In exchange for ensuring the presence of the Schwinn name, distributors retained the right to distribute Schwinn bikes to any hardware store, toy store, or bicycle shop that ordered them. W. Schwinn tasked a new team to plan future business strategy, consisting of marketing supervisor Ray Burch, general manager Bill Stoeffhaas, and design supervisor Al Fritz. The company also joined with other United States bicycle manufacturers in a campaign to raise import tariffs across the board on all imported bicycles. In August 1955, the Eisenhower administration implemented a 22.5% tariff rate for three out of four categories of bicycles. However, the most popular adult category, lightweight or “racer” bicycles, were only raised to 11.25%. The administration noted that the United States industry offered no direct competition in this category, and that lightweight bikes competed only indirectly with balloon-tire or cruiser bicycles.
The picture showed company executives standing behind their new product, that would remain in production for 10 years. 1955 was the first year in which the Corvette appeared in the Schwinn catalog; it was Schwinn’s top listing in their “middleweight” category. One of Schwinn’s indoor cycling-style bikes, a fitness app subscription, and a tablet are all you need. None of the Schwinn bikes come with a built-in tablet like the Peloton does, but many Schwinn devices have built-in tablet holders.
Several thousand more U.S. workers benefited from jobs at Schwinn dealerships, or in the steel and rubber factories that supplied parts. The Schwinn Bicycle Company filed for Chapter 11 protection at the end of 1992, three years before their centennial celebration. Sam Zell, a Chicago investor who specialized in troubled companies, bought Schwinn for about twenty-five cents on the dollar from its creditors in January of 1993. In , Pridmore and Hurd have given us a brief history with lots of great eye candy for those interested in vintage bikes.
This feature, attractive to older riders, soon found its way to other Schwinn models, especially those intended for senior citizens. During the 1960s, Schwinn aggressively campaigned to retain and expand its dominance of the child and youth bicycle markets. 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.
They might be slightly more expensive than similar models because Schwinn is a popular brand, but they’re still quite affordable. In particular, this balance bicycle rolls on tiny 12″ wheels with puncture-resistant foam tires and lightweight schwinn bicycles rims. Children use their feet to push against the ground and propel themselves, which lets them easily learn how to balance on two wheels. This is a superior way of learning how to ride a bike compared to using training wheels.
Frank W. Schwinn died in 1963 at a time when the iconic Sting-Ray was under design. Frankie V., Frank W.’s son, took over the company and though he didn’t like the Sting-Ray, there was little he could do about it. It proved so popular that it sold two million bikes from 1963 to 1968.
W. Schwinn, grandson Frank Valentine Schwinn took over management of the company. 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 huffy mountain bike or distinct section for “lightweight touring and racing bicycles,” and no detailed discussion of 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.