So if you want an affordable but powerful Schwinn electric bike to ride to work, to school, around the neighborhood, or on bike paths, the eVoyageur is all you really need. The eVoyageur is a more affordable hybrid Schwinn electric bike suitable for commuters and casual riders who need some assistance. The mechanical disc brakes are the cherry schwinn bicycles on the top as they are a rare find in this price range. If you were using V-brakes before, you’ll be astonished to find out how much better braking with discs is. Schwinn Discover is here to help you discover what the word “comfortable” really means. This is a hybrid comfort bike with front suspension, wide tires, and relaxed urban geometry.
Though these are mechanical disc brakes, they offer superior stopping power compared to rim brakes. Schwinn has a phenomenal offer for beginner mountain bikers and casual riders who love the comfort and practicality of MTBs. Pacific Cycle bought what was left of this iconic American brand and started selling Schwinn models as “box store” bikes at Walmart, Target, and Toys R Us. However, many were left wondering if Schwinn bikes are still worth the money after the company was sold off to Pacific Cycle in 2001. Most models of Schwinn bikes have years of images and information via old catalogs, advertisements and Schwinn documentation.
The company was founded in Chicago in 1895 by a pair of German immigrants, Ignaz Schwinn and Adolph Arnold, amidst the nation’s halcyon days of bike riding and manufacturing. Ideas like balloon tires were introduced in 1933 and soon became the standard of the industry. In 1934, Schwinn’s Aerocycle hit the streets rescuing a declining bicycle market. Styled to resemble the streamlined motorcycles,automobiles huffy mountain bike and airplanes of the day, it sported balloon tires and deluxe features, such as a sprung leather seat, tank, fenders and built-in light and horn. It was so popular in fact, that the likes of Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby would proudly show off their Schwinns. 1963 saw the introduction of the iconic Sting-Ray model with ape-hanger handlebars and a banana seat.
The Laufmaschine was allegedly a direct response to the growing cost of keeping horses for transportation. In creating a vehicle that not only covered distances at speeds equal than or greater horse-drawn carriages, and that also didn’t need to be fed, the baron made it possible for more people to travel long distances, more easily. From the 1817 Draisienne to today’s fat bikes, these are the bikes that have shaped how we ride. During a strike atSchwinn’sChicago manufacturing plant,Giantmanaged to fill the void and pump out an additional 80,000 bicycles in a mere 5 months. In 1977, the partners managed to secure an order from the great American bicycle company,Schwinn. When Giant’s first batch of good qualitySchwinnten-speed bikes rolled off the assembly line, the company’s future looked assured.
Schwinn has bikes in every category — for men, women and kids — and sells them through mass retailers’ bricks-and-mortar stores and online channels, plus its D2C one. They’re low- to moderately priced, most under $1,000, though the top-of-the-line model in its e-bike roster goes for $4,000. Dick’s declined to comment on its Schwinn sales, and Walmart would only say that generally it’s selling more bikes during the pandemic than it did for Christmas last December. “At one point, Schwinn almost meant bicycling,” said Bill Strickland, editor-in-chief at Bicycling magazine. “But questionable leadership didn’t understand what was happening and was slow to innovate. Companies like Specialized, Trek and Cannondale took market share, and by the time Schwinn responded in the ’90s, it was too late.”
Bikes built by Waterford run the gamut from pure racing bikes and criterion or stage-racing to road and sport-riding. Schwinn never played it conservative with their ad budget, but their best sales agents were always their customers. Popular mid-century models like the Streamline Aerocycle, the AutoCycle, the Continental, Panther, Jaguar, Hornet, Black Phantom, and Sting-Ray all generated word-of-mouth buzz at bike shops, playgrounds, offices, etc. The Chicago factory was basically producing the bicycle equivalent of the Mustangs and T-Birds coming out of Detroit, and the biggest challenge was just keeping up with demand. Along with the inescapable masculinity of this operation, there was also an intensity and pressure that came with maintaining an impossibly high standard of quality. Schwinn bikes were pricier than a lot of the other brands on the market, but “German engineering” was a popular selling point then as it is today, and that reputation was vital to the business.
To find out how old a Schwinn bike is, you should first find the bike’s serial number. It is typically located under the bottom bracket, on the chain-side dropout, or on the head tube. Once you obtain the serial number, you can visit the Schwinn Date Code website and learn more about your bike. If you’re interested in old Schwinn bikes, this is a great way to learn more about a particular model by searching through old catalogs, advertisements, and Schwinn documentation available online. Schwinn serial numbers are typically found under the bottom bracket, but on some models they can also be located on the headtube or on the rear dropouts.
Interestingly, Schwinn’s 1970’s catalogs didn’t really differentiate the fillet-brazed CrMo models either. They were simply shown on the next catalog page, right before the Continental page. No separate catalog or distinct section for “lightweight touring and racing bicycles,” and no detailed discussion of mongoose bmx bike the benefits of seamless CrMo tubing and fillet brazing. Schwinn’s catalog copy for the last fillet-brazed Superior ( ) did begin to mention “hand made” and a little more on fillet brazing. Again, perhaps Schwinn didn’t highlight the fillet brazed models for fear of overloading its handbuild capacity.