Hellsegg

I have just bought a Schwinn Traveler and have managed to narrow down the year to either -83, -84 or 85, by visual reference looking at old catalogs. Can anyone out there please help me pinpoint the actual year, and more importantly -where it was made?
Bright red paint job, yellow stripes half way down from both seat post and head tube.

Serial number: SC502550 840

Assembly date code: 0745



Thanks, Nicholas

TenGrainBread 

Your bike is probably a Japanese-made Schwinn assembled in March 1985.

The headbadge number can be decoded as such: 74th day (March 15) of year ending in 5. So March 15 1985.

There were various serial number formats over the years. Your format looks like the format S(month letter)(year number)(frame number) which was used for Japanese-made bikes. So SC502550 would be the 2550th bike assembled in March 1985 in Japan. That's consistent with your headbadge number.

I believe Panasonic was the contractor building these at this time but not 100% sure. Someone with more Schwinn knowledge can correct me if I'm wrong. During the 80s I know Giant was also building for Schwinn but that would have been made in Taiwan so probably a different serial number.

Hellsegg

Thanks!

Japanese built, by Panasonic no less! That can’t be bad, can it?

seedsbelize 

I have two Panasonic built Schwinn's and the are both top notch.

Hellsegg

I forgot to mention that it is a 10 speed bike, and someone pointed out to me that the -85 Traveler came with 12 gears, does that make sense? Being a newbie I can’t post pictures of the bike unfortunately…

pastorbobnlnh 

If you say that the paint and decals are consistent with an '85 Traveler (and off the top of my head I don't recall there being a '75 Traveler), my guess is that original freewheel was changed out for some reason.

Here's a great example of an '85 Traveler from the internet's Old Ten Speed..... Does your Traveler match this one?

Hellsegg

With the exception of color and lack og quick-release on the front wheel, this looks like the exact same bike - same rims, same decals, same everything. Presumably my bike was made for the European market, perhaps they where set up with 10 speed!?

DiegoFrogs

To the best of my knowledge, Schwinn was never marketing bikes in Europe.

BFisher

The Giant-made bicycles I've had all had the serial number stamped into the dropout and began with "G."
I've had both Panasonic and Giant Schwinns, and both made a nice riding bicycle.

Hellsegg

Right, so we can assume that the freewheel has been changed, since -85 Travelers came with 12 speeds, and were never marketed towards Europe, neither with 10 or 12 speeds. What about where it was made; can anyone confirm what TenGrainBread says about it being made by Panasonic? And would it be fair to assume that Panasonic made Travelers are the best of the lot? I would love to rub the Japanese/Panasonic link (although far-fetched) in my Miyata purist friend’s face!

seedsbelize 

The serial number is not consistent with Japanese made Schwinn's. It is consistent, though, with Greenville serial numbers. I don't think travelers were ever made in Japan. Where is the serial number located?

Hellsegg

The serial number is located underneath the bottom bracket.

There I was thinking the Chicago factory shut down in -82... or am I missing something?

seedsbelize 

I edited my post to say Greenville. It was almost certainly built there. I also have two Greenville Schwinn's.

Hellsegg

Well, so much for flaunting a Japanese/Panasonic built Traveler!
Some people tend to talk the Greenville factory down as far as quality in production is concerned, should I be worried riding the old thing?

pastorbobnlnh 

I have a 1980 Traveler I bought new in April of that year. It was made in Japan and assembled in October '79 by Panasonic. The next year they were made in Taiwan by Giant. I was thinking that the OP's Traveler was made in Greenville, but I was guessing and didn't have any info to back up this guess.

PilotFishBob 

I have an '87 Greenville-built Traveler. While that facility had a rep for spotty quality I've have no issues - it's a decent bike that I use as an airport runabout.

DiegoFrogs

I also had a 1980 Traveler that was built by Panasonic in Japan. It was fine for what it was: high-ten tubing, stamped dropouts without a derailleur hanger. Build quality was good, but it didn't ride like magic; they also experienced pricing pressure.

All of the models in this time period seemed to improve over just a few years, even if the country of origin shifted. The tubing typically improved and they got dropouts with integrated hangers, shifted almost universally to aluminum rims, stems and bars. I'd pay more attention to the details than the country of origin.

Hellsegg

I agree in general about the attention to details rather than origin. However, the reasoning behind my wanting it to be a Panasonic made frame stem from the assumption that those were the strongest and sturdiest ones; I plan to turn the Traveler into a flat-bar, 2 gear everyday commuter, and with my meagre stature of 6’6 and a delicate 265 pounds, I am a little worried about it crumbling beneath me!

Thanks for all the info everyone, much appreciated.

I’ll take my chances with the lovely ruby-red Greenville Traveler and keep you posted!

Kent T

1970's through early 1980's Schwinn World Traveler/Traveler bikes were made in Japan. I owned a 1978-1979 Panasonic built example, one of my favorite bikes ever. Liked it so much I put several drivetrains on it. Rode it over 18,000 miles.

seedsbelize 

I stand corrected. Now will I remember it for the future?

dddd

At 265 pounds, I would consider a wheel upgrade essential.

I can't imagine riding at more than a geezerly level of spirit on a freewheel axle and single-walled rear rim at your weight.

Hellsegg

I’m having the local bike shop build me a new rear wheel with a Sram Automatrix 2 speed hub - and an extra beefy rim. Front wheel is coming off an old Scott hybrid… nothing geezerly about that set-up i recon!

r0ckh0und 

IMO some of these old Schwinn's had good "bones" for building on.........ie; 4130 Chromoly frame, forged crank, integrated derailleur hanger, etc......ideal for gravel grinders, commuters, grocery getters, pub bike and the like.

Here's a Schwinn World I picked up at a garage sale for $5 a few years ago.

crashforceONE

Im Trying to figure out what year my schwinn is. The four numbers stamped on the oval front plate are: 0210. (It also says made in Japan for the Schwinn Bicycle Company Chicago.)

cb400bill

Prolly made on the 21st day of 1980.

ON NEWER BIKES:
you can find a 4 digit serial number lightly stamped onto the headbadge.
The first three digits are the numerical day of the year,
and the last digit is the last digit of the year.

EXAMPLE:
3654 is 12/31/84 or 94 or? you determine decade.

Take a look at the pictures at this link. https://bikehistory.org/bikes/traveler/