Going downhill is where the Axum’s limitations come into play. The first thing I noticed is just how loud the bike is over rough trails. To be clear, I’m not the type mongoose excursion of rider who stops to track down every squeak and click; a little bit of noise is fine. However, this thing sounds like a one-man-band marching down the trail.
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 schwinn electric bike 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.
Schwinn’s new company coincided with a sudden bicycle craze in America. Chicago became the center of the American bicycle industry, with thirty factories turning out thousands of bikes every day. Bicycle output in the United States grew to over a million units per year by the turn of the 20th century.
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.
While they never envisioned a bicycle designed especially for riding off-road, they made vital contributions to the sport of mountain biking. Both Ignaz and Frank stuck to a philosophy of building rugged, durable bikes combined with timeless design qualities. That philosophy far outlived both of these men – a testimony to its power. The Standpoint is a Schwinn® Signature mountain bike that features an aluminum mountain frame with Schwinn suspension fork for controlled riding on the trail. 21 speed twist shifters provide quick gear changes, while front and rear v-brakes deliver crisp stops.