marius.suiram 

I have this bike for some months. The "seller" (actually was a trade) told me it was made in 1944.
Today I was to the local bike shop with it and one guy (which I know he is a collector of prewar bikes) told me that is possible to be from '38...'39
Anybody has any opinions regarding the fabrication date??

- serial no.: H 07717
- 21 1/2" frame
- 26 x 1 3/4 tires "US Royal Touring"

icepick_trotsky 

I can offer no help on the date, but really neat find. What are your plans for it?

I think finding new tires will be a royal pain. That Schwinn proprietary 26 inch rim is not the same size as a normal 26 incher.

repechage

I have an earlier one with a cottered crank. My guess the original date est is good. Missing fenders. The drop bar bikes had rear facing dropouts.
Still nice. No fork lock which some had.

Gasbag

Most definitely not a 1944. During the war only two bicycle manufacturers were allowed to continue production of bikes. Those two were Huffman and Columbia. The other manufacturers, including Schwinn switched production to the machinery of war as directed by the government.

Schwinn began the production of the lightweight bicycles in 1938 in a new section of the Chicago factory. The bicycles built in this section were hand built of seamless tubing and hand brazed; filet brazed. Models built in the hand built section of the plant were the Paramount, Superior, and New World. Production was halted in late 1941 for the war effort.

The New World could be purchased with any of the components offered in the higher tiered Superior or Paramount lines. The earliest New Worlds are commonly seen with rearward facing dropouts. Around 1939, most of the New Worlds built would have forward facing dropouts.

Taking visual cues from yours, it is definitely a prewar bicycle.
1. The seat clamp is brazed to the frame. After the war, the clamps were no longer brazed on.
2. Prewar Schwinns had bolt on Miller side stands. Post war side stands were welded to the frame.
3. Prewar Schwinn Lightweight fenders had wire stays that attached directly to the axles. Post war fenders attached to a brazed on tab at the dropouts.
4. The chain guard on prewar lightweights bolted vertically to the chain stay and post war to a tab on the seat stay.

Due to a fire at the factory shortly after the war, all of the production records were lost making it difficult at best to date a frame by serial number. So, you must rely on dating components to get an idea of the year it was built. Yours appears to have a New Departure rear hub and those have no date stamp. That leaves trying to get a date from the crank and it is hit or miss whether it has been stamped. So, there is a good chance that you will have to introduce your bike as a 1938 - 1941 New World.

I have two of these myself. One is confirmed late 1941 by the date stamp of the Morrow rear hub. The other is a re-badged BF Goodrich that may be 1939 due to the dark green paint as described in the catalog but I can't confirm it.

Tire selection is a problem with the obsolete ISO 599 Schwinn Superior rims. You *might* get lucky and be able to mount a Kenda K24 on them IF the bike was originally equipped with a coaster brake. I have them on both of mine. There is no other tire that I am aware of that will fit. You could lace a set of Schwinn ISO 597 rims to it but there are limited tire choices for those. Best bet is the more common ISO 590 which give you more choices.

The forks on these early New Worlds are prone to bending if they take a hit so be careful not to hit curbs or potholes.

marius.suiram 

I have the fenders, but I didn't mount them.
The tires are not bad, they hold air. Actually I road the bike yesterday. Nice riding.
Another question: is the stem original?

Plans: I am not a collector, I would like to sell it, but the shipping and packing is a problem

Gasbag

Yes, that is the original stem. There is nothing on this bike that I can see that would not be original.

icepick_trotsky 

bikeflights.com is the most economical shipping method.

Gasbag

The early American made lightweights can be an odd market to sell in. Just as they didn't gain in popularity when they were being built, they never really got any traction in the collectors market. I paid $85 a piece for two I have and both are complete originals, though needing full restorations and the 1941 needing a repaint. I have seen very nice originals with desirable components for sale in the $300 -$400 range that don't sell. The drop bars on yours makes it more desirable than the common upright Boy Scout handlebars. I have a line on a very nice post war New World that I'll probably get for $150 or less. I attribute the lack of collectors interest in early American lightweights to a general unawareness of their existence. I personally find the early New Worlds to be exceptional bicycles with great riding characteristics.

rhm

I agree with @Gasbag. I had a very similar one; same Torrington handlebar, same stem, same kickstand, same chain guard, same forward-facing dropouts. Mine had a cottered crank, though (which means different bottom bracket) and a Sturmey Archer AW hub dated "0" (=1940).

Mine had Schwinn Superior rims as well; and the standard Schwinn 26 x 1 3/8" tires fit perfectly (597, not 590). @marius.suiram, are you sure you read the tire size right? They look like 1 3/8" tires to me.

It is very unusual to see one with a good fork. All the ones I've ever seen were bent.

repechage

My New World gets the leave at work, communal coffee house run bike duty.
Super dull dark blue original paint, single speed freewheel, Schwinn stamped caliper brakes.
Totally flies below the radar.

Gasbag

My 1941 also has the English BB with the AS&CO chain wheel. Somewhere along the line it was poorly repainted and the original paint was sanded off. My plans with it are to make it an even lighter weight hotrod. I'm replacing the rims with ISO 590 CR18 rims, Soma 3-speed II handle bars, alloy stem if I can find one that works for me, Brooks B17 saddle. I recently saw an early 1950's GMC cab over truck with a killer black and orange original paint job that I'm going try to apply to this bike. I haven't made up my mind on which hub to use. I have a 1953 Sturmey AW ready to go, the original Morrow and a war time blackout Morrow at my disposal. Should make for an excellent local sprinter.

rhm

They are cool bikes for sure, but I have to admit I was very happy when I sold it. Never regretted that sale for a moment.

marius.suiram 

actually it says 26 x 1.375

BigChief

I've always been partial to the English lightweights, but I've had this Elgin since the 70s. I think it's the stars that got to me. All these years and I've never sold it. True, collectors don't care much for American bikes without tanks. Not a bad rider.

marius.suiram 

I will keep the New World, for now. I like it.

BigChief

I would too. That's a nice one. There's something about the pre war bikes. They have a certain feel to them. Really bring you back in time.

marius.suiram 

Everybody likes prewar balloon tire bikes. I had some but sold them, too heavy.
I like light weight bikes, road and touring bikes, I had some good ones, but flipped them.
But this one, even I have it for 4..5 month, I didn't ride it, till yesterday, when somebody made me an offer and asked for extra pictures.
So I took the pictures, pump the tires and ride it. It is a good one. I changed my mind. I will keep it.

sailorbenjamin

Those are really rare tires. I have a set for my '42 Roadmaster but I ride it with a later, more standard wheelset and leave the original tires on the rack.

JIMBO53

Small world! Marius.Suiram's wonderful bike showed up on Facebook Marketplace in Charlotte NC and I bought it yesterday! I'll turn the handebars to their proper orientation, replace the split Schwinn grips with some teardrop Schwinn's in better shape and just placed an order on eBay for a pair of NOS Uniroyal 26 x 1.375 tires. Like all my bikes, this will be a rider, and from all indications, it will be a fine one at that. As they say in the UK, I'm mighty chuffed!

JIMBO53

Here's my 1941 New World cleaned up with NOS Uniroyal Touring tires, ready to go! What a sweet rider! Those 26 x 1.375 (26 x 1 /3/8" converted to fractions) rated at 50psi sure does make the pedaling easy!

JIMBO53

To date my New World I used this prewar Schwinn serial number list from Bicyclechronicles.com: Below is a list of prewar Schwinn serial numbers. The numbers were obtained from original bicycles that could be identified by components. Obviously there are gaps between years. If you have an identifiable Schwinn and can help close the gap, please email us. This is not an exact science and there are anomalies which I have listed as well.

A1858-J1**** (hand stamped) 1935

K ?

L2825-T10018 (hand stamped) 1936

R5****-W08983 1937

W60510-B1918 1 1938

B22207-D37747 1939

D28843-F89521 1940

G32427-H93415 1941