Green Schwinn Bikes... Superior and Traveler

 Nothing new or earth-shattering to report this week... sometimes "no news is good news". I've gone on a few rides this week. The weather is warm and has stayed dry, which is a contrast from the rainy weather we had previously experienced. 

 

I had my 1949/50 Schwinn Superior out. The new tires help the ride quite a bit. The wheels also needed some truing, which is a common need after returning to the road from several months of sitting. These early post-war Superior bikes are uncommon. I have a registry of them, and only a few examples have turned up in several years of looking. I guess they didn't sell very well...

 

 

These bikes have a true hybrid of American and English style on them: the white rear fender tip of the English combined with the more pronounced graphics and front fender stripe of American style. 

 

This particular bike has a nominal 21-inch frame, though in reality it is closer to 22 inches. It seems that these post-war frames ran a little larger than their stated size in the catalogues. That's fine with me because I find a 22-inch frame on 26-inch wheels comfortable, though perhaps at the low end of what I prefer. I find a 21-inch frame on 26-inch wheels just a touch too small...

 

Sometimes I see bikes being ridden that are obviously way too small for the rider. You can tell these bikes because the seat posts are set too high (like a saddle atop a flagpole) and the handlebars are tilted skyward. Each rider has a range of sizes he or she can ride comfortably. Sometimes you have one bike that is a little smaller and one a little larger, but they both fit comfortably and ride fine. That is perfectly OK. But don't try to ride a bike that is many inches too small, such that there is more seat post than there is frame. Like a good pair a shoes or a set of good golf clubs, a little smaller or a little larger may work just fine, but if it's many sizes too small or large, it's asking for trouble... 

 

 

Another bike out this week for a couple rides: my 1957 Schwinn Traveler. This is another green bike, albeit a different shade of green (Radiant Green). This bike nominally has a 23-inch frame, though the frame is actually closer to 24 inches, on top of 26-inch wheels. I find this size quite comfortable. It's closer to the high end of what I can comfortably ride. 

 

 

The Schwinn Traveler (1951-66) is one of my favorite bike models. It represents the British three-speed style with a uniquely American interpretation. The bikes capture a nice mix of British practicality and American post-war style. I currently own 4 of these bikes ('57, '59, '60, and '64). I like this model so much, I bought it four times... All of them are refurbished, on the road, and running nicely.

 

 

If I had one gripe about the Traveler, it's that the bikes tend to be quite heavy, and they use a somewhat obsolete tire size (only Kenda brand tires are available new in this size in the US right now). But they ride wonderfully and capture a nice blend of British and American influences.

 Hopefully the good weather continues. I look forward to more ride time, whenever I can squeeze it in.

 

Tilting at Windmills - Schwinn's "Don Quixote" (Carl Huber)

 I recently came across this interesting little artwork - a Schwinn bicycles ad based on Pablo Picasso's "Don Quixote" (1955). I don't know when this artwork was created, though it does not appear particularly old and it certainly was made in the past few decades. This piece is a stretched canvas print with a small, wooden frame. It seems to me the kind of thing that would have been hanging as an ad in a bike shop somewhere, though it's nicer than any of the paper posters they used (it's real canvas on a wooden frame). 

 

Schwinn's "Don Quixote" by Carl Huber

 

Pretty neat piece. I like the original Picasso work as well (perhaps a bit better). It's nice though, having Don Quixote on a bike... It's an interesting piece of at least "referential art", though perhaps some would consider a form of "appropriation art" based on the likeness to Picasso's work. It's a homage to the Picasso sketch. I'm not much of an art critic, so I'll leave it to others to classify it... But I do enjoy the piece and I did at least know the original it was taken after.

[If you have the time or inclination, read Don Quixote - well worth the time and effort (even better - read it more than once)].

Picasso's "Don Quixote" (1955)

 

Schwinn Superior Gets New Tires

 I took my Schwinn Superior for a ride the other day and all went well... until about 3/4 of the way through the ride. I started noticing a cyclical "clunking" and bouncing from rear wheel. Usually this means either a rim is out of round or the tire has developed a bulge. 

I found the rim wasn't bad, but the tire had developed a bulge in one area.

The tires were a few seasons old. They're basic, Kenda white walls for Schwinn S5/S6 rims. This particular set has not aged all that well. The white walls have faded faster than usual and now the rear tire developed a bulge that made the bike uncomfortable to ride. 

So off the white walls went... and on went a set of low mileage, blackwall Kendas.

I had a set of Kenda black wall tires with low mileage on a set of spare Raleigh Clubman wheels, so I decided to repurpose those tires. Black wall tires would have been original to this particular bike anyway... so why not?

English-style "white tail" on the rear fender

The bike rode better with the new tires, but then I noticed the front wheel had gone out of true. So I trued the wheel... This bike has always been kind of a maintenance hog compared to my others. I'm not sure why. I've fiddled with the wheels and tires several times over the years. Fortunately the hubs are very good, smooth rollers. "Takes all kinds", I guess... 

Anyway, the bike is back on the road and the weather is getting warmer again...

 I also took some time to swap the saddlebag from a vinyl, black bag to a very nice, brown canvas Acorn bag. I love Acorn bags and fortunately accumulated a few extras before they went out of business.

 The lapel pin is from a period (1949-50) Pontiac. I like adding small, period touches like that. This is certainly an unusual bike, based on my experience - 1949 or 50 Superior.

And I'm not the only one out there enjoying some warmer weather...

Bullfrog on a lily pad