1990 Schwinn 594 - Rare Variant?
 

Perhaps file this under "who cares, anyhow?" based on the general disdain bike folks have for vintage aluminum bikes, but... Here's my 1991 Schwinn 594, the last USA made bike they made. It's very light, fast as hell and joy to ride, listed in the catalog as a triathlon bike and designed by the famous Paramount Design Group. So to my question: is this a rare variant or even prototype, insofar as the rear brake cabling goes through the frame?? Catalog images and every picture I found online has the cable on the outside. Any info. would be appreciated.

[Correction - 1990, not 1991, according to date code on head badge. Post titles not editable.]

MOD EDIT: Title corrected

1. Welcome to the forums, and to C&V, in particular.
2. Not too much disdain for folks around here, regardless of what their bike's frame material is, we are equal opportunity here.
3. Scooper, of one of the other Schwinn guys, will be along and they can tell you more details about your bike that you wanted to read.
4. Very nice bike, that looks pristine.

One note, take pictures from the drive side, and get the components as much as possible.

Welcome aboard!
Bill

Bill...I love your saying at the bottom about Parkinson's...great attitude...I have Cushing's Disease and feel the same way...

If I recall correctly, the only significant problem with the Schwinn 594 Aluminum Paramount was that it uses an oddball seat post size with an internal expander (works like a quill stem), and replacements are either nearly impossible to find or they cost nearly what the bike sells for.

I think it's probably rare in the sense that not a lot of people bought one :-D

That's my stock definition of "rare." But who knows, maybe these aluminum Schwinns, in the company's final made-in-USA death spiral, were the competitive equivalent of USA Cannondales at the time? I'd like to try one in my size and make a judgement on that.

Toss a 1990 Klein Qunatum in there as well, and have a three-way competition. :)

Rare doesn't always equal Valuable.

https://columbus.craigslist.org/bik/5654029582.html - $150

I have 2 of this Series and they are good bikes but they were not made by Schwinn. I believe they were outsourced. Roger

Roger, the 1989 Schwinn catalog quotes a Bicycling magazine article on the Schwinn Aluminums which states the bikes were TIG welded in Greenville. I don't believe Schwinn would have quoted the article in its catalog unless it were true. Schwinn licensed the technology used in the Aluminums from Klein.

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...89_Ltwt_05.jpg

I bow to your knowledge Scooper. I was thinking of my PDG2 road Paramount that is Far East made. I guess you should never assume anything. Roger

Not a lot of respect for them, but they're super fun, light enough and fast. I know a kid who painted one white, custom decals, and raced it vs. carbon bikes and everyone thought it was carbon, too. Biggest drawback was the quill seat post required, in my opinion.

I think those Schwinns are sweet, no disdain from me. :)

I had two Schwinn 564 bikes pass throuh my hands in the last couple months. One of the quill seat posts was fine and one was cracked. I built a replacement for the cracked one that worked just fine. I used an expander and bolt from a stem and cut the seatpost at an angle. Drilled down from the top of the post set it up just like a quill stem.

Another view
 

Honestly, it's probably my favorite bike. It FLIES and is super light. I think I prefer it to my 1985 Bianchi Specialissima (all Campy), 2000-something Bianchi Eros (all Campy) and 1979 Trek 910 (Campy-less). The stiffness of frame clearly transfers energy to the wheels. I have a hunch some day in the not too distant future the thinking on these bikes will come around the true worth will be reflected in prices. Full disclosure, though. I don't go on very long rides so it doesn't get to really punish my body. Here's the infamous seat post (no problems to date). But nobody answered my question about the cable going through the frame. Please look online. I dare you to find another example with this construction detail. What gives?

Home made modification?

Bill, that's my guess. A previous owner thought internal cable routing for the rear brake cable looked cool and decided to take it on as a project. The question I have is did the modification involve installing an internal tube in the TT connecting the entry and exit holes, or is it just the entry and exit holes drilled for the cable? The former option is typically used by framebuilders to prevent the cable from flopping around inside the top tube as well as preventing water from getting into the frame; it also makes cable replacement easier.

This is Darrell McCulloch's internal routing on a steel frame.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...psgai7za0j.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...psimw5dpne.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7...psxn1e6w2t.jpg

OMG, this is soooo beautiful!!!:love::love::love:

Excuse me, I need a moment alone...

You & me both!

I'll confess. I had one of these a couple of years ago and I hated the damn thing. That aluminum fork rattled my brain.

Definitely not. Original construction. You can tell the way it gently flares out and by the paint, same as entire frame (inconceivable it would be drilled with that level of care, then stripped down to the aluminum and re-painted and re-decalled). It's also worthy to note that DIFFERENT models of aluminum Schwinns of that era had internal cabling. I'll find one and post later today.

That has to be one of the prettiest Schwinn road bikes I've seen. Thanks for sharing!

The mystery thickens. As I noted (based on memory), they had a cable-through-frame model. But not in 1990, the year of my bike (as per date code on head badge). None of the three aluminum bikes that year had this construction detail. However, a DIFFERENT model from the NEXT year, 1991, used this construction detail. Here's the 354. Interestingly mine, the 594, didn't in 1991, as per the Schwinn catalog. Weird.

What month does the date code indicate? My 'Dale was welded up in September of '90, but painted in 1991-only Guard's Red.

It's not clear from the '91 Aluminum 354 catalog page that the rear brake cable has internal routing, only that it doesn't have the top tube cable guides.

However, the 1991 High Plains Aluminum MTB catalog page makes a point of hyping the internal cable routing on that model as "...a feature found only on expensive, custom mountain bikes", so clearly some early nineties Schwinn aluminum frames had internal routing for the rear brake cable.

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...00/1991_08.JPG