W. Schwinn tasked a new group to plan future business strategy, consisting of selling supervisor Ray Burch, basic manager Bill Stoeffhaas, and design supervisor Al Fritz. In 1946, imports of foreign-made bicycles had increased tenfold over the earlier yr, to 46,840 bicycles; of that total, 95 per cent have been from Great Britain. The postwar appearance of imported “English racers” (actually three-speed “sport” roadsters from Great Britain and West Germany) found a prepared market among United States consumers in search of bicycles for exercise and recreation within the suburbs. Though substantially heavier than later European-style “racer” or sport/touring bikes, Americans discovered them a revelation, as they have been still much lighter than present fashions produced by Schwinn and different American bicycle producers. Imports of foreign-made “English racers”, sports roadsters, and recreational bicycles steadily increased via the early Nineteen Fifties. Schwinn first responded to the brand new challenge by producing its personal middleweight version of the “English racer”.
A rising number of US teenagers and young adults were buying imported European sport racing or sport touring bicycles, many fitted with a quantity of derailleur-shifted gears. Schwinn determined to satisfy the challenge by growing two traces of sport or road ‘racer’ bicycles. One was already within the catalog — the restricted production Paramount sequence. As always, the Paramount spared no expense; the bicycles got high-quality light-weight lugged metal frames using double-butted tubes of Reynolds 531 and fitted with high quality European elements including Campagnolo derailleurs, hubs, and gears. The Paramount series had limited production numbers, making vintage examples fairly rare at present. The 1960 Varsity was introduced as an 8-speed bike, however in mid-1961 was upgraded to 10 speeds.
In 1938, Frank W. Schwinn formally introduced the Paramount series. Developed from experiences gained in racing, Schwinn established Paramount as their reply to high-end, professional competitors bicycles. The Paramount used high-strength chrome-molybdenum steel alloy tubing and costly brass lug-brazed building.
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Many smaller firms had been absorbed by larger firms or went bankrupt; in Chicago, only twelve bicycle makers remained in business. Competition turned intense, both for parts suppliers and for contracts from the major department stores, which retailed nearly all of bicycles produced in those days. Realizing he wanted to develop the company, Ignaz Schwinn purchased a quantity of smaller bicycle companies, constructing a contemporary manufacturing unit on Chicago’s west facet to mass-produce bicycles at lower cost. He finalized a purchase of Excelsior Company in 1912, and in 1917 added the Henderson Company to form Excelsior-Henderson. In an atmosphere of basic decline elsewhere within the industry, Schwinn’s new bike division thrived, and by 1928 was in third place behind Indian and Harley-Davidson.
The Sting-Ray sales increase of the 1960s accelerated in 1970, with United States bicycle sales doubling over a interval of two years. The Schwinn Bicycle Company is an American firm that develops, manufactures and markets bicycles underneath the eponymous model name. The firm was originally founded by Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895.