Despite their fall from grace, Schwinn produced high-quality bikes for decades. Many were made in limited quantities and are considered highly desirable nowadays. Schwinn also faced increasing competition from other high-quality US-based brands such as Specialized, Trek, and Cannondale. Schwinn themselves began increasingly importing schwinn beach cruiser bikes from the Japanese producers Bridgestone and Panasonic, which were able to rival prestigious models such as the Schwinn Paramount, yet could be sold at half the price. In conjunction with this, Schwinn, along with other USA-based bike manufacturers, successfully campaigned in 1955 to raise import taxes on foreign bikes.
Prior to the 1950s, high street retailers bought non-branded bikes from producers and then put their own branding on them. It looks just odd enough for drivers to take a second look in a “what the heck is that thing? A second look is invaluable as a rider, where we’d often even be grateful for a first look from schwinn dealers drivers. 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.
It opened a trendy shop in Detroit and a fancy boutique in New York
City to sell its watches and the luxury bikes, the lugged, silver brazed
Runwell and the tig welded Bixby, at $2,950 and $1,950 respectively. After thirty years building the world’s finest bicycle frames and forks, we closing our doors June 30. We feel honored to have the opportunity to the cycling community and our many fine dealers. The web site, and selected parts will continue to be serviced through the site. Founded in 1974 in a Southern California garage, Mongoose has always been an aggressive brand with products that push the limits of what a rider can do. From the biggest hits on the mountain or in the park to the urban jungle, Mongoose is an authentic brand that produces durable products built for real riders.
Scott USA hoped the acquisition of Schwinn would be a good way to expand its bicycle business to the United States. Scott, with the investor group Zell/Chilmark Fund LP, formed Scott Sports Group and acquired Schwinn for $43.75 million. Over the next several decades, Schwinn remained a familyrun business. The company incorporated numerous functional advancements into its models.
W. Schwinn tasked a new team to plan future business strategy, consisting of marketing supervisor Ray Burch, general manager Bill Stoeffhaas, and design supervisor Al Fritz. With the first production bike designed specifically for indoor cycling, Schwinn set the standard for an industry. Riders experience enhanced comfort with adjustable seat slides and handlebars, and durable stretch pads. A product of input from hundreds of users, cycling instructors and fitness buyers, this innovative bike belongs in a class by itself – but your riders will definitely want it in theirs.
They also manufactured their own rims in the Chicago factory, the “Schwinn Tubular Rim”. These rims, like the Chicago frames, were among the sturdiest ever built. The parts that say “Schwinn” were made by Schwinn in their enormous Chicago factory (which I had the pleasure of touring in the early ’70’s). Parts that say “Schwinn Approved” were made elsewhere to Schwinn’s specifications. Schwinn held 25 percent of the market by the 1950s, a distinction it maintained through the 1970s.
That represents a miniscule fraction of the estimated 13
million adult bicycles sold in the country each year. The one commonality is
an exacting attention to detail and precision measured by the thousandth of an
inch. The factory that produced the iconic Schwinn Paramount racing bikes has solidified its place near the top of the US bicycle manufacturing industry. As the parent company of such legendary brands as Schwinn and Mongoose, Pacific Cycle delivers some of the biggest names in outdoor recreation. But it’s not just the names customer’s trust, it’s the look and feel of our products, our superior quality, and our outstanding customer service that help us bring these premium brands to the hands and feet of our customers. In late 1997, Questor Partners Fund, led by Jay Alix and Dan Lufkin, purchased Schwinn Bicycles.