Sixty Fiver

There is a 1952 Schwinn World Sport (road model) down at the bike co-op... it was donated by it's original owner and appears to be an electroforged frame although I am not sure if the EF process was applied to mass produced Schwinn's this early.

If that is the case then the bike was hand done.

It is a tank that feels like it is made of solid steel... tap it with a wrench the the frame just goes thud but the frame itself is in nice looking shape.

I figure that after the apocalypse the only thing left will be cockroaches, Hostess Twinkies, and old Schwinn frames.



It was looking to get tossed but I rescued it and wondered what one of these may be worth if anything)... it's front wheel and handlebars went missing but I still have the 1952 SA hub and wheel, and one pretty old brake lever.

If it worth nothing I might take it and hang it up in my shop as I still would hate to see it get tossed out as it is a little piece of cycling history.

pastorbobnlnh 

Did you look at these catalog pages from 1952? The World Traveler looks to be fillet brazed (the seat stay, seattube junction is the place to look). Click to the next page and you will see the other world models. No World Sport mentioned, but this does not mean Schwinn didn't make it. Pictures!!!!! Please!!!!

https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...9/1952_09.html

Sixty Fiver

Thanks Bob...

I will snap some pictures tomorrow when I am at the co-op... I was thinking that the bike was probably filet brazed due to it's age and the hub is dated 1952.

The wheels are 26 inch and it is a small sized frame that weighs as much as 3 frames...

I am somewhat annoyed that it had some of it's parts stripped as I had set is aside some months ago... our new mechanic is not as experienced and probably did not know that it should have been left complete.

It also a Cyclo benelux 3 speed conversion kit that was installed in the early 60's that I appropriated for a project I am working on... I have a 1954 Raleigh Sports 3 speed road bike that I want to turn into a period correct tourer with a 9 speed range.

Sixty Fiver

Bob -

Just about to take some pictures and find the serial number on the bike...

It is a Schwinn Traveller and not a Sport (duh) and looks to be identical to the first bike in the link except it's blue.

pastorbobnlnh 

Great find! Can't wait to see the pictures!

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

If it looks Electroforged and its a 50's Schwinn, chances are its fillet brazed. I dont think Schwinn started electro forging until the 60's.

Scooper

It looks like they were building electro-forged frames in 1952 from this catalog page, and my first bike was a 1955 26-inch wheel "World" W2 that was electro-forged.

sailorbenjamin

My '50 schwinn looks like EF but I'm pretty darn sure those Travelers were FB.
That brake lever is worth a little if it's got the Schwinn script on it.
Grab that new mechanic by the @#$%^ and make him remember where the other pieces went.

pastorbobnlnh 

Turning into the C&V gangsta, are you, since moving to NY? I knew that NYC Metro driving would soon change your disposition.

Quick Ben, launch the boat, unfurl the sails, and explore the Tappan Zee and imagine you are Henry Hudson. This should help bring you back to your placid ways.

sailorbenjamin

Sorry. It's just that I've been sorta looking for a wheelset that size for my old Shelby Traveler for about a year. It's not an easy wheel to come by.

Sixty Fiver

Sorry for the delay...

sailorbenjamin

I have this set of really old Raleigh 26x1 1/4 flipflop track wheels that would look great on that. They'd look pretty good on my old Shelby, too, though.

Sixty Fiver

My 1955 Raleigh Lenton is a fixed gear and has a set of Raleigh track hubs laced to Dunlop stainless wheels with stainless spokes.

They are beautiful wheels.

I have the rear wheel for the Schwinn but the front wheel and handlebars went amiss... one could use a 650a wheelset on this bike or yours.

noglider 

I think the walls on the tubing are extremely thick, which is why it sounds solid. But I don't think it's solid. The picture looks like it's constructed pretty much the same as the 1970's electroforged frames, except for the fork crown.

I just rode 6 or 7 miles on a 1973 Varsity today. I never did that before. The ride was harsh, and the pedaling was hard, but the handling was gorgeous.

Sixty Fiver

I am sure the tubes are tubes... but damn that frame is heavy.

SirMike1983 

The chainguard design on those is a classic-- Schwinn actually used that design going back to the mid 1930s on a number of its ballooners.

Attached: 1936 Schwinn Henderson with that same guard style.
(pardon the repro pedals, I'm still working on the originals).

Scooper

Looking at the photos, I'm almost certain your Traveler is 18 ga. carbon steel electro-forged, not fillet-brazed chromoly.

noglider 

Is the frame heavier than a 1970's Schwinn frame? I don't know what the typical weight is.

As you probably know, I've been working on a bunch of EF Schwinns. Not only are the frames heavy. Everything else is. I mean, when I take the handlebars off, I can scarcely believe how heavy it is. The cranks, man, everything is immensely heavy.

This is why Schwinns will be, as you say, one of the only surviving things after the apocalypse.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

take a kickstand off, you'll be amazed at how heavy it is.

noglider 

True, but nearly every nut and bolt is shockingly heavy. The chainrings, the dork disk, everything. It can make you wonder if they tried to make the bikes as heavy as possible.

I have a Schwinn Collegiate ready to go, and my 17-year-old daughter borrowed it yesterday and today. She couldn't quite describe her feelings about it, but they were mixed. Basically, the handling is gorgeous, but the pedaling is gawd-awful.

sailorbenjamin

I'll bet a dollar it's fillet brazed.

noglider 

I'll bet you five-to-one it's not.