Tuesday, October 28, 2014

1959 Schwinn Tiger Middleweight

Next on my list of projects was a 1959 Schwinn Tiger. This is a classic Schwinn with the cantilever frame, painted fenders, and chrome S7 rims.


The concept here was to build a middleweight cruiser bike with some "adult-oriented" upgrades. This meant heavier duty seat, heavy duty seat post, wider handlebars, multispeed hub, and slightly fatter tires.
















The result is a pretty nice bicycle. The multispeed hub is a Sturmey Archer 3 speed coaster brake (modern). The cable routing is custom fitted so as not to disturb the frame lines. Tires are Schwinn middleweight sized, but slightly fatter "cruiser" tires.
















The bike is fun to ride, and the upgrades are welcomed additions making it a better machine for an adult who wants to get more out of a middleweight that just a short-distance, single speed bike.








They are not true balloon tires, but are a 50 psi, slightly fatter version of the Schwinn middleweight tire.