Frames: Schwinn Welded versus Raleigh Brazed - Which One?

 One of the subjects pertaining to three speed type bikes that I see discussed occasionally, and which I am asked about from time to time, is whether the Schwinn electroforge welded frame is better/worse/different from the conventional, lugged Raleigh type frame.

A brief summary is in order. 

 

Understanding the Basics of Construction

A conventional three speed frame, such as a Raleigh Sports frame, is "lugged and brazed". The frame tubes are cut to length. Brackets made of welded steel are used to join the tubes together. The joint is then brazed together with a molten alloy metal that melts at a lower temperature than the steel tubes. The result is that lug is the bracket holding the tubes more or less in position, and the brazing alloy is the "glue" bonding them. There is certainly more to the process in detail (click HERE for a 1940s-era video on building Raleigh bikes), but this is a very rough description. 

 

Above you can see at the lugs acting as brackets at the top and bottom of the head tube, joining the head tube to the top tube and down tube.

Lugged and brazed frames have the advantage that you can use some very light steel alloys for tubes because you are not melting the tubes themselves together. Certain steel alloys do not weld together well using the traditional methods of the mid-20th century, but by brazing you can rely on the lower melting point alloy and the lug to hold it together.

Schwinn went in a different direction. Rather than using a lug or bracket to hold the frame together, they decided to make all the parts of steel, and then weld the pieces together. Below is an example of the head tube piece and bottom bracket piece of a Schwinn welded frame. You can see where the piece ends and the end of the tube would be welded, in a roughly end-to-end fashion (it's not quite end-to-end because there is some overlap, but you get the idea). The advantage here is that if you have the machinery to do this kind of welding you can turn out huge numbers of frames in a somewhat automatic setting, with machines doing much of the basic welding. 

Above you can see the components of a Schwinn frame - the head tube piece and bottom bracket. Rather than brackets, the pieces have "tails" that would then be welded to the ends of the various frame tubes.

With the Schwinn welding, you have the advantage of mass production, use of one material (the same basic, carbon steel), the consistency of machine welding. The disadvantages are that because you are welding, the tube walls need to be fairly thick, and the steel alloy is limited to a basic alloy that will weld-up properly rather than burn out, become brittle, etc. Schwinn frames tend to be quite durable, though quite heavy. Click HERE to view a longer article on Schwinn's method from Sheldon Brown's website.

 Above: a 1947 Schwinn welded frame shows how that head tube piece would finish up - smooth joints where the tubes weld into the "tails" on the head tube piece, and then the joint is cleaned up and smoothed out.

 

Comparing

So which is better?

The answer is that neither one is inherently better. They each do different things well and feel different when riding. Both will provide excellent service and last a lifetime if kept up properly. Both frames will rust if not properly cared for. 

The Raleigh frame tends to be a bit lighter, all else being equal on the bike, but is somewhat more prone to folding right behind the lug, if there is a crash. The Schwinn frame can and will bend if subjected to a strong crash, but tends to be more durable. The Schwinn frame also is more durable against dented tubes. I once saw a mechanic drop a heavy adjustable wrench while standing on a step ladder, which crashed butt-first against a Schwinn frame tube and the only loss was some chipped paint. 

The standard, post-war Raleigh Sports frame does not have frame angles that are quite as laid back as the Schwinn's angles, and it tends to ride "tighter" and have a little livelier feel. The Schwinn frame soaks up road vibrations better, has a little more "relaxed" feel, and has a little slacker feel in turns. These sorts of "feel" factors are a matter of personal taste. 

The Schwinn frames tend to be somewhat easier to work on, at least in the US, as they rely on common tools and sizes and, usually, on caged bearings.  Raleigh frames often are equipped with Whitworth sized parts and loose bearing balls, which can be more challenging to work on if you're working with just a few wrenches and basic tools. 

 Above: the smooth, lugless head tube of a 1964 Schwinn three speed.

If we get into the front forks that come with these frames, there are some differences there as well. Post-war Schwinn frames either come with a conventional tube fork (found on 1940s and many 1950s models), or with a flat bladed fork (found on some 1950s models and the 1960s and 70s models). 

 Above: an electroforge welded 1950 Schwinn Superior frame with the tubular "torpedo blade" style fork.

 The 1940s-50s tube forks are attractive and function as one would expect any conventional fork to function. The flat blade forks of the 1950s-70s are familiar to many older Americans but may seem strange to other riders. The flat forks are relatively strong fore-aft, but develop a fair bit of flex side-to-side. These forks had the advantage of being relatively easy to repair, relatively durable, and relatively cheap to produce. They are quite heavy.

 

Above is a flat-bladed Schwinn fork on a 1964 Traveler three speed bike.

 

Raleigh produced conventional forks with hollow tube blades, often using the familiar "thimble" fork pattern (though other Raleigh-affiliated brands had different designs - the Humber duplex blade being perhaps the oddest). These forks ride in a manner familiar to today's riders. They are relatively strong, and they don't especially flex in any direction. They are sufficient rigid, yet light enough to handle well. 

Above: the Raleigh thimble style fork, well-known the world over.

 

The bottom line is that you can choose either a Raleigh or Schwinn frame/fork and it can work well for you. They each feel somewhat different, though both are relatively durable. The heavier Schwinn frame tends to be more popular with more traditional riders in the US. The Raleigh frame and fork is more familiar globally, with many of the bikes seeing service in Africa and Asia as well as Europe and the US.  Which you prefer is a question of your own preference, but don't be afraid to try them both.