Originally Posted by
Road Fan
I remember that, I think it was why in the late 60s UO8s were competitive in price with the Varsinentals, but to use EU parts on the Varsity was too expensive. I think there were tariffs on bike parts that were not appied to finished bicycles. Somehow the "Schwinn Approved got around that, or do I have my eras mixed up?
Although with a great deal of vertical manufacturing going on in the Chicago plant w/ frames, forks, rims, fenders and many other components being manufactured Schwinn tested, Approved and imported Huret derails, Normandy hubs and lots more Euro hardware for their derail bike production. Euro components were common on Schwinn models, as were British SA hubs.
Designed for their American customers, and knowing how teenagers would treat their machine having grown up riding middleweight coaster brake and/or Stingray models, Varsitys and Continentals were built to a totally different design spec than Euro machines. Sheer rugged durability, ease of service and the strength required for Schwinn's famous "Lifetime Frame Warranty" were primary requirements of the designs.
The '70's English made canvas/leather seatbag I referred to in a previous post in this thread is "Schwinn Approved".
The Chicago buyers knew what they were doing "back when" and imported what made sense like the Campag components, Nervex lugs and Reynolds tubes for my '68 Paramount.
-Bandera