Classic Schwinn Bicycles (Collector's Library)

There's a lot of good detail info in this book on the Schwinn 'cruisers, from the mid-30's into the '70s. That is what I bought this book for. I have several negative comments on the book: a number of reviews ask why no color photos? I agree. A large part of what makes a 'classic' Schwinn are the vibrant colors and the chrome. When my copy was printed, the pressman was running too much water on the plate, many of the pages are washed out. Now I have a bone to pick with the author. Mr. Love emphasizes throughout the book that the only classic Schwinns are cantilever frame balloon tire models with maximum chrome. Your childhood bike that you just recovered from Grandpa's barn, with the painted rims, no fender light, no tank, no luggage rack, you know, the plain old bike that your dad had to make payments on? That's not a classic. From 1938 to 1988, Schwinn made some of the finest lightweight racing and touring models, comparable to anything else in the world, the Schwinn Paramount. In Mr. Love's book on 'classic' Schwinns, the Paramount gets a paragraph dismissing it as a Lightweight with a plain straight-tube diamond frame. Not a classic. No mention of the thousands of racing victories and championships won by racers on the Paramount. No mention of how each Paramount was hand-built by a small crew, separate from the main production in the Chicago plant, using the finest materials and craftsmanship. OK, rant over. The point is, ALL Chicago made Schwinns are survivors, they are still covered by the BEST warranty in the industry, and they are ALL classics.

The printing was dim in spots but still readable. Most everything was covered. I went to the Schwinn museum just before it was pieced off and I bought some of their old donations. Our Whizzer Club in Illinois puts motors on heavy weight bikes to ride 35 M.P.H. . Riding a normal bike is like trying to crank a diesel down the road. Fastbacks and lightweight racers are fun and you get a cheap education in this book. The Stingray book is also worth the extra money if you wish to buy them on ebay. These things are placed in collections because the owners are too old or are too large to ride them. I always get stopped several times during a ride by stunned people suddenly remembering their youth. New bikes are a thousand dollars? Real men ride steel?

This book have much information about the older Schwinn bicycles. I have read elsewhere that there are many books that claim to have exact information about bikes. So, I don't know if everything in this is accurate but it does seem like there is a great deal of good information in here. Some of the stuff is remembered so we know that it is accurate on that. I don't know that any one source can have all information as so many things changed from time to time in a factory that unless you had someone there at the time it would be very hard to verifiy what was fact or fiction.

Very informative

Helped to identify the year of manufacture.

I love Schwinns, and was looking for a good Schwinn book to read while my wife watched reality shows. While this book does go over many different models, it does not cover them all. What it has is very good, but a chronological list of all Schwinn models would have been a great addition.I did like the section of serial numbers. Really spelled out how to find the year your Schwinn was made.Overall a good book, that could have been great if it just covered a little more

Great book for Schwinn bike collectors and enthusiasts. Especially useful for classic ballon tire bikes.

Book was well written. Price was very reasonable.

Good book; but would have appreciated more coloured pics for the price!

Interessante Informationen für den Liebhaber und Sammler alter US-Cruiser-Fahrräder, Bonanzaräde, Chopper usw. Man erfährt viel über die Varianten und Einzelheiten der verschiedenen Modelle, die man im Internet mühsam zusammensuchen müsste. Gleichzeitig eine Beschreibung vom Beginn bis zum Niedergang der wohl bekanntesten Fahrrad-Fabrik der USA. Viele Abbildungen.

Attention ce livre est en noir et blanc avec des photos troubles...j'aurais préféré en couleur avec des belles photos...pas terrible