Bike Forums - Help Identifying Schwinn and its value

The CABERS generally detest women's bicycles and mainly view them as parts bicycles.

That attitude is slowly changing, as some people wishing to ride neat looking ancient bicycles refuse to pay the crazy outrageous asking prices for the men's bike, or they are now more mature today (read that as gray haired and old) such that a step-through bicycle makes realistic sense to them. Their wives, daughters, and girlfriends like neat looking ancient bicycles too, but generally with the caveat of said ancient bicycle looking very colorful, and pretty (looking new with new tires, spotless, clean shiny chrome, and new or near perfect new looking pedals) The hardcore CABER doofuses that only seek pre-1965, American made, coaster brake, single speed bicycles WANT COMPLETE ORIGINALITY, SUCH THAT THOSE MORONS OFTEN RIDE UPON SEVENTY YEAR OLD TIRES. I met someone this past May, that was riding a beautiful doo-dad, factory loaded, Elgin circa 1940. He told me that he had to search for four months to locate used useable-rideable period correct tires for it. I said, well Charles, the bicycle does not care or know what year the tires were made or in what country's factory...........I said that it seems really stupid to me that you would want to ride on such ancient tires.................I told Charles that I do understand if you are going to show the bike in some judged antique bicycle show.................I also asked Charles, why in the heck don't you use the ancient tires for presentation in an antique bicycle show, and use quality recent rubber bike tires that would be more comfortable and probably a lot safer since the rubber is pliable, fresh, and flexible, not hard as a rock, almost like a caster wheel on an office chair from 1951.
Charles said that he wouldn't ever consider riding anything not made in the USA. With a puzzled look, I asked if Coker Tire (in Tennessee, USA) makes any repro-duction bike tires, like they do for antique cars, and motorcycles. I then asked Charles if he makes certain that all of his clothing is made in USA, and he said to me:
"uh, you can't if you wanted too, you'd be limited big-time in choices if you did find newly manufactured USA made clothing, and it would cost too much for what you'd get and wouldn't be any better." I said, hey Charles, you just answered the reason that there hasn't been widespread US made replacement bicycle tires since the 1970's. Charles didn't like that answer. He said it was important to him to ride an all original, American made, antique bicycle.
This gives you the mindset of the most hard-core CABERS.

"Freqman1" over on the CABE is probably among the most knowledgeable in the world, on the current market value of antique American made bicycles made before 1950 , all the way back to the 1890's. Freqman1 is definitely not one of the "NUTS" who advocate riding on original equipment rubber.

I see that you have already inquired in a thread over there on the CABE:
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/vi...cation.214457/

I would say look thru the ancient Schwinn catalogs too, to see if anything possibly matches, but remember that often with old bikes, you have "conglomeration" builds where somebody assembles on to an antique frame, and then uses certain Schwinn parts, and maybe attaches a pretty cool ancient Schwinn badge that they had sitting in a box in the basement for 44 years.... I am not saying that your bike is like that, but that is common, especially on re-painted, beater bikes, and women's bikes.
The thinking is though all the ancient bikes are very very similar,......making it and badging it as a Schwinn gives it an "instant upgrade" in many people's minds for such an ancient ordinary bicycle.

For example, this ancient, beater, that likely did sacrifice its good parts for a men's bike project, and then this is just the remnant or residual residue parts bike that could still be made in to something fun, nice and cool to ride, but my guess is that its market value would likely be somewhere in the vicinity of 1/5th of the men's bike, if that much. Remember though that I am not at all qualified to comment on the value of such ancient bikes. (you'd have to rely on somebody like Freqman 1, who really collects a lot of top quality antique bikes. He is probably the closest to what Jay Leno & Pebble Beach Concours participants are in the automobile collector/restorer world, when it comes to such ancient bicycles.

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/pa...-offer.214124/

https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCa...950/index.html

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/ok...change.214370/

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/wh...t-home.213910/

My advice would be that if you LIKE the bicycle and would enjoy riding it (or someone in your immediate household would enjoy riding it), then I would say, have fun with it and PAINT IT in a bright shiny attractive color.........perhaps a two-tone combination that looks stunningly attractive........IF YOU WERE TO DO THAT, where the paint looked as good or better than the new bikes at TARGET, WALMART, & DICKS, and with shiny chrome, a new comfortable seat and fresh new looking pedals that have a nice appearance, YOU WOULD PROBABLY HAVE A DESIREABLE "cruiser bike" THAT WOULD IMMEDIATELY SELL TO SOMEONE on Facebook marketplace.
If your choice of rattle can spray paint paint colors are vibrant and you do as professional of a paint job as possible WITH NO OVERSPRAY and clean delineated even lines where the different colored sections touch each other, than you would have built a beautiful bicycle that anyone would be proud to own and ride.
Let your imagination be your guide. USE the old Schwinn Catalogs to be a possible guide for potential colors and paint schemes. Use some of the old photos of old ELGINS, old Columbias, old Monarks, etc and other ancient bikes for a possible guide for potential colors and paint schemes too, as many of them were much more eye popping and visually stunning than what Chicago Schwinn was offering in the 1940's and 1950's.
Have fun and make it cool. Paint (several 12oz cans of Rustoleum 2X spray paint for example), 3M masking painters tape and, new tires and tubes, new pedals, and a new seat would not cost very much. Yes, it would require a considerable number of hours on your part to prep it and paint it great to make it look stunning. You'll have great fun IF YOU LIKE DOING THAT KIND OF THING. Don't even bother if you don't really feel it, and would be just 1/2 azz , just goin' through the motions because you would be just wastin' your time and money, but on the other hand, if you are seriously interested, you can make something really really nice that everybody would find nice and attractive. You will not be able to "turn a profit" on such a project, if flipping it is your only concern, but if you are looking for cool project that would turn heads and attract positive attention if your spray paint work is done to a high standard, then do it if you want it for you or your wife/girlfriend/daughter/granddaughter to ride.
Remember that because it has already been repainted by someone, that IT DOES NOT MATTER, what colors or designs that you choose to go with BECAUSE those Caber COLLECTOR TYPES only want Original Paint, original factory equipment bicycles, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT A SUPERBLY DONE, STUNNINGLY REPAINTED, CUSTOM, would not be a very desirable bicycle to ordinary people. Desireable does not equate to expensive however.

All Things Schwinn