Chuckk

I found the original article that "No Hands" was developed from.

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Rabid Koala

I just finished the same book. I found a reasonably priced used copy on Amazon. It was a very interesting book, one that I found hard to put down. I was pretty much away from cycling in general by the late seventies, so it filled in a lot of missing details.

A couple of things that stuck in my mind was the part about the Centurion LeMans bikes, which were originally conceived as a Raleigh Grand Prix made in the Far East, but certain powers at Raleigh nixed the idea. The remaining bikes were rebadged as Centurions. When I first saw them as a kid, I thought they were just a Raleigh knockoff. I never knew they were intended as a replacement.

I also learned a lot about Schwinn's competitors of the day, such as Nishiki and Trek. I owned a Nishiki in 1973, but never learned much about the company.

Scooper

It's a fascinating book. Although the focus is on Schwinn, the book is really a history of the bicycle industry - particularly in the late seventies, eighties, and early nineties.

The effects of poor decisions (not recognizing the popularity of BMX, for example), competition in the global economy, innovations by upstart competitors, and the arrogance of ignoring the obvious advantages of lightweight lugged frames compared to the heavier electroforged frames Schwinn was using for the majority of its production were all such important factors in Schwinn's demise that the authors pretty much had to explain them in significant detail to give readers the big picture.

The book really works, although I wish the authors hadn't jumped around so much chronologically. I think it would have been a better read if they had written it more along a timeline, documenting everything that was happening at a given time and how that influenced everything else. Instead, the authors serendipitously pick a subject and explain that particular subject over time instead of weaving other parts of the story into it. It was probably easier to do it the way they did, but I think it leaves the reader with the formidable task of trying to fit everything together in a timeline and figuring out how specific decisions influenced the outcome.

alanbikehouston

The book is about the Schwinn company and the Schwinn family. At the same time, it is a very accurate history of America in the period from 1930 to 1990. A nation that saved civilization during the 1940's with the strength of its factories and its factory workers. The arrogant corporate owners who thought they could increase their personal wealth by abandoning the American workers who made them wealthy, and simply becoming importers of cheaper products from China.

A hundred years from now, when historians research how America went from being the richest, most powerful nation in history, to being a second-rate country with a rich elite, and with most families struggling to survive, THIS is the book that will explain what went wrong.

wagathon

The bike retail business still seems to be much more a cottage industry than most any other business and still going strong: e.g., lots of independent operators and small-ish chains. The last item I bought was mailorder--a Brooks B17 saddle--and, even that was from a bicycle shop in New Mexico that is running a sale (a thread about his sale was on the forum last week). I'm thinking about buying a Kona P2 rigid mtb fork that a bike shop in Maine is selling.

It seems funny to hear about a decline in the US-bike business when all of the components that any real biker would desire have always been mostly from various countries other than the U.S. I'm also amazed at how many U.S.-made items I've appreciated over the years that were from small U.S. businesses, e.g., PW hubs, panniers and bags, saddles and helmets, racks, shorts, frames, etc.

Guest

I was going to get it.... but 51 bucks! Can't afford it right now.

I'll wait until it comes out softcover in a couple of years.

Koffee

cruentus

Ebay is your friend.

https://cgi.ebay.com/No-Hands-The-Ris...QQcmdZViewItem

Seriously, I've read this book, and I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in bicycles or business.

Bottom line, Schwinn was killed by the bone-heads in management. If you want to see why primogeniture is a bad idea, read this book.

jacksbike

This sounds like a very interesting book. My Dad sold Schwinn bikes from about 1958 until about 1979. During that time he was very happy to be selling a top name brand bike. I find it amazing how fast the company fell apart and went into bankruptcy. They just did not adapt quickly enough to the onslaught of lightweight Japanese and Euopean bikes . It began to get very difficult to retail a 39 pound Schwinn Varsity road bike when our competitor down the street was selling 28 pound Motobecanes. Customers recognized the weight difference in a jiffy and started going for the lighter bikes. Raleighs, Fujis, Atalas, Motos, etc. began to look a lot better compared to these heavy monsters that SChwinn was selling. They did begin to import Panasonic made LeTours, Voyagers, etc. but I guess they just did not move fast enough against the competition. My beloved Dad would be spinning in his grave if he knew that my local Wal-Mart was selling Schwinn bikes. Compared to the era that he was selling USA made Schwinn bikes, this would be like Cadillacs being sold by stand-alone top shelf car dealerships to going to being sold at BJ's Wholesale Club. I am surprised that the manufacturing venture that Schwinn began in Mississippi did not work out. Perhaps someone who has read the book can give me that info. Sound like a book that I would want to pick up.

cruentus

Schwinn had a lot of problems. They were late with low-cost, light-weight, road bikes. They were late with BMX. They were late with MTBs. Schwinn was late in off-shoring its low-end bike production. They were late with improving the efficiency of their domestic manufacturing operation. I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did. It was the Schwinn brand name that saved them from going under for a while -- to this day Schwinn is one of the most recognized brand names in the USA. You can only trade on your good name for so long, eventually you have to delivery the goods.

Fact is that Schwinn was run by morons for 20 years before they went under.

Rabid Koala

It makes me sick to see that. Wal Mart Schwinns are the preferred transportation of all the illegal aliens that live in my neighborhood. "Schwinn" and "Wal Mart" should never be in the same sentence.

mswantak

Heheh -- up here they tend towards Magnas and Giants, although one guy in my neighborhood has the taste to ride a '70 Raleigh Grand Prix.

Sierra

This sounds like the definition of a third world country. I hesitate to venture into politics, but the future does not appear bright to me.

evilgenius

does anyone know the ISBN number for this book, id like to track it down in Australia

BobHufford

ISBN: 0805035532

Bob Hufford
Springfield, MO

alancw3

i couldn't have said it better!

roccobike

Your comment about the other bike manufacturers is correct and brings back memories. I purchased my first bike as an adult in 1974. You're right, weight was THEE key selling feature that Raleigh sales people pushed when I purchased my 28lb Raleigh versus a 37lb Schwinn. Lighter Schwinns were available, but not at the $90 selling price of the Raleigh Record. I remember how quickly the Raleighs were being sold that day. The LBS was running a sale and I actually had to get on line to get a bike.

Rabid Koala

Weight notwithstanding, I have to throw in another comment about the Schwinn heavywieghts. The Varsity, Continental, etc. just looked horrendously STUPID with those ugly pie plate spoke protectors and, even worse, that UFO sized thing on the front chainwheel. The Twin Stick shifters didn't help either. Look at an early Varsity or Continental like this one, and notice just how much lighter it appears. It may not have weighed less, but it looks so much cleaner.

Japanese and European bikes were much better looking than the dowdy Varsity.

cruentus

My Varsity is not "dowdy".

number6

That Varsity is not dowdy, but I think the previous owner crashed it into a wall or something, as the fork looks a wee bit pushed back and the head tube looks too steep and the tubes as they enter the head tube area look like they have a wee bit of curve where there should be none.. Might assist the handling though.

cruentus

I'll bet you the wall lost.

Sierra

I recognize that bike..... That's my bike!

cruentus

Don't know, it is substantially lighter than what I started with -- 30 pounds? By getting rid of the kick stand, the steel stem shifters, the pie plate, using a continental tubular fork and lighter 700 rims/tires, I think that you could it down to 27-28 pounds. I wasn't really concerned with trying to make it into a light-weight, I wanted a solid, reliable beater, and that's how it turned out. I can load this thing with 40-50 pounds of groceries with no problem.

mr. peugeot

Perpetual economic decay and decline doesn't sound bright to me either.

Rabid Koala

I most certainly concur! If they had all looked like that, maybe they would have sold more!

Rabid Koala

Back briefly, if I may, to the failure of Schwinn.

I don't see it as much as a symbol of the decline of the USA, but more as an evolution. One company fails, others step in to fill the void and hopefully do better. Specialized and Trek were on the upswing as Schwinn was failing, and presumably were run better.

Sure, there is greed in business. There always has been. I think Schwinn failed more by their lethargy and gross stupidity than by greed. By the third generation the drive of Ignaz and Frank W. had disappeared. This happens frequently in family businesses.

Not an American business, but look at the failure of SunTour. They started out innovating and got complacent. They also got run over by Shimano, so that by the time their patents expired they were in deep trouble.

It can happen anywhere.