What is this bike?
 

Hello everyone this is my first post!

Im considering buying a bike from a guy on craigslist, he says its a 60s or 70s schwinn racer but it looks more like the 1975 Collegiate on this page http://www.rideonbicycles.com/cruisers.htm (obviously with a different seat and handlebars). My question is can any of you bike geniuses help me pinpoint what this thing is? I have requested more pics, if i get those i'll post them up here too.

A photo of the bike in question is attached. Many thanks for your help :)

eric

It looks like a Varsity to me.

Thanks for the reply Dirtdrop, the guy said specifically it isn't a varsity, and i personally cant find a varsity in the supposed timeframe of this bike with a curved top tube like that.

I don't know, that top tub looks like it really has an arch to it, bad photo angle??

Schwinn called this frame type "camelback", and used it on several models in the sixties and seventies, including the small frame size (17") Varsity, the Racer, Collegiate, and Speedster. There may have been other models as well.

Here's a 24" wheel Collegiate with the camelback frame:

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

It looks like the collegiate is still in the lead here. You guys rock, thanks for all the good information! If the guy sends me some more pics this afternoon i will post them as well.

Assuming it a late 60s / early 70s Collegiate, probably bad tires, minor rust, do you think its worth the 75 bucks the guys asking for the thing? He mentioned that it has a bit of a "shimmey" not sure what that means as I have not ridden the bike yet.

Thanks again!

Not a Collegiate. The Collegiates were 5 speeds. That bike is clearly a 10 speed. Almost certainly a 17" Varsity.

Does anyone have an image of a racer made around the same time with this camelback frame just to rule that out?

Schwinn didn't make a 'Racer' in early '70s.

Well in that case it sounds like the guy selling it doesn't know what it is either. I'm very new to all this so I appreciate everyones patience. Is there a way to tell specifically what model it is by the serial number? I assume not since as Scooper pointed out they used this frame on several models.

Wow! I really like that frame design! I like the single curved top tube against the straight lines and sharp angles of the rest of the frame. If it were me, and the frame fit me, I'd pay $75.

geek

There is no way to tell the model just from the serial number.

THIS LINK will take you to a page that has links to many of the sixties, seventies, eighties and nineties catalog. The camelback frame is electro-forged, and Schwinn stopped building electro-forged frames when the Chicago factory closed in late 1983.

If you have the serial number, we can look through the catalogs for the model year indicated by the serial number and figure out what you've got from the components on it.

The serial number could be on the left rear dropout (prior to 1971) or on the head tube below the head badge (1971 until the Chicago factory closed).

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