13Cats

I have an opportunity to buy this old Town and Country Trike:

https://imgur.com/a/zWSok

They are asking $90. I'm not sure what year it is. I want a vintage trike that I can use. Unfortunately, when the sellers went to air up the tires, one blew. I was given a few days to look into what it would cost to replace the tire that blew and possibly the other two just in case. Can I even find replacement tires? They don't even have to be vintage right now. I just want something that would work so I could ride it. If it is possible to replace these tires, how much would I be looking at for cost? Is this trike worth the $90 even though I am now going to have to put money into it right away when I wasn't planning on that when I made the purchase agreement.

pastorbobnlnh 

The short answer is yes, you can find those tires. And they do need to be replaced. $90 is reasonable if the tires were good to go. I think the seller should come down at least $20-30 because of the work needed to bring this trike back to life. The saddle is not original.

okane

IMHO I'd walk away unless you are prepared to do a lot of work. It will need a lot more than 1 tire to make a decent rider. Trikes are not that easy to find, but there not that rare either.

Glennfordx4

In my area if a Trike is rideable it's worth $200, but that's my area yours may differ. Tires are available for it no matter the Schwinn size they are, but they can set you back at least $20 to $25 per wheel if it uses Schwinn only tires, less if it uses standard size tires. Looking at the pictures that doesn't look like it's in bad shape, the chrome looks good, it's got a good seat and the basket doesn't look bent up or rusted out. I would buy it for $75-$90 in my area , maybe he would knock the price down a little knowing it needs tires.
The one thing it has going for it also, it's a vintage Schwinn, it's built like a tank & after a good service it can last another 30 to 40 years.

Also, welcome to the site, you will find a lot of friendly people with a vast amount of knowledge they are willing to share here, and a lot of cat lovers too.

Glenn

13Cats

I'm going to ask them to lower the price because of the tires. I don't know if they will though. Old trikes tend to sell for a lot around here. They do have the original saddle. It appeared to be in good shape. The bike belonged to the seller's mother and she needed a more comfortable seat as she got older. If I buy this, I get both seats.

13Cats

Besides the tire situation, what do you think I'll need to work on immediately if I got it? I'd like to more accurately restore it at one point but until then, I'm okay with just focusing on doing whatever can be done to make it functional right now. There are a few other trikes on CL in my state right now. However, they are pretty far away and all are at least $200 to $250 even for ones in really bad shape. I've been looking for one for 4 years now. So, I kind of want to try it with this one. But the more practical side of me wonders if I'd come out better in the long run if I held off and tried to get one in better condition.

wrk101

Bearings and grease all wheels, headset, and bottom bracket.

New cables and housing for the brake.

Maybe new chain. If not, clean and lube chain.

Trikes are hard to ship, so if it is what you want and local, you may as well go for it. Four years is a long time to wait. Realize new trikes are readily available. Walmart sells one for under $300, with alloy wheels, fresh tires of course that are a common size, etc.


+1 Bike looks very nice for $90.

13Cats

Everything I've found in my area starts around the $200 range as well. Even if they aren't in very good shape. That's part of why I was thinking of just taking this one anyway. There's no rust at all. Some of the paint needs cleaned up or scrubbed. Maybe touched up at some point. It's the Sierra brown color. The seat that is on it isn't original but they do have the original seat as well. I'll get that too if I buy the bike.

$25 per tire isn't bad at all. I did find some 24 x 1 1/4 S-6 tires for $10 on amazon but I'm not sure if this bike needs those or if it needs a tire for an S-5. I asked the seller to find the model number or any identifying info for me but I haven't heard back yet. If the tires end up being cheaper, I'd probably take it for the $90 because I haven't seen anything this cheap in the four years that I've been looking in my area. Otherwise, I will take the advice here and see if he'd go a little lower since we settled on a price when we thought the tires were okay for now.

Thanks for the welcome! I'm a longtime lurker. It's exciting to maybe finally have a bike project of my own! And cat lovers are almost as fun as bike enthusiasts. I do rescue/rehabilitation/rehoming/trap, fix, and release for cats and maintain the local feral colony. I know the '13Cats' thing makes me sound a bit like I'm possible a hoarder.

KonAaron Snake 

I'm going to disagree a bit with the above...yes, trikes are hard to sell, but they're also hard to find. If this is a town n' country, it means it's fillet brazed and 4130 cro-mo - it's a good bit nicer than what you'll find at Walmart and is likely a good deal nicer than the standard trike people are lumping it in with above. Yes, it will take a bit to fix it up and Bill is 100% right with what he said about grease. Tires shouldn't be too big of a deal. I think it's a steal at $90, the only question is are you willing/able to take on a project (and it is a project). I wouldn't touch up the paint - leave her as the charming work horse she is.

13Cats

The brake is supposedly okay. Their mom was still riding it not all that long ago, I guess. Is there something you can see in the picture that indicates a problem? I'll be honest, I don't *quite* know how to figure out stuff like that by just looking at a photo. The chain is also supposedly okay, just dirty. Regardless, I've looked around a bit and I've found one that will work for this bike for about $8. So that isn't too bad. I will definitely grease stuff.

I have looked for trikes that could be shipped. The cheapest shipping so far has been $100 dollars. So, yeah, local is probably a better option for me right now unless I find a trike that is cheap enough that I feel like I'm somehow making up for the cost of shipping. And four years has been a long time.

I really don't like Walmart in general, to be honest. And I definitely don't like their bikes. Plus, I have a couple of bikes that are great for regular use and stuff. I just really want a vintage trike.

13Cats

It has been incredibly hard to find a vintage trike in my area. And that's really what I want. I don't want a Walmart trike (or bike for that matter). I want something with a history and the sort of build and quality that lasts for decades. I'm willing to put in the time to fix it up and I'm excited about the possibility of having a restoration project. I'd just like to be able to ride it fairly soon even if I'm not quite done with fixing it up. Painting it definitely isn't a priority and I may take your advice and just leave it alone. I was considering restoring the paint if I ever got it looking like new again. I have a friend who can get vintage Schwinn paints. But I also think the flaws and wear are part of the charm.

Scooper

Aaron, I'm pretty sure they're electro-forged carbon steel.

KonAaron Snake 

Scooper - thanks - I thought all town n countries were fillet brazed.

13Cats

Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I don't know much about electro-forged bikes.

KonAaron Snake 

Bad...it's a heavier steel. In tandems the town n countrys are cro-mo and fillet brazed, I assumed this would be too.

Glennfordx4

The only other thing I would really check is to make sure the wheels aren't bent up real bad, trikes can be rough on wheels depending on the rider. The trike you are looking at is leaps & bounds better then the Schwinn trike they sell at Walmart, Trust me! If the trike is as good as it looks in the picture, I could get $350 Plus for it in our area, they are just built better then most of the other brands & they ride really smooth. The only other brand of trikes that I like are the old Miami Sun's ( Now they are just Sun) as they were built well also. After tires & a good service ( which you can learn to do yourself to keep cost down) you will have a very nice bike that will hold it's value & will always be sought after by many for years to come.

The chrome on the old Schwinns is triple plated which you will not find on any newer Trike, they start to rust as soon as they are removed from the box & the wheels even though they are alloy on the newer trikes are junk and can't hold true but for a few spins around the block ( although you can get Skyway Trike mags for them ). A lot of standard Schwinn bike parts fit their trikes also, making repairs cheaper & easier to fix when needed.

We did the trap, spay & release program in our neighborhood also, we are down to ten cats having lost 3 of them in the last year ( Sqeek, Abby & Lil Kris ). It's been 7 weeks since I lost Lil Kris & it's like I lost one of my kids, she was just so special to me & I miss her so much that tears are running down my face as I type this, Never had a pet make me feel this way before in my life, Never!

Glenn

noglider 

Take a good look at the trike's condition. Many here have pointed out that you can fix it and make it worthwhile, but it depends on how much is trashed. If the rims are trashed, other things might be, too. You could buy new wheels, and they could be a nicer, more standard size, but it does get expensive. In the end, you'll have a nicer trike than a Walmart trike. Is that important? I don't know. It depends on how much you use it. If you fix it up well, it will last a lifetime. If you buy a Walmart trike and use it a lot, you might have to work on it a lot.

Check the condition of the crank bearings and headset. They were made of high quality. Check to see if you can raise the seat and stem. If they're stuck, it's probably not worth buying the bike. Check to see if the chainring is straight or bent.

Maybe you should find an article, perhaps on sheldonbrown.com, to see what things to check when buying a used bike. Follow it.

Scooper

Speaking of Sheldon Brown, there's a great article on the electro-forged frames and how they were made on his website. It was written by Marc Muller, the chief designer and manager of Schwinn's Paramount Design Group, and currently Richard Schwinn's business partner at Waterford Precision Cycles.

The running joke is that the only things that will survive the nuclear holocaust are cockroaches and Schwinn electro-forged frames.

Inside the Varsity

13Cats

The wheels seem perfect outside of the tire popping. Nothing seems bent. It had been stored for the winter but an elderly lady was riding it just last fall. I went and looked at it in person today. It actually looks better in person than in the photo. And they dropped the price to $75 because of the tire needing replaced. Definitely a steal. There's no way I'll get a bargain like this again. I'm picking it up Saturday when I have a truck to haul it home in. I figure whatever I'm saving on this deal can go back into repairs and replacements and I'll still have a good deal.

It's awesome that you did the trap, spay, and release program! Not a lot of people want to do something like that. I'm so sorry about the loss of your cats and Lil Kris. I definitely understand how it feels like you've lost a child. It can be absolutely devastating and it can take quite awhile for that feeling of loss and sorrow to become more manageable. I've lost cats and some of them were very heartbreaking losses. I'm sorry that you're experiencing that heartbreak now.

13Cats

Thanks for all of this advice! I took it and found a couple of articles on what to look for and went out to see the trike in person today. Like I said earlier, the front tire popped. The back two will need to be replaced here soon but aren't popped or flat yet. The rims seem perfectly fine. Nothing bent or beat up or rusty. I think the guy who aired the tire overfilled it. Well, and the tires are old. Everything else seems fine. The brakes, the chainring, the headset, the seat, etc. It really seems like the tires are the only issue. Well, and like I said, the paint has some minor flaws here and there. The bike appears to have been well maintained and taken care of.

Since the tire popped and I need at least one new one ASAP, they dropped the price to $75. So even if some of the repairs are expensive, I think I'll still come out ahead in the long run. I do want to fix it up well and plan to use it often. And I feel like that is more of a possibility with this trike than with a Walmart trike. The Walmart trikes seem very cheap. A lot of people complain about them coming bent and beat up. I don't know of many Walmart bikes that last all that long. Plus, I like vintage bikes and have had great success with the vintage bikes I've owned.

13Cats

That was a really interesting and informative read. It's too bad that things ended the way they did. It'd be interesting to see where they could have taken that technique if they could have held on for a few more years.