WalksOn2Wheels

So at the bike shop (working on campus at a bike shop by the way...) I had the pleasure of doing a full overhaul on a nice Chicago Schwinn. New cables and housing, trued the wheels, new tires and tubes, new bar wrap, BB overhaul, the works.

Anyhow, I wanted to find the year of the bike, so I jotted down the SN to look up later. I noticed the headbadge said Chicago, and the SN was on the left dropout. This hints at it being a 60's era Schwinn.

But this is the problem: the SN is 1907328. No letters and it starts with a 1.

I failed to stop and take pictures, but it looks an awful like a Schwinn traveler I saw in a 76 brochure. It had the Araya rims, 27x1 1/4, it was a flashy pearlized kind of red, and it had friction shifters on mounted on the stem.

1976 page: https://www.re-cycle.com/images/Schwi...6cat/18-19.jpg

I forget the derailleurs, but I do remember the brakes being labeled "Schwinn approved" which kind of points again to this '76 Traveler. But then it has the Chicago headbadge. Any ideas?

pastorbobnlnh 

Did it have a 3 piece crankset and BB, or a one piece unit? Lugged joints for the frame tubing, or smooth rounded joints?

In the early '80s Schwinn moved USA manufacturing to MS, but kept "Chicago" on the headbadge. Also, a number of Asian built bikes had "Chicago" on the badge, because they still kept their headquarters there.

Some of the '60s fillet brazed bikes had odd serial numbers.

Beach Comber

Between 1960 and 1980 Schwinn moved the serial number quite a bit. Use this as a guide:

https://www.re-cycle.com/History/Schw...nB_Serial.aspx

WalksOn2Wheels

It was a pretty standard adjustable BB with a single square tapered shaft. Very similar to my Shimano BB on my steel Specialized. And it had a lugged frame.

I was using that link in regards to serial numbers, but I got really lost when the SN had no letters in it to speak of.

WalksOn2Wheels

Here's a quick picture of the bike in question. Not sure if it really helps, just a cell phone shot of me working on the BB. But I'm still really curious about the year.

I should see this on campus, as the guy was a student who worked at Starbucks. I'll take another look at the SN and maybe get some better pictures.

Beach Comber

Ahh, not a Chicago Schwinn then. Giant or Panasonic model. Try checking the catelogs again for a match, starting with 1980.