This is a silly thread. I have worked on Schwinns for over 20 years, sold them for several yeasr in the late '80s, own two..I think. Like nearly every other mega bike company, they made some good bikes, they made some awful ones, and they made some in the middle. The differece is that they were around long enough to do alot of things. For better or worse, they helped to define cycling in the US during the 50's. They sort rode this momentum for most of the 60's, but reacted to a large number of European bikes moving into the US by the late 60's. In they 70's, they split the difference between department store bikes and high-end racing bikes, making something for everyone. By the early 80's, the market had moved to sportier, lighter, faster, etc., they spent the first part of the '80s trying to catch up. By the mid to late 80's, they were making some very good bikes that I would put up against Peugeot, Centurion, Lotus, Univega, and others trying to span the breadth of the market. I think the main difference is that they had alot (too many) mid-range offerings that tended to define them in the market place, coupled with their '70's electro-forged battleships, such that their high-end line was not seriously considered by many. Then by the early 90's, the bottom fell out of the market, and Scwhinn as we knew them was gone.

Much has been written about how Schwinn rested too long on their reputation and made some business decisions that eventually sunk the company. I think there is more to it than that. They also had a large physical plant investment (and labor pool) in the US lingering from the days of old that wound up being somewhat of a millstone when compared to nearly every other broad-market brand that contracted the majority of thier production overseas. Such investments are not easy to get out of the system or off the books. Schwinn tried this, but got bit badly when Giant decided to enter the market on it's own. I think that was the last straw.

The fact is, they made some good bikes, they made some that should be forgotten, and they made ALOT of quality bikes which are not remarkable because of the volumes that they produced. Markets are funny things. If someone managed to get $500 for an old Varsity, well good for them. There is one borne every minute.