Originally Posted by
bbattle
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Why? Well, for one thing, the older versions on the Schwinns were made in Ashtabula, Ohio, by the Ashtabula Bicycle parts Company. Their parts were so prevalent, back in the day, that the name Ashtabula became the generic name for such parts, much like "Kleenex" became the generic for facial tissue......
THANKS bbattle! This ^ is one nugget of wisdom I was looking for, which makes a direct connection to the Ashtabula Bow Socket Company - and the link you provided to the site created by a long time Ashtabula resident (
http://raymondott.com/) solidifies it even further for me.
I would like to second the point made by others, that the much reviled and heavy Ashtabula cranks so many of us had on the gaspipe steeds of our childhood were indeed a very good design for both serviceability and durability.
I think if I were building a utility bike for a post-apocalyptic world, this would be the design I would choose!