanced bike design it’s possible to get exactly what you want but also quite possible to pick incorrectly and wind up with something that really stinks for the types of adventures that you have dreamed up.

More and more cyclists, especially younger buyers, began to insist on stronger steel alloys , responsive frame geometry, aluminum components, advanced derailleur shifting, and multiple gears. When they failed to find what they wanted at Schwinn, they went elsewhere. While the Paramount still sold in limited numbers to this market, the model’s customer base began to age, changing from primarily bike racers to older, wealthier riders looking for the ultimate bicycle. Schwinn sold an impressive 1.5 million bicycles in 1974, but would pay the price for failing to keep up with new developments in bicycle technology and buying trends. After a series of production cuts and labor force reductions, Schwinn was able to restructure its operations. The company renegotiated loans by putting up the company and the name as collateral, and increased production of the Airdyne exercise bicycle, a moneymaker even in bad times.

The Paramount series had limited production numbers, making vintage examples quite rare today. The 1960 Varsity was introduced as an 8-speed bike, but in mid-1961 was upgraded to 10 speeds. Other road bikes were introduced by Schwinn in the early and mid 1960s, such as the Superior, Sierra, and Super Continental, but these were only produced for a few years. The Varsity and Continental sold in large numbers through the 1960s and early 1970s, becoming Scwhinn’s leading models. The wheel rims were likewise robust, chromed, stamped steel with a unique profile designed to hold the tire bead securely, even if pressure were low or lost.

For all its associations with the 1950s and ‘60s, though, Schwinn’s mid-century heyday was really just an easy downhill glide after five decades of determined, non-stop pedaling. Crew-cutted Eisenhower kiddos had Schwinns on their Christmas lists because Schwinn was already the name their parents knew and respected. The brand was deeply embedded into the culture from the dawning of the 20th century onward. “Schwinn could have jumped in and built one of their own, but they waited a long time to do that,” said dealer Levesque. Schwinn said its alternatives include finding an individual or another company to invest in the bike maker or merging with another firm. The company said it is not engaged in merger talks but is holding “a couple of discussions” with potential investors.