How Do You Date Schwinn Bicycles?
The Schwinn Bicycle Co. is an American bicycle company and a bicycling history icon. From 1948 to 1982, Schwinn pioneered its own models of cruisers, touring bikes and three-speeds, fabricating their own frames and components in-house. After the “Bicycle Boom” of the 1970s, however, Schwinn’s proprietary frame-building technology and heavier bikes became less economically viable in an increasingly weight-obsessed industry–resulting in millions of unique vintage and antique bikes that can be identified by their serial numbers. Dating these bikes is usually the first step toward proper appraisal of a vintage Schwinn machine. Find the serial number. Upon production, all Schwinns had a serial number stamped in one of three places on the frame. The first possible location is on the underside of the bottom bracket. Sheldon Brown’s Bicycle Glossary defines the bottom bracket as “the part of the frame around which the pedal cranks revolve.” Turn the bike upside down to view it better. The sec
