Mountain bikes were originally based on Schwinn balloon-tired cruiser bicycles fitted with derailleur gears and called “Klunkers”. A few participants began designing and building small numbers of mountain bikes with frames made out of modern butted chrome-molybdenum alloy steel. Using the standard electro-forged cantilever frame, and fitted with five-speed derailleur gears and knobby tires, the Klunker 5 was never heavily marketed, and was not even listed in the Schwinn product catalog. Unlike its progenitors, the Klunker proved incapable of withstanding hard off-road use, and after an unsuccessful attempt to reintroduce the model as the Spitfire 5, it was dropped from production. 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. In 1938, Frank W. Schwinn officially introduced the Paramount series.
This dry-app (press-on), clear-coatable, decal set includes one down tube decal, a seat tube panel, chromoly tubing badge, Schwinn Cross badge and four red and white stripes. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. It’s pretty great to have folks who bought their first bike from Earl on Archibald Street schwinn beach cruiser come in and get two for their grandchildren. Bikes have changed a lot but not our commitment to the folks who ride them. Several owners have guided the store’s growth since Earl retired in the 1980’s, mostly by Roger Frey who brought it to Williston Road in South Burlington. Bring your bike to us and we’ll help you choose the perfect selection of parts and accessories to make your bike shine all year long.
Sometime in the 1970’s, the Schwinn Chicago factory was organized by the United Auto Workers union, who felt that bicycle factory workers should be paid on the same scale as automotive workers. Unfortunately, the realities of the marketplace didn’t agree, and Schwinn closed the factory, transferring most production to Japan (Panasonic) and Taiwan (Giant). Schwinn also built a factory in Greenville, Mississippi, but it didn’t last, and even bought a factory in Hungary, but the deal fell through, and Schwinn never imported any Hungarian bikes to the U.S. If I recall, it was what Schwinn called a “cantilever” frame, where the seat stays pass by the seat cluster and continue on in a graceful curve to join the bottom of the head tube. Older Schwinn “cruisers”, such as the Excelsior that was the inspiration of the first mountain bikes, used a straight lower top tube from the bottom of the head tube to the seat tube.
At the close of the 1920s, the stock market crash decimated the American motorcycle industry, taking Excelsior-Henderson with it. Arnold, Schwinn, & Co. (as it remained until 1967) was on the verge of bankruptcy. With no buyers, Excelsior-Henderson motorcycles were discontinued in 1931.[5] Ignaz’s son, Frank W.
However, one member of the Schwinn family remained at the helm of a U.S. bike company. Richard Schwinn ran Waterford Precision Cycles out of the same plant in southeastern Wisconsin previously owned by his family.
You’ll get an extra boost of power while you pedal, which makes getting up hills and riding longer distances easier and more enjoyable than ever. Make it a trip to remember with camping and mountain biking schwinn beach cruiser combined! The kids will sleep great in their tents after all that riding. Starting in 2005, Schwinn also marketed Motorscooters under the Schwinn Motorsports brand.[69] Production ceased in 2011 (approx).
By 1992, when the Schwinn Bicycle Company went into bankruptcy, the manufacturing of its bicycles had moved almost entirely overseas, primarily to Asia. That’s still the case for Schwinn-branded bikes sold in the United States. Discover the newest offerings in Specialized bikes, e-bikes, gear, and apparel at our store. Our knowledgeable staff is here to assist you in navigating our extensive product lineup.
For more than 130 years, the Schwinn name has been synonymous with bicycles. This is still true almost 30 years after bankruptcy ended the Schwinn family’s ownership of the brand. After the bike-boom of the early 1970’s, Paramount was in a poor state of affairs in regards to competition and advancing technologies. In 1979, Edward R. Schwinn Jr. was made president of the company and promptly closed down all of the Paramount operations until they could be brought up to date. In time, the Paramount came in a variety of models but remained expensive to produce and purchase. We do our best to find replacement parts, but keep in mind that parts may be difficult to find, especially for older models.
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. Do your research, both online and at local bike shops, to get the very best deal on vintage bikes or to restore your Schwinn to its original condition. Whether you dream of repairing your childhood Sting Ray, hanging your shiny red Phantom on your den wall, or amassing a large collection of vintage Schwinn bicycles, you are part of the love affair many people have with these beautiful, nostalgic, pedal-powered machines. In late 1997, Questor Partners Fund, led by Jay Alix and Dan Lufkin, purchased Schwinn Bicycles. Questor/Schwinn later purchased GT Bicycles in 1998 for $8 a share in cash, roughly $80 million.