livedarklions

What companies? Trademarks.

dedhed

Rich? To buy a Schwinn Varsity?

https://madison.craigslist.org/bik/d...734991348.html

https://racine.craigslist.org/bik/d/...714243799.html
https://madison.craigslist.org/bik/d...723302247.html

tagaproject6

Back in the day...

TimothyH

...we didn't use oil on our chains. The sparks let us know that the chain was still attached!

...we rode our bikes to and from school. In the snow. Uphill. Both ways. And we were thankful!

...our Schwins were American made. Just like Marlboro, Jack Daniels, Smith & Wesson, bacon and everything else which makes America great again!

We totally need a "Back in my day" thread.


-Tim-

livedarklions

Looky what I found in Boise:

https://boise.craigslist.org/bik/d/1984-schwinn-world-tourist/6729144443.html

https://boise.craigslist.org/bik/d/s...724011343.html

https://boise.craigslist.org/bik/d/schwinn-world-road-race-bike/6729172881.html

livedarklions

And some more:

https://boise.craigslist.org/bik/d/s...732872201.html

indyfabz

+1. E.g., Today's Motobecane has nothing to do with the company of old that produced Motobecane bicycles.

livedarklions

Really true of Schwinn as well.

Metieval

and Huffy owns Niner now?

big chainring 

Schwinn aimed at the middle class. They were the main consumers of goods. Now, what is it, 60 % of goods made go to the top 5%. Diiferent times in the 60's and 70's. The doctor lived next door to the mechanic who lived next door to the cop. All inclusive, all making a living wage. Buying new cars every couple years, and buying their kids Schwinn bikes. They call it socialism now.

JonBailey

Maybe my 1882-1983 World Tourist 5-speed did say TAIWAN. I do remember it being Asian. Perhaps some models were JAPAN while others Asian. Samer color as mine with gold letters. Yours is a 10-speed model. Does your ten-speed also have a freewheeling chainwheel? Mine was Shimano on my 5-speed. The brake levers look Dia Compe which was common and many bikes in the 1970s/1980s.

I-Like-To-Bike

Yes this ten speed has the Shimano Positron Front-Freewheel System (FFS®) shifting mechanism. Some purists don't like it, I do.
I keep this bicycle with relatives in the Philadelphia area so that I always have a bicycle to ride around the city when I visit, so I can't look at it right now to tell you what brand brake components are on it. I know that the brakes work fine and meet all my requirements. More pictures of it in use during my visits back East.

Gresp15C

@I-Like-To-Bike, that Schwinn is an all-time classic, with the graceful frame and matching painted fenders. Did it come with aluminum rims?

Just for historical data, my 1982 World Tourist says "Schwinn Chicago" on the headbadge, and is also marked "Made in Taiwan for Schwinn Bicycle Company Chicago." The original brakes were either Dia-Compe or equivalent "Schwinn Approved." The levers are certainly Dia-Compe, and I still have them.

I got my World Tourist from the trash, 21 years ago. It was in pretty rough shape, and all that remains of its original parts are the frame, stem, and fenders.

Doug5150

It was my understanding that Schwinn's original claim to fame was the internally-lugged frames they used for many years...
The internal lugs looked nicer (IMO) but they were not compatible with the higher-performance internally-butted tubing made for bicycle frames.
So it ended up being a pricey frame construction method that was only good for lower-performance bikes. And that sounds like a dead-end, from a product lifetime perspective.
And as already mentioned--there was also lots of other issues with the way that the Schwinn company was run.

People like to decry the loss of "quality" but the fact is that as bicycles in general have become cheaper over time, most people are less willing to spend more money for something that will last longer.

mstateglfr 

oh, well since you owned 3 bikes, clearly all these knowledgable 1st hand experienced people are wrong.***

...perhaps your bikes came out of alignment and were worked on before hitting the sales floor. You would never know.

TiHabanero

"Not really. Schwinn's assets were purchased in a bankruptcy auction by Pacific, which in turn was purchased by Dorel. Trek and Specialized don't have parent companies that own them outright. At the point the assets were bought, the "real" Schwinn corporation could not, in any real sense, be considered to still exist. Basically, the main asset purchased was a better nameplate for Pacific bikes because Pacific had a horrible reputation. "

Companies owned by an umbrella organization is that they exist as real companies and have real P&L statements and must justify their existence to the parent firm through these statements. The "real" Schwinn company was run the same way, other than having a parent corp that owned them as they do now. Another way to look at it is Dorel is made up of many divisions. Each division is responsible for itself. Schwinn is one of those divisions and has their own engineering team, marketing team, sales team, etc. They also have their own set of books separate from Dorel. In my eye, this is a "real" company. Note, the trade name Pacific Bicycles was killed off. The trade name Schwinn was added to the portfolio and all the trappings that go with it. They operate independently of Dorel, but answer to Dorel at the annual meeting. Think of Dorel as a lender. Just like mom and pop shops answer to their lenders, Schwinn answers to Dorel.
This is my understanding of "umbrella company" operations. For what it is worth, Specialized was bailed out by an investment consortium in the 90's. They answered to the bankers with their P&L statements.

TimothyH

No, Niner was bought by Rapha.


-Tim-

I-Like-To-Bike

And why would I care if any product was "worked on" prior to delivery, as long as it provides excellent service after delivery? As previously posted, my Raleigh bikes did just that. What has your 1st hand experience been with owning Raleighs of the 60s and 70s, especially those equipped with S-A IGH hubs?

Metieval

I looked it up.

" After months of uncertainty, Niner, the Colorado-based bike company that helped to establish 29-inch wheels in the industry, has been purchased by UWHK Ltd., whose parent company also owns Dayton, Ohio–based Huffy."

TimothyH

OK then, so UWHK Ltd owns Niner, not Huffy.


-Tim-

Metieval

well if you want to nitpick, my First post was a question, hence the "?"

As for Rapha, lol well

" Upmarket cycling clothes brand Rapha has been bought by the grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Steuart and Tom Walton and their firm RZC Investments will now own a controlling stake in the business."


Go Walmart!!!

mstateglfr 

its like last year all over again with this.

if i own a company and my grandchildren buy a company, my company does not own that newly purchased company.

AlmostTrick

I worked in a Raleigh bike shop in '77 and was not aware of any unusual or excessive quality issues. I also worked in a Raleigh warehouse in '78. I don't remember bikes coming back to us from shops due to frames being out of alignment. Maybe the truck drivers fixed them on the way to the shops?

livedarklions

You're missing the point. When Pacific bought Schwinn's assets, all that really amounted to was a bunch of trademarks. So basically, the company that Dorel owns is really just the relabeled Pacific Co. There's no real corporate connection between the entity called Schwinn these days and the old Schwinn Co. other than the label. And no, Dorel is not just a lender. That's ridiculous. It owns the company outright.
Specialized survived by selling 49% of itself, but preserving the corporation and holding onto the assets. Schwinn died and its assets were sold off. Big difference.

700

Great Movie! (Make yourself some popcorn and watch the whole movie: )