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 huffy mountain bike for all manner of bikes and other outdoor equipment is booming amid pandemic restrictions. But they’re all cranking back to life in the town that taught America how to build things.
Despite a huge increase in popularity of lightweight European sport or road racing bicycles in the United States, Schwinn adhered to its existing strategy in the lightweight adult road bike market. Though weighing slightly less, the mid-priced Schwinn Superior or Sports Tourer was almost indistinguishable from Schwinn’s other heavy, mass-produced models, such as the Varsity and Continental. While competitive in the 1960s, by 1972 these bicycles were much heavier and less responsive in comparison to the new sport and racing bicycles arriving from England, France, Italy, and increasingly, Japan. At the time, most bicycle manufacturers in the United States sold in bulk to department stores, which in turn sold them as store brand models. F. Goodrich bicycles, sold in tire stores, Schwinn eliminated the practice of producing private label bicycles in 1950, insisting that the Schwinn brand and guarantee appear on all products.
Arnold sold his share of the company to Schwinn who realized the importance of manufacturing and marketing bicycles for children. With lower prices possible due to advances in manufacturing, the market for children’s bicycles began to grow. Ignaz Schwinn emigrated to the United States in 1891 and make profit from the late XIXth century’s bicycle boom to create a successful bicycle manufacturing company with an American partner, the Arnold, Schwinn & Co. The turn of the century and the start of the automotive era saw a wave of consolidations in the bicycle business, out of which Schwinn emerged weakened – but even more ambitious.
Schwinn first responded to the new challenge by producing its own middleweight version of the “English racer”. The middleweight incorporated most of the features of the English racer, but had wider tires and wheels. But it was too late for Schwinn to recover the ground that they had lost to Mongoose in the huffy mountain bike 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. The bicycles raced in the first Tour featured steel frames and handlebars, wooden wheel rims and big balloon tires.
W. Schwinn did not seem hampered by a lack of ambition, nor was he content to sit back and let the world famous family business rest on its laurels. With the semi-retired Ignaz Schwinn still keeping a close watch on things, Frank made some bold decisions that helped launch a second golden age not only for the Schwinn company, but the bike industry as a whole. Many German business owners in the U.S. faced considerable scrutiny and sales losses as anti-German sentiment spread during both World Wars. To compensate, some went the extra mile to flag wave and prove their American patriotism. Having made their fame on the “WORLD” bicycle, they weren’t going to try to pass themselves off as nationalists. They would, however, make a point of celebrating the “Made in the USA” aspect of the brand above the “German engineering” element.
Basically, the company had to choose in where to produce bicycles at a more competitive prices. The Schwinns decided to turn to Taiwan and China, but even though suppliers like Tony Lo’s Giant Manufacturing made high quality products, unlucky sourcing desisions led to supply shortage, angry retailers and receding customers. Edward Schwinn, CEO, just wasn’t as passionate about bicycles as his ancestors were. Yoshi Shimano, who was Edward Schwinn’s personal translator during his business trips to Asia, described him as “a nice fellow“, who “had a lower degree of interest for the business“.
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. 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. “Schwinn has been No. 1 in all the brand surveys I’ve seen going back 40 years,” said Ray Keener, an industry veteran and editor at Bicycle Retailer. The prices of old or vintage Schwinn bikes will vary depending on the condition, model, age, and demand of the bike. The Schwinn Stingray was one of the best-selling bikes in history and was popular due to its stylish design that many youths and young adults back in the day desired. It’s outfitted with a lightweight aluminum frame that’s available in black and white paint jobs.
In July 1964, Schwinn announced the arrival of the Super Deluxe Sting-Ray. This model included a front spring-fork, a new sleeker Sting-Ray banana seat, and a Person’s Hi-loop Sissy bar. The Super Deluxe also gave the rider a choice of White wall tires or the new Yellow oval rear Slik tire paired with a front black wall Westwind tire.
Nowadays, Schwinn makes entry-level bikes that don’t cost much which makes them ideal for beginners and casual riders. They’re made with quality affordable materials that will last if taken good care of. 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. All three trailers have a unique folding frame that’s easy to store when not in use. They also come with universal couplers that attach to almost any bicycle, making them the perfect addition to your Schwinn bike.
The company advertised heavily on television, and was an early sponsor of the children’s television program Captain Kangaroo. The Captain himself was enlisted to regularly hawk Schwinn-brand bicycles to the show’s audience, typically six years old and under. As these children matured, it was believed they would ask for Schwinn bicycles from their parents.