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.
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 schwinn tricycle 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.
Bicycle manufacturing in America has declined significantly in the past several decades. But Detroit Bikes is eager to bring at least a part of the industry back to domestic soil, where demand for all manner of bikes and other outdoor equipment is booming amid pandemic restrictions. Schwinn was born in Baden, Germany and moved to Chicago in 1891, attracted by the opportunities surrounding the Columbian Exposition. After working for bicycle manufacturer Hill & Moffat, and a brief stint designing bicycles for the International Manufacturing Company, Schwinn teamed up with Adolph Arnold to open his own company, Arnold, Schwinn, & Co. 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.
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.
They also easily convert to accept traditional athletic shoes with the snap-in locking toe clips. He opened Waterford Precision Cycles and briefly renewed production of the highly-prized Schwinn Paramount road racing bikes built there. Waterford Precision would continue to hand build a couple of thousand custom, steel frame bikes a year under the Waterford and schwinn mountain bike Gunnar brands, as well as for other small bike companies. Over the years, Schwinn has empowered millions of people, earning a special place in the hearts and minds of generations of riders. We have spent over a century building the bicycle industry into what it is today, and we’re not done yet. Switched from Pinnacle to Schwin for kids bikes from Evans.
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.
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 tricycle 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.