Winter Project - Wheelbuilding for Schwinn Three Speed Bikes

 

So far, this winter has been particularly mild. That being said, there remains the always-corrosive road salt on the roadways. So no riding... but there are plenty of winter, indoor projects to do.

This weekend I built a nice set of three speed Schwinn wheels: new-old stock Schwinn S6 rims and Torrington spokes, Sturmey Archer AW Alloy hub (1953) and Schwinn script front hub (new bearings in the front).

 

These new-old stock Torrington spokes are great. They capture the vintage look without pitting or rust. They're a spot-on spoke for these bikes. The length is 11-7/16 inches. Pattern is 36 spokes, cross 4 on both wheels. The pattern is copied from a set of original 1947 Schwinn three speed wheels I have on-hand.

 

I still have several more wheels to build. I bought-in heavy with these Torrington spokes (I bought enough to do probably 6 sets of wheels). I also bought-in heavy with S6 and similar rims (3 NOS pairs of S6 rims, plus 2 pairs of used S6, plus a set of pre-war Lobdell rims). And as always, lots of good old hubs on hand - Sturmey AW hubs from the 1940s and 50s and Schwinn script hubs with fresh bearings and grease. 

So the wheelbuilding will continue...