First of all, while other Depression-era manufacturers were understandably using cheaper components and increasingly marketing bicycles as “toys”—Schwinn actually went the opposite direction. The company stopped dealing with department stores and worked exclusively with proper bicycle retailers—such as Barnard’s or the Chicago Cycle Supply Company. This helped develop a legion of loyal dealers and customers, all of whom appreciated Schwinn’s focus on quality above schwinn bicycles quantity. Frank also threatened to start importing parts from Europe if U.S. suppliers didn’t raise their own quality standards, and the tactic worked—the parts remained domestic, but far superior to what most bike companies were using. This was the Chicago of the Gilded Age, after all—the phoenix that had risen from the Great Fire’s ashes; the fastest growing epicenter of trade, industry, and technology in the U.S.; and a town with a World’s Fair in the works.
An extremely popular bike at the time, the Schwinn Stingray was the natural choice for early BMX. Frame failures from crashes and jumps meant gussets had to be welded in place, otherwise a kid was going to be going through a bike every month. Mark outfitted his Peloton with Shimano’s new Dura-Ace 7400 component group instead of the stock Suntour Superbe Pro parts. The polished and precise 7400 components announced Shimano’s arrival to the top tier of road racing bicycle components. Up on the head lug we have a knob that tightens down on the steerer tube of the fork, damping the steering response.
These problems were exacerbated by the inefficiency of producing modern bicycles in the 80-year-old Chicago factory equipped with outdated equipment and ancient inventory and information systems. After numerous meetings, the board of directors voted to source most Schwinn bicycle production from their established bicycle supplier in Japan, Panasonic Bicycle. As Schwinn’s first outsourced bicycles, Panasonic had been the only vendor to meet Schwinn’s production requirements. Later, Schwinn would sign a production supply agreement with Giant Bicycles of Taiwan. As time passed, Schwinn would import more and more Asian-made bicycles to carry the Schwinn brand, eventually becoming more a marketer than a maker of bikes. As a result, Schwinns became increasingly dated in both styling and technology.
For the middle-of-the-range price, the Schwinn Phocus 1400 and 1600 Drop Bar Road Bike is great value for money and offers high-quality alloys, framing, and gears that most brands would charge an arm and a leg for. This is a big contrast to the old bikes from the Schwinn brand which were reliable enough to sit for decades in your shed with no use and still be able to ride whenever you needed it. They are entry-level products at inexpensive prices but they do possess higher quality materials than most generic cheap bikes.
On a more practical level, Chicago also had a strong community of German immigrants, and a huge share in the budding bicycle craze of the 1890s. Feeling an obligation to at least try to keep people riding bikes past their teenage years, Schwinn made adult bikes for a nearly nonexistant U.S. market during the bicycle bust decades of the 1940′s, ’50′s, and 60′s. Profits from sales schwinn bicycles of kid’s bikes supported their attempts to get adults riding. Schwinn kept advertising their adult bikes, and produced some great models. The thing that we like about these mountain bikes from the late ‘80’s is their general usefulness. Sure, you could enter a mountain bike race or have an all-day adventure exploring the fire roads and hiking trails outside of the city limits.
They would, however, make a point of celebrating the “Made in the USA” aspect of the brand above the “German engineering” element. Careful effort was also made to include plenty of wholesome “All-American” athletes, film stars, and other celebrities as Schwinn endorsers. And so, despite the rough economy and clear warning signs that the bicycle bubble was doomed to burst, Ignaz made his big move.
The lightweight aluminum frame is combined with a SR Suntour NEX fork for utmost comfort on bumpy roads. You’ll also get an 8-speed Shimano drivetrain that will allow you to keep pedaling without much effort. In addition to being hand-made in the USA, Schwinn Collegiate is also easy to ride and maintain. It’s equipped with a 1×8 Shimano drivetrain and simple front and rear caliper brakes that offer great stopping performance.
However, many people argue that kids’ bikes do not need to be durable, as the child will likely outgrow the bike in a maximum of a year. Schwinn kids bikes are especially high-quality, thus making them a bit pricier than Huffy bikes. Huffy sells bikes with training wheels, bikes for toddlers, tricycles, and even balancing bikes that you can use to help your young ones balance.