In the late 1960s, the Varsity and Continental pioneered the use of auxiliary brake levers, which allowed the rider to rest hands on the straight, horizontal center section of the ram’s horn handlebars, yet still have braking control. This feature, attractive to older riders, soon found its way to other Schwinn models, especially those intended for senior citizens. Ignaz Schwinn was born in Hardheim, Baden, Germany, in 1860 and worked on two-wheeled ancestors of the modern bicycle that appeared in 19th century Europe. In 1895, with the financial backing of fellow German American Adolph Frederick William Arnold (a meat packer), he founded Arnold, Schwinn & Company. 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.
This is the outcome the Schwinn family had desperately sought to avoid. But like many companies struggling to decipher how American production and service workers fit in a globalized market, Schwinn erred badly. Industry insiders say the family’s dogged but ultimately flawed determination to stay American-made contributed to its doom. From California, the bikes fan out to mass merchants such as Wal-Mart.
Wheels are trued, spokes tensioned, new rim strips, tubes and tires installed. Our service department is among the very best around, and most simple repair jobs can be done while you wait. If you like Stingrays and Krates (I don’t…don’t get me started!), check out the bicyclehistory.com page abotu them. Mark Smith has a nice page about his Schwinn bikes , also some good Schwinn Repair and Restoration tips. They also manufactured their own rims in the Chicago factory, the “Schwinn Tubular Rim”. These rims, like the Chicago frames, were among the sturdiest ever built.
Schwinn offers a lifetime warranty on all of their bikes, which means you can get your money back or a replacement bike if something goes wrong. Huffy only offers a one-year warranty, so you’ll need to decide if that’s enough for you. Another thing to keep in mind is the type of riding you’ll be doing. If you’re planning on doing a lot of off-road schwinn dealers riding, you’ll need a different bike than someone who wants to stick to paved trails. Schwinn has a long history and reputation for making high-quality bikes, while Huffy is more known for its affordable prices. Schwinn bikes are typically more suited for serious cyclists, while Huffy bikes are more geared towards recreational riders.
Schwinn celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1995 by introducing a new line of bikes, sending dealers various small gifts, and putting on a show in Las Vegas called the “SchwinnDig,” with 100 cycling Elvis Presley imitators. The company also offered a limited edition of the classic Black Phantom bicycle for $5,000, some of which sold to celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld and Hugh Hefner. The real celebration, however, was for Schwinn’s reentry into the mainstream of the bicycle market; in 1995 the company was selling high-performance off-road schwinn dealers bikes, knobby-tired cruisers, and BMX children’s bikes. Fitness equipment accounted for 25 percent of sales that year and parts and accessories accounted for another ten percent. The company’s next answer to requests for a Schwinn mountain bike was the King Sting and the Sidewinder, inexpensive BMX-derived bicycles fabricated from existing electro-forged frame designs, and using off-the-shelf BMX parts. By the time the fourth generation of Schwinns were running the company, however, Schwinn was sliding from its top position.
Although bicycling was a relatively new sport, the company Schwinn founded with his partner, Adolph Arnold, was by no means a solitary venture; Chicago was home to approximately 90 other bicycle companies at the time. Arnold, Schwinn & Company proved to be the only enduring one, however. The inventory is constantly changing and there’s always a wide selection. This was a no-expense-spared project of Frank W. Schwinn, who wanted the bike to be introduced in 1938. It was an unqualified success, other than that it was very expensive to produce and showed little if any real profit potential.
By the late 1980s these problems had translated into serious losses. Bike sales fell from one million in 1987 to 500,000 in 1991 and to approximately 275,000 in 1993. By 1992 Schwinn held only about five percent of the U.S. bicycle market and had lost $50 million in the previous three years, including a $25 million loss in 1992 alone. Having lost the confidence of its dealers, fallen behind in research and development, and given up market share to new companies with aggressive distribution, the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 7, 1992. If you buy a racing bike or MTB from Cannondale or Focus, you can be sure you purchase a bike with state-of-the-art technology and parts from brands that live their passion for cycling.
The Sting-Ray[28] sales boom of the 1960s accelerated in 1970, with United States bicycle sales doubling over a period of two years. I have been riding bikes for over 20 years now and have never gotten bored with them. However, Schwinn typically offers more features than Huffy, which may be something to consider if you are looking for a specific feature for your child’s bike. You want to make sure that the bike is not too heavy for your child to ride. Schwinn bikes are typically lighter than Huffy bikes, which makes them easier for your child to ride. Huffy cruiser bikes, on the other hand, are often made with cheaper materials.