Schwinn New World Mesinger Saddle

Earlier, I mentioned working on a saddle projects for the Schwinn New World. It turns out that the project was acquiring an original Mesinger Tourist saddle for the bike. It turns out an online shop was parting out a 1941 New World and the bike had a decent quality, original Mesinger tourist oil skin saddle. These usually turn up in abysmal shape, when they turn up at all. This is one of the most intact versions of the original saddle I've come across. Luckily it was for sale, and I acquired it for hte New World.

So it turns out I'll have not only a period saddle, but an original cataloged piece of equipment made for the New World itself.

Schwinn New World Warm Weather Ride

70 degrees and sunny in January? That's pretty wild, but sure enough it happened today. We were well below 30 last week, and today it was like April. Of course, that sort of weather calls for a bike ride. It was an excellent chance to further test the New World.

The saddle I'm waiting for has not arrived yet, but I still have the place holder and it rides well enough. The New World has a somewhat more forward riding position than the Raleigh Sports, but it's still fairly upright. I like to set my bars up nice and high, even if they're the flat, curved type like these.

The brake pads are breaking in nicely and the brakes stop the bike acceptably, though they do flex a bit with the wheels. The ones on my Raleigh do that as well. The handles also rattle a little as I ride. The ride itself is quite nice and these Kenda tires are not bad at all, especially considering the price. I just wish they had white walls for these bikes.

The bicycle is deceptively light and fast. It's much lighter than even my Raleigh Sports stripped down. The frame is particularly surprising in terms of its lightness and response. The fork strikes me as a little fragile, but it's not bad either. I had assumed the big skiptooth setup would be slow and too high, but it's just right for light duty riding. Overall, I am impressed with the bike overall. It really does have a unique feel.

I grabbed a few shots of the yard, the bike, and the side of the Bike Shed just before dark.

Torrington #10 Pedals Update

The New World bicycle received the rebuilt Torrington #10 pedals. A brief test ride showed no problems with them, which is always a plus. Hopefully they'll serve well. At this point, the bicycle is down to the saddle, though I have a workable place holder for now. However, I may have some improvement happening on the saddle front pretty soon, but we'll see how it goes.