Pacific Cycle is owned by a Canadian conglomerate called Dorel Industries, and both entities seem to at least partially understand the lasting appeal of the Schwinn brand. The contemporary designs routinely make reference to the familiar Schwinn models of yesteryear, and there have even been re-introductions of beloved icons like the Sting-Ray. W. Schwinn had been preparing to hand the leadership of the family business to his eldest son, but when Edward Schwinn died tragically of leukemia at age 48 in 1972, those plans—and the course of the company—changed. All seemed rosy, but like the last weeks of a summer holiday, colder breezes were moving in. In all, Frank Schwinn added roughly 40 new patents to the company’s arsenal.
In 1931, a now 71 year-old Ignaz also handed over most of the day-to-day concerns of the company to his vice president and firstborn son, Frank (F. W.) Schwinn, who’d been training under his wing at the Kildare plant since 1918 . The U.S. bicycle industry — which reported total retail sales of $3.3 billion in 2019, up 1% from the previous year, according to NPD — is a mixed bag. There also are dozens of small-scale builders of customized, handmade bikes, including Mosaic, Dean, Co-Motion and Waterford/Gunnar, (owned by Richard Schwinn, Ignaz’s great grandson,) that sell models for upwards of $20,000. Today, Chinese manufacturers are again humming and bikes are aboard freighters bound for the States. Schwinn certainly hopes not, and the company is revising its marketing strategy in order to keep America pedaling.
He introduced the famous racing bike, the “Paramount” in 1937, and the “New World” in 1940 (trying to reintroduce Schwinn’s most popular turn-of-the century bicycle, the “World”). The lightweights caught on very slowly but the fat tire huffy mountain bike bikes carried the company successfully through the ‘60s. The historical treatment takes the narrative through World War II. The book then becomes more a catalog of models that many of you likely rode during the 1950s and 1960s.
The company also focused on leveraging advertising by including well-known stars in advertisements and famously marketing to children on Captain Kangaroo. While innovative, these business dealings brought about lawsuits that would plague the company for decades. Frank W.’s influence would ultimately shape bicycle manufacturing mongoose bmx bike in America. He pushed American suppliers to create more durable parts, including the balloon tire, and in 1934 debuted the Schwinn Aero Cycle made with an attention to both aesthetics and quality unseen from bicycle manufacturers. The new high-end children’s bicycle saw the Schwinn name become in high demand.
Schwinn 510R is the most affordable recumbent bike made by Schwinn, but it still delivers incredible value through modern features and a user-friendly design. It allows you to exercise indoors while experiencing all the excitement of outdoor adventures thanks to Explore the World®, Zwift®, and Kinomap® compatibility. The Meridian trike also has a large basket, fenders, adjustable handlebars, and efficient 26″ wheels. The steel frame is suitable for men and women and comes in two attractive colors. This adult tricycle shares a lot of the features with its electric twin but instead comes with a single-speed drivetrain that’s easy to use and maintain. It’s equipped with a fun and simple coaster brake, 20″ wheels, a racing slick rear tire, high-rise ape bars, and classic white rubber grips.
Schwinn says that today Waterford would be unsustainable as a business building only Waterfords and Gunnars. Ignaz came from Germany determined to make a lightweight bike that would get men, women and children pedaling when only young males could ride the awkward high-wheel bike of the 1880s. After the mass production of mountain bikes in the 1980s, Specialized began work on full-suspension designs. Horst Leitner of Amp Research collaborated with Specialized to create the FSR full-suspension design in 1991. The FSR’s four-bar linkage system allows the rear wheel to separate from the front triangle, making active and independent rear suspension possible.
The production flow for these bicycles began with frame fabrication in the handbuild part of the Chicago Schwinn factory; a low-volume production area. Frame tubes were mitered in a jig by machine, and then the remaining fabrication work (brazing, filleting, braze-ons, and finishing) was done by hand. The seat and down tubes, as well as the top tube on the largest frame sizes, are slightly oversize at 29.5 mm in diameter. Until the recent rise of quality TIG-welded and composite bicycle frames, most high quality lightweight bicycles used lugs to join their frame tubing. Fillet-brazing is an alternative method of constructing high-quality lightweight bicycle frames without the use of lugs. While the limited Paramount production represents a reflection of the Schwinn and Waterford history, the launch of Shinola represents a significant opportunity for its future.
Trek also introduced OCLV mountain bike frames, which at the time were the world’s lightest MTB frames at 2.84lbs. Trek introduced new models of the OCLV until 2004, making changes to improve performance and further decrease weight. The Schwinn Sting-Ray was known as the “bike with the sports car look.” It was produced from 1963 to 1981 and was one of the best-selling bikes in history. It features a short frame paired with high-rise handlebars, allowing the rider to make quick maneuvers, short-radius turns, and fast starts. The Schwinn Paramount was introduced in 1938, and saw phenomenal sales until the start of World War II. By the late 50s, the Paramount became the top bike for US pro racing. The Paramount used high-strength steel alloy tubing and brass, lug-brazed construction.
The factory that produced the iconic Schwinn Paramount racing bikes has solidified its place near the top of the US bicycle manufacturing industry. But it was too late for Schwinn to recover the ground that they had lost to Mongoose in the BMX market. Even worse, though, Schwinn had let its dealer network slip away during the 1970s. Mongoose, Specialized, GT, and others quickly moved in to take market share from Schwinn. Last week, I walked into a bike shop where the smell of rubber tires and the reflection from the lighting on these shiny new bikes brought on a wave of excitement typically reserved for a 10-year old.
Mike, the salesman, told me that he once was a Schwinn dealer and exclusively sold Schwinn products. Mike went on to give me a brief history that while Schwinn once dominated the market, it went bankrupt and never recovered and never again cornered the market like it did once in the mid 1900’s. Mike theorized that the downfall of Schwinn was due largely in part to the third generation of the Schwinn Family taking over the business. He believed they did not understand the needs of the times and did not have the same dedication, drive, and passion of the prior generations.