st11104

I had one given to me and am interested in how old it is. Can anyone help me figure out what year and/or the value of one? Serial # HD311113. Thank you!

Doohickie

What makes you think it was made in Hungary? If that serial number follows the Chicago scheme, I think it was made in April, 1972.

Beach Comber

If its a Budapest bike, that sets the date post 1988 or later, no?

Scooper

If you can, please post photos. The Schwinn Cspel Hungarian venture didn't happen until the late eighties, and as Doohickie says the serial number follows the Chicago numbering scheme. HD=August, 1968. This was long before the Hungarian venture.

Doohickie

Oops. Got the letters backwards. Thanks for the correction.

kingsting

The Csepel cruisers were only available for a few years. Somewhere around late 1992 to 1994 if I remember correctly. The cool thing about them was that they had single-knurl tubular S-2 rims on them.

st11104

Here is a picture of the 'Made in Hungary' sticker.

Scooper

How about pictures of the whole bike from the driveside and some close-ups of the decals and graphics?

LSWhat87

Bumping this thread because I'm new here and I don't want to get flamed for starting a new thread. Anywho, I have a 1972 Schwinn and wanted to get a bit more info about it. The serial number starts with HH meaning it was made in August of 1972 and it too has a "Made in Hungary" sticker right below the Schwinn logo in the headset. The chain guard simply says "Cruiser" so I have no clue what model it is. It appears to be the original paint and little to no rust. Looks like it is Original Paint because the inner tube where the bottom bracket goes is the exact same color as the bike. I took the 1 piece crank set off along with the cups and I am throwing an adapter for a bottom bracket for a three piece on there. I am preparing to make it ride-able as smooth as possible. The stem appears to be non-original because I know different stems came with Schwinns back in the 70's. This is a more modern stem but correct me if I'm wrong. It was given to me with a rear mountain bike rim and a front rim with a Schwinn Balloon Nylon tire but it is cracked around the sidewall. I am replacing the wheels with a new wheelset but I'm trying to keep it looking as original as possible. Any info and suggestions for my project will help. Thanks!

duffer1960

The general shape, the chainguard and BB looks the same from here as a '72 Typhoon, but other details say 'not'. In particular, the fork, round headbadge, and tig-welded joints are much different than a '72 Chicago bike. Not to mention 'Made in Hungary'. It's one of these... https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1..._Cruisers.html . The 559 wheels alone make it more practical than the '72 version, but personally I'd do away with the extra-wide bars, never got the point of that (got a Cruiser similar to the other one on that page, have made it into a fine utility bike).

LSWhat87

So it would not be a 1972? I just went by the serial number on bottom of the bottom bracket cartridge. The bike is now completely taken apart (just frame and fork left). It has an unthreaded bottom bracket cartridge so I have to get an adapter to convert it into a three piece crank. The seat post is also ultra thin (13/16?), unlike modern day bikes. I'm kind of confused here.

Scooper

What is the serial number?

With the unicrown fork and the Made in Hungary sticker, it's got to be late eighties. Here's the '87 Cruiser with cantilever frame, but the fork rake is in the dropout weldment, unlike yours. This is in the ballpark, though.

LSWhat87

Yeah, Its kind of weird. It looks a lot like a Typhoon but I can't figure it out! The serial number is HH101618. Im starting to look like this trying to figure out any info on it >

Scooper

The page from Schwinn Bulletin 23 shown in post 4 in this thread was published in 1981, and your bike is pretty clearly late eighties at the earliest, so the serial number coding in Bulletin 23 doesn't apply. If I were to hazard a guess based on the serial number, I'd say it's a 1991 model based on the "1" after "HH". I don't have a 1991 MTB and Cruiser catalog, but I do have the 1990 catalog, and the Cruiser looks like yours. The 1990 Men's Cruiser was available in Sky Blue, Black, and Poppy Red (shown). The ladies' model was also available in Hot Pink.

LSWhat87

So the bike is my age. I wont feel too bad taking it all apart and making a conversion out of it then. Thanks for the help. I can now have a peace of mind with this whole ordeal.

Also, When did the Schwinn logo switch from the long oval to a small circle? I'm new to this whole vintage scene so maybe this would help categorize the bike between A and B years. Just a thought.

LSWhat87

Okay, I did some more research on early 90's bikes and I found somebody with the exact same bike as me, except black. His was a 92' so I am now convinced mine is the same-ish. Thanks for the help!

Scooper

Regarding the head badge, Schwinn used the oval badge on the electroforged framed models and other lower end carbon steel framed mass produced models. The round badges were used on the mid- and high-range bikes with chromoly tubing or better, usually double-butted.

4crosse

picked up a black schwinn crusier with the made in hungary sticker below the schwinn badge,has s-2 type tims with schwinn whitewall knobbies

ch4rlie

I tripped over this forum looking for info on a bike I found at a garage sale. Red Schwinn Cruiser with the code beneath the bottom bracket "HE303712." Bike has a round Schwinn logo and a "Made in Hungary" sticker on the post right by the rear wheel. Maybe the forum can help parse what year this bike was produced. The serial number decoded is Aug 1969 but the bikes that were made in Hungary are late 80's/early 90's. Thanks in advance! I have pics but I'm not allowed to upload then without 10 posts.

Bottom Bracket Code HE303712
Engineered & Tested, Lifetime Warranty. Made in Hungary.
Schwinn Cruiser
Schwinn, Quality - Chicago logo on Handlebar.

Originally Purchased at Maryvale Schwinn, Phoenix, Ariz.

steve sumner

when Schwinn was searching the world for the location of their cruiser only factory
b4 Hungary was chosen India was at the top on the list until it was discovered
that basic nuts and bolts were still sand cast just like the middle ages