Vintage Schwinn Bikes: A Trip Down Memory Lane

YP advertisers receive higher placement in the default ordering of search results and may appear in sponsored listings on the top, side, or bottom of the search results page. Most models of Schwinn bikes have years of images and information via old catalogs, advertisements and Schwinn documentation. This page lists Schwinn bicycles models (sorted alphabetically) and links to their details.

schwinn dealers

Developed from experiences gained in racing, Schwinn established Paramount as their answer to high-end, professional competition bicycles. The Paramount used high-strength chrome-molybdenum steel alloy tubing and expensive brass lug-brazed construction. During the next twenty years, most of the Paramount bikes would be built in limited numbers at a small frame shop headed by Wastyn, in spite of Schwinn’s continued efforts to bring all frame production into the factory.

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. In the United States, however, bike companies had to find bike buyers outside the mass market dominated by bikes made in Asia. American and European makers geared their bikes for competitive riders, such as triathletes and other road racers. Marc Muller, a young new Schwinn engineer, was given the responsibility to head up the project. The Paramount operations were moved to Waterford, Wisconsin, where the Paramount was reborn with a modern factory and workforce.

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.

Although shopping online for a vintage Schwinn may net results, you may have better luck if you look at local shopping resources. Bicycle stores and repair shops often carry used or vintage bikes, and they may have some beautiful Schwinn schwinn beach cruiser models available. Additionally, you can find vintage Schwinn bikes at garage sales, estate sales, antique shops, and flea markets. Old Roads specializes in vintage bicycles from several different brands, including Schwinn.

These guys have flawless customer service and are very friendly. The Paramount was developed for track and road racing by Emil Wastyn, a 6 day racing frame builder, mechanic and Schwinn dealer in Chicago, who immigrated from Belgium. The Chicago Schwinns were among the most bomb-resistant bikes ever built, and they were built with unique technology .

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.

Joe Drennan longtime Earl’s employee and manager, purchased the store in 2015 and is carrying on our tradition of giving you the best bicycle products and customer service at the best price. Few businesses can claim 65+ years of continuously successful operation and fewer still point to an unwavering dedication to the highest levels of customer service over that time but Earl’s is one that can. Earl’s Cyclery was founded in 1953 by Earl Foley in Burlington’s Old North End on Archibald Street. The shop began as a humble bicycle and lawn mower repair shop, but quickly evolved into one of New England’s largest Schwinn dealers.

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.