transient

Yeah, one of the local bike shops here is actually starting to go out of business, and it seems to be a nasty cycle (pardon the pun) because the owner doesn't have enough money for help, meaning that most of the time he's in the back working on bikes and can't provide as good service as he could if he had a dedicated mechanic, meaning lower sales, and no money for help, etc. etc.

I asked him a while ago if he was considering hiring anyone (he hasn't had a day off in 6 weeks apparently) but he said he can't afford it. I'm toying with the idea of just volunteering to help him out. I don't have a whole lot of free time to work without pay, but I figure any little bit would probably help. Maybe weekends or something.

john999

Well, if I was a shareholder of Huffy, I'd be concerned. It's a bit dumb to start downgrading the value of your premium line of product - it's not like they don't have other brands.
You can't get Malvern Star bikes at toy stores, after all.

And these distributers cannot compete with the retailers in the end.
In Australia, the retailers are now directly importing bicycles from the factories in China and selling them for about half the price of Dunlop or Huffy bikes.

So Huffy should be building product value, not undercutting it.

mechBgon

For the record, Schwinn ended up going to Pacific, not Huffy, but that's close enough

Regarding the Paramount, if you ever wanted to get it redone "right," send it to CyclArt. https://www.cyclart.com/

Inkwolf

Still reason for Huffy to worry: now that department stores are carrying "good name" bikes like Schwinn and Mongoose, it must cut into Huffy's market share. After all, the whol complaint about Schwinn is that people will be buying low-grade bike believing they are getting something better, based on the brand name. That gives the cheap Schwinns an edge that the Huffies don't have.

Ajay213

So how do you know it was less than wholesale cost? Or was it less than the cost for the bike shop? Walmart has the ability to buy in huge quantities which means they get a better deal on stuff than the guy buying in small quantities. It makes no sense to sell a "slow-moving" item at a loss, out of all the people who walk into Walmart, how many are actually looking for a bike? Maybe a small handful a week? Walmart allegations were against items that lots of people bought.

Andrew

SpiderMike

My first bike was a Schwinn Scrambler from the 70's (pre bmx). I have a 65 Schwinn Manta Ray and a Y2K Homegrown. So yes I am a little saddened. I am about to get a tattoo of the Schwinn Quality seal that says Original Schwinn with an RIP underneath.

The shop that I have been going to for years is Bay Area Schwinn. The new "Schwinn Reps" visited the owner. They pointed to one of the cruisers and said they were going to sell it for just under his cost for the thing. When asked how to justify why to buy his bike and not the one from Walmart there was no answer. Pacific evidentally is just another coperate monster. The sad part is their only doing this to the oldest of names they picked up. They reportedly have changed little to the GT line. Leave to exec's to help ruin a good name. Interesting to see how this pans out more, with all these "bikes are toys" consumers. I can see changes with the LBS and the trials alike. A few years back, everyone and their dogs got shortboards for christmas. The "surf" spots that were always quite got conjested with grommies ( novice). You could go to Galveston with a long board without running someone over. More than likely have a "Schwinn" will get more people hurting themselves on public trials. This is bound to hurt the rif between the public officials and cyclist.

newmtb

ALthough I pretty certain I am not as old as many of the people on here. I can rememebr the days of being a kid and all I wanted was a Schwinn. Well Thank you Wal mart you made my dreams come true. BUt watch out for failling prices and parts off the bike.
At your local Walmart. Keep it real.

Richard Cranium

Well there are certainly many good points and a breadth of perspective in this thread.

But let me restate my 2cents worth.

Economics are the only metric American business men value in the decision making process.

Quality of life, both human and enviromental make it impossible for Americans to compete with foreign economic processes.

Largely, US corporations spearhead investment into areas where the largest return on investment is available, and continue to do so at the expense of human rights and the enviroment.

American quality of life will be degraded to parity with Mexico, Malaysia, China etc.

Thanks.

WoodyUpstate

Sorry, but growing up I thought all Schwinns were overbuilt, gaudy, cheesy and heavy like an anvil. And, they were expensive. I remember my cousin getting a Schwinn Varsity 10-speed and remarking that it must have weighed about 40 lbs.

Too much chrome and flash, like a '70s vintage Firebird with the flying chicken on the hood, the Schwinns of my youth ('60s and '70s) held no mystique for me. I lusted after Peugots and Raleighs, though my first 2 bikes sported Sears, Roebuck on the head tube.

While I lament Schwinn's degradation as the passing of another american institution, I cannot mourn the loss of a product I never respected.

Had Schwinn had a viable business model, solid leadership, efficient manufacturing and aggressive distribution from the beginning it would have been fine. While some may feel the product was special, I propose that if it's not economically feasible to produce, it's not going to be viable in the long run. Schwinn failed, what, 3 times. You're Out!

lotek 

Uhm I don't know I lusted after a mid 70's fully chromed
Paramount (still do kinda). Of course the paramounts weren't
what I call typical schwinns. I believe some of the earlier
racing frames were also pretty good.
I believe that Schwinn, much like Suntour, got caught
with their pants down, and by the time they looked up
well, the peloton had dropped em.

Marty

Walter

I think Lotek's analysis is pretty much on mark though Woody you certainly have a point about weight.

The Schwinn Varsity to a large extent introduced the USA to derailleur bicycles back in the early 1960s. Even then you could get a lighter Euro bike but you had to search around quite abit while a Schwinn Shop was never far away.

Schwinn could introduce the "10 Speed" b/c it was already an established name and while Varsities weren't cheap they were less expensive than the rare Euro bike and were a "brand" name. To a large extent Schwinn created the road market that many of us are a part of now. We here may well know about Cinelli, Masi and etc. but how many of our mother's shared that knowledge?

The Boom of the 70s really spelt the end even though Schwinn sold alot of 10 speeds. However as lighter imports became more common the weight issue became more telling. As a kid I worked in a Schwinn shop but when I finally bought a brand new 10 speed it was a Motobecane. At 29# the only time it was light was when compared to a Varsity and only cost about 20$ more. I was hardly unique. For my mother a Schwinn was as good as it got but for kids in the late 70s who could put together some cash of our own, well we knew better b/c we rode them.

As Lotek put it Schwinn got caught with it's pants down and never fully recovered IMO. After all the bankruptcy that put them in WalMart wasn't the company's first.

I'm saddened not because of the many happy miles I spent on a Schwinn (not many) but because a company already well established pioneered something new and really changed alot of lives. It's kind of like Asian Masis and Motobecanes, let the marque RIP.

roadbuzz

Touchdown! As far as I know, the only thing Schwinn about the bikes sold at Wal-Mart is the name. I think a family member may still be involved at Waterford, Trek, or somewhere.

Anyhow, it's the classic story of a big, successful company taking too long to respond to the market. In the 70's bike boom, consumers wised up when introduced to a more refined (albeit less indestructable) product. By the time Schwinn had responded, the name was already associated with heavy, passe' bikes, thus creating an additional marketing obstacle.

There was a very interesting article in the Rivendell Reader a couple of years ago about how US built Schwinn's were manufactured. Essentially, the tubes were cut, electrified, and joined, essentially making the tubes themselves arc welding rods. The development of the Paramount is another fascinating story.

My favorite Schwinn feature? The glorious Schwinn welded kickstand. As a kid, I never saw a bolted on kick-stand that held the stand up over bump, didn't get loose and rotate around and interfere with the crank or allowing the bike to fall down when you used the stand.

lotek 

Ok, I know this is a little off topic
(being about Suntour) but it gives really good
insight to what went wrong at BOTH schwinn and Suntour.
I've been looking for this article for a while, finally found
it.
Sunset for Suntour
Thanks to Rivendell Reader for keeping this online
and thanks to Frank Berto for writing it.

Marty

ViciousCycle

Contradicitons about economics make up the only metric American business men value in the decision making process.

Try putting these contradictions together.
1. "Let's pay our employees as badly as we can" (so they have no disposable income)
2. "Let our profits depend on customers who have money to burn"
(And eventually, companies like this can cannibalize their own customer base.)

Or try putting these contradictions together:
1. The people who invest the most in a company are the employees who put in their time, their energy, their talents, and make sacrifices in other areas of their life to do their job.
2. Companies say they do things to protect the interests of investors and then use this as an excuse to mistreat the very people who have invested the most in the company - the employees.

Fireman Phil

Big Deal.... So Wal-Mart sells Schwinns to me this means that maybe someone who can't afford a highend bike from the LBS can at least ride and enjoy themselves. yeah... an x-mart bike may be a piece of S@#* but if it gets somebody into cycleing than thats a bonus. Lets promote cycleing weather your on a $10.00 garage sale bike on a high end bike from your LBS

Feldman

Shoplift from Wal Mart if you can get away with it.......if you give a damn about jobs in this country and are buying a bike, consider Cannondale--100% US made frames, and there are others but as with Trek, who's "world frame" concept was their sneaky, backdoor way of ditching Wisconsin jobs, you must look for a country-of-origin label when shopping.

auger

ok well this seperates the men from the morons doesnt it just because schwinn is sold in retail stores doesnt make it crap its still a schwinn and you will still be happy but you will have some money left over when you buy it, think about this if you buy your schwinn at toys are us and it breaks within a year go back to the store with your recipt and i bet you get a new bike or your money back now take you 700 bucks to the local bike store oh wait you probably cant get a bike at the local bike shop for 700 bucks and if you can if you break it fat chance getting a return or refund at the small store dont get me wrong i dont like schwinn i think its a wal wart bike lmao but i think that if you like the schwinn and you like the ride it gives you then dude buy it you will get it cheaper and man return and warrenty thats just somthing you dont get (or it such a hassle as we all know) at the small bike shop who cares where you got your ride i know a guy with a ccm from canadian tire that is semi pro his bike was 300 bucks dont be a poser or if you like i can sell you a bike with a cool name that no ones knows for like 3000 grand if it makes you feel better about your bike

Raiyn

Another dead thread? What the heck? This things been dead since LAST AUGUST

ShadowVlican

yep..... these bikes are now selling for $400+ cdn at Canadian Tires

kinda sad i think....

Waldo

What's really sad is that Pacific didn't learn from others' mistakes. The reason they were able to pick up Mongoose a while back was because Brunswick took them into the big box retailers so all the LBS abandoned them. Huh, it's happening with Schwinn now and now they're finding out that people aren't willing to go as high in price on an Xmart bike with a Schwinn name as Pacific had anticipated. I've been hearing both that Pacific is in trouble and that another sale of Schwinn is possible. I'd love to see Schwinn sold but I don't know how easy it would be to remove them from the big boxes. For now, I'll hang onto my Homegrowns and ride 'em til they break.

jitterymonkey

Ha!,This is funny
I did a search for some info on an ancient Shwinn Suburban I'm thinkin' about buying
and only came up with 2 hits.
This post was one of them.

O.K.
Question for those of you who complain about Wallmart,gas guzzling S.U.V.'s.
and any/everything else ruining the U.S. and destroying the planet.

Raise your hand if you bought your bike new and the frame was welded in Taiwan or China.
(yes,You too Mr/Ms Surly owner)

mark9950

If you dont want parts falling off of any bike tighten the parts,like the bolts,cones in the wheel,crank etc.anything with a tread and doesnt have treadlocker on it will eventually come loose if moving.even wheel bolts on a car can and do come loose if not tightened properly.Just imagine if wal-mart starts selling chinese cars.

Large Filipino

Here's some reading.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...-2004Dec2.html

It seems when America developed a tough standard when it comes to employees with benefits and such the trend is to move to places like China where they pay their laborers a dollar an hour.

And now China has OWNED us.

Richest country in the world?

I dunno.

I dunno.

When you go to Wal Mart you would find that 90% (no joke) of the products they have there is made in China.

Schwinn is but one company that sold out. Diamond Back sold out as well.

In fact,there's only a few bicycle manufacturers that's still made here that carry that steep price tag.

You all know who they are.

But I saw a pretty light bike at Wal Mart the other day.

It was pretty light. Really thin tires. High pressure. Graphite looking wheels. Under 300 dollars.

CCrew

Don't go to Costco either. They're selling Full Suspension Schwinn MTB's at mine.

The LBS that I buy my bikes from was a Schwinn dealer. Between QC issues and the fact it put him in direct competition with Wally World he killed the Schwinn line. Trek, Lemond, Gary Fisher, Specialized, Redline and Haro now. LBS even had Schwinn in the business name, killed that too.

Although every one around here knows them by their old name still, he said that he sees more Wal-Mart repairs in the service shop than anything so it did keep him some business. People buy their Schwinn's from Wally World then take them to him when they don't work..

-Roger

CCrew

Punctuation and spelling is your friend. I quit reading at the second line.