Sounds like we are a decade apart and that makes all the difference. We never needed to on the Stin-rays because we slammed the seat down low, and on cruisers we didn't ride like loons. That's what the original Klunker Crew ran. But, yeah, as far as pre-war 26" bikes go, Schwinn made some of the hottest-looking ones.Have you ever tried 7/8" 6061 solid rod? Cheap, light enough, takes a nice polish and won't bend. I've found many of their designs to be derivative of others', and the QC tended to be good, but some stinkers slipped by, too. But I don't have any extra appreciation for their design or build quality. Schwinns have the advantage of being top-sellers for decades, so there's plenty to choose from out there, at a price. As it stands now, I love old bikes, and i have a particularly soft spot for old American bikes. So, maybe that's got something to do with it, for me. If you were stuck on a hand-me down Stingray in the 80s, that was seen as borderline child abuse by the kids with the cool BMX bikes. As we got older, MTBs took over, and we lusted after Specialized, Gary Fishers, things like that. Not nearly as cool or polished as things like Redlines, Diamondbacks, GTs and Dynos. I get the whole Schwinn nostalgia thing, but having grown up in the 80s, I was riding bikes at a time when Schwinn's shine was fading rapidly, and was seen as being kinda fuddy-duddy. And, of course, the ubiquitous bent forks that plague bikes of almost every style and vintage. Most all of these old and old-style bikes have the same basic Achilles's heels: the narrow seatposts bend, the seatstays snap where they meet the seat-tube, and the thin stamped drop-outs will fold or "blast out" from a lot of heavy hits. MY experiences with these bikes has been that Schwinns tend to be durable, and some other builders (eg, AMF) tended to be more prone to failure, but other good makers, like Westfield (makers of Columbia and other marques) and Schneider (Colson, etc) made stuff that was just as resilient to abuse and neglect. But, yeah, as far as pre-war 26" bikes go, Schwinn made some of the hottest-looking ones. Does the head badges screw on, or was it glued on? Are there old holes where the oval badge would have been monted with screws, as it would have been in 1974?
The round head badge is from much later as well. As near as I can tell, the hollow unicrown fork came in around the mid 1980s. The forks are definitely from much later. Thanks: JimDoes the frame have original paint that says heavy Duti? I only ask because it sounds like the bike has been pieced together with some old and some later parts.
Vintage schwinn heavy duti for sale serial number#
No neck serial number and it has the round Schwinn Quality badge and not the long oval "SCHWINN" piece. When did Schwinn start using these forks on the Heavy Duti bikes? It also has an Shimano rear hub with the right s-2 wheels and the made in germany hub up front. The brochures show them with the forged "thin" forks. The problem is the forks are of the tubular steel type and not what you see in the Schwinn catalogues of that year. The serial number is on the bottom of the crank housing and it indicates a 1974. I'm trying to figure out what the actual year is. I've recently purchased an Heavy Duti Schwinn.