W. Schwinn, grandson Frank Valentine Schwinn took over management of the company. By 1950, Schwinn had decided the time was right to grow the brand. At the time, most bicycle manufacturers in the United States sold in bulk to department stores, which in turn sold them as store brand models. F. Goodrich bicycles, sold in tire stores, Schwinn eliminated the practice of producing private label bicycles in 1950, insisting that the Schwinn brand and guarantee appear on all products. In exchange for ensuring the presence of the Schwinn name, distributors retained the right to distribute Schwinn bikes to any hardware store, toy store, or bicycle shop that ordered them.
The 21-speed trigger shifters provide easy gear changes, while Schwinn alloy cranks and 7-speed freewheel offer the right gear at all times. And you can ride with confidence thanks to the front and rear mechanical disc brakes that deliver extra stopping power. Alloy, high-profile double wall rims provide durability without weighing you down. Plus, 29 x 2.25 inch all terrain tires give you that go-anywhere capability. Like all Schwinn bikes, the High Timber ALX comes with a limited lifetime warranty for as long as you own the bike. Schwinn was soon sponsoring a bicycle racing team headed by Emil Wastyn, who designed the team bikes, and the company competed in six-day racing across the United States with riders such as Jerry Rodman and Russell Allen.
On the standard models, you have rim brakes which are going to give you ok stopping power, and on the ALX, you get disc brakes which are much better at stopping and in all conditions. The frames they use on all the High Timbers are lightweight aluminum, and they have front suspension, which is going to take all the bumps out of the road, but you’re not going to want to go to extremely technical courses with this bike. The lower the number, the better components that the bike has. They come with front suspension, typically a Zoom fork with 60mm of travel.
Then on other models, they will adjust the frame size and keep the wheel size the same. We’d take a standard bike like this little girl has and switch to smaller wheels (say 20 inchers on a bike typically made for 24s), allowing for a lower frame but keeping the length from getting ridiculous. Those wheels would not be standard spoked wheels but some kind of cast or molded form (similar to what BMX bikes have done). My favorite feature of the Chopper was the gear selector that made it seem like this bicycle was actually a car, which is what we as elementary schoolers really wanted anyway. Note the gear indicator window behind the giant shift knob (there were also 5-speed models as well as those with tandem gear selectors for models with gearsets in the back and on the crank).
The bike itself wasn’t even listed in the product catalog. The Raleigh Chopper actually wasn’t the first wheelie bike. The Schwinn Sting Ray debuted in 1963 as a response to a California trend of fitting motorcycle-style accouterments to bicycles such as long “banana” seats, tall “ape hanger” handlebars, and small diameter wheels (often with the rear a larger size). WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — Pacific Cycle is working with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall about 17,600 Schwinn mountain bikes because the bikes’ frames can crack. Schwinn mountain bike is a good choice if you are looking to get into cycling and don’t want to break the bank.
The Loft 7D is also available in a step-through frame option. As with most things we buy, our final decision is based not only on what we want but also on what we can afford—and somewhere in the middle is the best option for the money and the riding you do. So while a $6,000 custom commuter bike might make you starry-eyed, there are plenty of sub-$1,000 possibilities that fit your needs. And while a $500 city bike is easier on the wallet, it might not offer the best features for longer commutes or those with mixed terrain.
In the late 1960s, the Varsity and Continental pioneered the use of auxiliary brake levers, which allowed the rider to rest hands on the straight, horizontal center section of the ram’s horn handlebars, yet still have braking control. This feature, attractive to older riders, soon found its way to other Schwinn models, especially those intended for senior schwinn electric bike citizens. The frame is aluminum, and it is designed to stay very agile and help the rider with harsh off-road terrain while being robust and lightweight. Schwinn Traxion is an absolute beast, and this bike has some excellent capabilities. Unlike the other bikes above, this is a full-suspension mountain bike and not only has front forks but a rear shock.
While Schwinn’s popular lines were far more durable than the budget bikes, they were also far heavier and more expensive, and parents were realizing that most of the budget bikes would outlast most kids’ interest in bicycling. Schwinn mountain bikes are probably some of the best entry-level bikes. Although they might be cheaper than most brands, the quality is still there. Parents were apparently hesitant to buy such odd machines for their kids, but eventually, they appeared all over the neighborhood streets. By the later ’60s, the “muscle bike” style accounted for up to seventy-five percent of all bicycle sales, with competitors from most major bike brands (and rebranded ones sold in department stores such as Sears and JCPenney’s when they were still a thing). Outlandish interpretations existed such as Murray’s Fire Cat..