Old Schwinn Varsitys have little or no resale value today. Just because a bike is old (or you remember it fondly) that doesn’t mean that it appreciated in value over the years. They were inexpensive, and they were everywhere. This forty year old bike looks the same as it did the day it was built, and things that normally give out over four decades (like bar tape, brake pads, chain, and the saddle) are as fresh as ever.Ī gentle note to Schwinn aficionados out there: Schwinn produced a lot of bikes. We joke about the heft and limited performance of these old Schwinns, but they were definitely built to last. Schwinn primarily approved of thick steel construction and chrome plating the hell out of everything in 1975, the end result being a bike that tips our scale at a robust 42 pounds. This particular Varsity is sporting “Chestnut” paint (lime green and yellow being the other choices) and is outfitted with a host of “Schwinn Approved” components. The only real difference between the Mongoose and the DeCoster frame is the oval (instead of round) cutout in the front head tube gusset. Bikes like this one with the short frame were only available in the nickel finish. There were different color versions in nickel, Red, Blue, and Yellow. The bike kits came in long or short frame versions made of 4130 chromoly. Manufactured by BMX Products, Inc., they were very similar to the Mongoose Motomag. Roger DeCoster bikes were produced from 1976 to 1983 and were sold as frame kits at most Schwinn bicycle shops across the country. This is a Roger DeCoster BMX bike, and while it may not be at the top of your wish list today, you really couldn’t have had a better birthday gift as ten-year-old in 1977. Unless you give them other ideas you may end up with a restored kids’ bike from 1977 as a birthday gift. The old Nitto handlebars were wide and put the rider in a comfortable upright position, and the ergonomic molded grips felt great.īefore you interupt your spouse to show off this web page, excitedly recalling the virtues of your first BMX bike, you should be warned: Your 50th birthday is coming up. This mountain bike was designed with a slack head tube angle and lots of fork rake, nice design elements that made the bike handle beautifully on the trails and kept the rider fairly stable at high speeds. This Schwinn Cimarron, on the other hand, deserves some nostalgia. Some folks reminisce about Schwinn road bikes… Don’t get us started on the Schwinn Varsity 10-speed. Some Schwinn fans reminisce about the 5-speed Sting-Ray or Krate models, bikes that when ridden aggressively were likely to impale the rider with a handlebar end or the shifter knob, bend a fork or break a frame. Those were pretty stylish bikes, but they were outrageously heavy and inefficient… And they were designed for children who sometimes weighed less than the Schwinn they were riding. People look back fondly on Schwinn’s balloon-tire cruisers of the 1950’s. If you find yourself at a Schwinn “dealership” these days, we suggest that you check out the grills or the lawn furniture instead. Professional bicycle stores and trained mechanics are rarely involved in the assembly of new Schwinns. The bikes are built overseas, not in Chicago. The Schwinn family is no longer involved. So with all of that, keep in mind that Schwinn bicycles of today are not the bikes that we hold in such high esteem. They made industrial-age bicycles seem new and exciting during the space-age.įor many of us, Schwinn bicycles are the reason we even ride a bike today. They built bikes for adults at a time when cycling was considered just a childhood activity. They trained bicycle mechanics and helped build professional bicycle dealerships across the country. In the three decades immediately following World War II, Schwinn nearly single-handedly kept the United States riding bicycles. In fact, there are enough of them that we decided that they deserve their own museum section. There are a lot of old Schwinn bicycles kicking around Classic Cycle. Like most great Schwinn products, this sign is over 60 years old.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |