Old school Chicago Schwinns...

[Oldfentiger]

Schwinns must be pretty uncommon in the UK. I certainly don't ever recall seeing any dealers that sold them when I was a youngster, and I never came across anyone riding them back then either. Maybe some came into this country via US military personnel stationed in the UK?

The rarity aspect was what prompted me to part with the 55 quid to buy it.

 

[Gravity Aided]

So they were a big manufacturer, maybe on a par with Raleigh in the UK, although Raleigh always produced a pretty wide range of models, not just heavyweights. Sadly, Raleighs sold now in the UK are also made in the far east and badge engineered, although all my ones were built in Nottingham and were deliberately acquired as such.

Quite a rough equivalent. They had some higher end bicycles after the 70's, but that was a case of closing the barn door after. They also made the Paramount, a very fine bicycle, but it cost too much for what it was, and most of us around here, after detasseling corn for the summer, used that money to buy a Raleigh. Of which there were also dealers. Stella was also sold in Normal, because Bevil Hogg, who later was a part of Trek Bicycles, owned a store still in town, Vitesse, which sold them. Here's a picture of what that retail looked like:
http://www.bikepeoria.org/2015/04/a...lks-bicycles-in-the-1970s-and-business-today/
and the Gibsons sold lawn mowers, garden equipment, and Raleighs. I lived near Peoria, and so was near an early Bushwacker outlet, as well as some Schwinn stores. When Schwinn got the news about truly light weight bicycles, unlike many of their bikes which had ten speeds, but even the Varsity was over 30+ pounds, Trek was already producing full bicycles. Trek started producing just frames, but then started doing bikes complete as well about that time, all out of a barn in Waterloo, Wisconsin. Whereas Schwinn had a big plant in Chicago, and later Greenville, MS, before they moved their production overseas. I think when they finally did do lightweight frames, Giant made most of them, and panasonic made the higher end bikes in the line. Some higher end bikes by the 80's were being produced of Columbus Tenax, I think in Greenville. After that, I think it was all down to badge engineering. They did some great mountain bikes, too little, too late. They did some credible mass market road bikes, too little, too late. Inability to read trends and recapitalize properly, as well as the inability to see bicycles as something other than a kid's toy for many years, created many of their problems. Now bike shops are like high end stores, all full of fancy racks, fancy bikes, and fancy decor, and the place where you can still get the old bike shop experience is the co-op. I know, I've been around long enough to have seen both the old style bicycle shop and the co-op, which mainly caters to economically challenged folks who need the bike, or need the bike fixed, to get to work, because they don't have money for the car, or the judge told them they can't drive. There are also people who are fed up with new bikes and the new ways of doing business. I was in photographic stores and labs from the 1980's until 2004, and things were quite parallel there as well.

 

[Salar]

The nearest easily available equivalents in the UK are the Electra Townies in various gearing.
Prices aren't too bad. I was tempted once but my love of the old nostalgic 80's-90's mtbs always gets the better of me.

https://www.backpacking-united.com/...MIlv7Uh77T3QIVzrvtCh1UbAAKEAQYAyABEgL9qvD_BwE

 

[Gravity Aided]

Electra is an okay bike. They are a bit pricey. I bought a used 3 speed Electra, very nice, very retro, sold it on as 3 speeds just really aren't my thing.

 

[Salar]

Electra is an okay bike. They are a bit pricey. I bought a used 3 speed Electra, very nice, very retro, sold it on as 3 speeds just really aren't my thing.

They do 3, 7 and 21 speed I think, but I'll stick with old solid MTB's for the rough and ready stuff.

 

[Gravity Aided]

They do 3, 7 and 21 speed I think, but I'll stick with old solid MTB's for the rough and ready stuff.

Yes. I had the three speed, very retro, and the Townie, 21 speed, at different times. I liked them a good deal, but sold them both as I was financing greener pastures, bicycle-wise. Both bikes very crank-forward, so you could stop and put your feet down. I moved on to a Bike E, a recumbent, for the cruiser portion of the program.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

. Both bikes very crank-forward, so you could stop and put your feet down.

It's probably not really the right thread, but When I ride a bike with slack geometry, like an old 3-speed roadster, pushing a high gear with a low cadence doesn't feel as much hard work than pushing a similarly high gear on a bike with a less relaxed frame. Is it my imagination, or does a more feet-forward riding position facilitate the use of higher gearing?

 

[Gravity Aided]

I believe it does, at least in my instance.

 

[FolderBeholder]

Just came across

Just came across this picture...this was my FIRST restoration. This was a nice riding bike and perfectly geared. I regret that seat choice now but it's no longer my bike so that's a moot point (except from a purely stylistic standpoint)
.

 

[Drago]

Have you ever felt like building a klunker?

 

[FolderBeholder]

Have you ever felt like building a klunker?

Do you mean like a rat bike? (as in original patina...not all shiny and pretty?)
Yes.( My OCD is less a problem as I get older)

 

[Drago]

I mean as in the proto mountain bikes from the 70's.

 

[further]

Serious question, if they were heavy why all the extra tubing ?

 

[Gravity Aided]

Durability. Also, it seemed like a good idea at the time. The two small tubes seemed de rigeur back then. Probably would have been a good design with lighter wheels, lighter alloy parts, and thinner metal, but, as we used to say in the old neighborhood, if your grandma had wheels , she'd be a bus.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

If you look at the top tube and down tube, they are actually quite small diameter tubes, and appear of equal size. Normal practice on later steel bikes would be to have a slightly larger diameter down tube. The extension of the seat stays forward all the way to the down tube would have a similar effect to having a larger diameter down tube.