The company began operations in a factory at the northwest corner of Peoria and Lake Streets in Chicago. With the collapse of the bicycle market around the turn of the century, the company purchased March-Davis, a competitor which was operating on what was then the city’s far west side, and moved operations there. My wife bought a schwinn beach cruiser as there were none in the store thanks to COVID 19 we had one delivered to our house.
The Schwinn Web site had a Collectors’ Page with info on dating, serial numbers, etc. but the page is now available only in the Internet Archive. If you find yourself in Ohio, you might check out the Bicycle Museum of America or in Chicago, the Museum of Science and Industry. Designating the width with a fraction instead of a decimal usually signifies a straight-sided rim, not a hook-edge rim. There are similar problems with other Schwinn tire sizes.
By 1990, other United States bicycle companies with reputations for excellence in design such as Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale had cut further into Schwinn’s market. Unable to produce bicycles in the United States at a competitive cost, by the end of 1991 Schwinn was sourcing its bicycles from overseas manufacturers. schwinn bicycles This in turn led to further inroads by domestic and foreign competitors. Faced with a downward sales spiral, Schwinn went into bankruptcy in 1992.[59] The company and name were bought by the Zell/Chilmark Fund, an investment group, in 1993. Zell moved Schwinn’s corporate headquarters to Boulder, Colorado.
The book is illustrated with photographs of the factory, the Schwinn racing teams, and the bicycles the company produced . The Typhoon probably dates from the late ’50’s or ’60’s. If schwinn mountain bike 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.
Schwinn then partnered with 7-Eleven, establishing a team including Eric Heiden. When 7-Eleven decided to hit the big time in racing, Schwinn went its own way due to a lack of funding. Schwinn was, however, able to recruit an up-and- coming rider named Lance Armstrong to its ranks. 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. The original factory in Chicago that once employed as many as 2,000 people is long gone.