1957 Schwinn Traveler, and 1947 Schwinn Continental

 

We've had a few nice evenings for rides around here lately. I wait all winter for this kind of weather - warm, but not too hot or humid. I'll ride in heat and humidity, but moderate temperatures are certainly more comfortable. The only down side is the mosquitos, horse flies, and deer flies are back out, as are the ticks (those are awful in particular).

Let's start with a couple shots of the 1957 Schwinn Traveler. This is a bike with a combination of brazed joints and welded joints. It's a 23 inch frame. It's heavy but durable and a pretty comfortable bike. The 23 inch frame on 26 inch wheels is probably my favorite bike size.

I recently found neat lapel pin with the logo from a 1957 Ford Thunderbird. I figured it was a good match for this bike. If you've never seen an early (1955-57 era), small Thunderbird, look them up... really handsome and sporty cars for their time.

 

Secondly, I have the 1947 Schwinn Continental. I'm not sure exactly which year this one is. It's not one of the earliest Continentals (those had New World style, plain paint), but it's fairly early for a bike with the ornate paint and decal scheme. It has an un-dated Sturmey Archer hub with black hardware, which is consistent with a bike made not long after the end of WWII. 

 

This bike is a 22 inch frame size, which is OK, though I prefer the 23 inch frame size. The 22 inch frame is at the bottom end for what I would want to ride, though it is the same size as my 1949 Raleigh Clubman. I generally don't ride frames smaller than that on 26 inch wheels. 

This Continental was a rescued bike. It originally was owned by a collector on Long Island, New York. He bought it locally and cleaned it up. At some point, an online bike/parts dealer bought the bike, raided the more valuable parts off of it, and sold the now-incomplete bike project to me. I refurbished it this past winter, found good parts for it, and put it back on the road. Another Schwinn lightweight gets back on its feet...