I jsut finished working on a friend's 1954 Traveler 3-speed, but I don't have any recent experience with English ones. But my old Phillips had a mattress saddle, just like the Schwinn-approved one on this Traveler. The Traveler has Weinmann side-pull brakes, a really weird seat post diameter, and an equally odd head tube ID - I've had a heck of a time finding a lower fixed cup (success, with help from Pastor Bob!!!!). I'm sure the Ashtabula crank was easier to work on than a cotterred Brit one would have been. The rims and tires were quite a frustration, but I was able to true them to spin true enough that the brakes could be trimmed in with good handle throw. The handles can be adjusted for a man's hand or a woman's.
The old Schwinn headset has a marvelously machined crown race and threaded upper race, the equal of old Italian stuff like Magistroni or FB, and near the standard of a Campy Nuovo Record headset. Same for the hub cones. The steel hub races had no perceptible wear. The only bearing surface I had to replace was the lower fixed cup, and that was only due ot warpage, not bearing track wear. As soon as 1960 they were downgraded to stamped parts with minimal machining. I re-used the old ones as much as possible.
The old Schwinn has an elegant Arts and Crafts look to it with feathered panels outlining the block-lettered "Schwinn." I'll be able to get pictures in the winter when I take the bike back to re-do the BB and maybe some deeper clean-up. This look was lost in the early '60s.
But I think the geometry is VERY laid back. The chainstays are around 46 cm, and the wheel base is around 108 cm. There is a lot of fork head lowering as you turn the fork. I recall the old Phillips as feeling rather sprightly, and this Schwinn does not. But that's just ancient memory from the late '60s, when I rode the heck out of the Phillips.
Why is there any doubt that the British bikes were "all steel?" Just check it with a magnet. BTW, the brake calipers and handles were steel, in contrast to the aluminum Weinmanns on the Schwinns.
Last edited by Road Fan; 09-25-08 at 04:33 AM.