# Schwinn 26" straight bar 54/56



## chriscokid (Feb 23, 2010)

I have a 1950's   26" Schwinn Straight Bar frame with the no. L 45893 and i want to put it back on the road. I searched the web and came up with these dates 
1954.... 06/23 to 06/28 Serial numbers start at L41765 through L55181..........and for the year 1956   08/04 to 08/08 Serial numbers start at-----L40552 through L64617. how can i pinpoint the exact year and most importantly what bike it was .... The numbers are located on the left rear dropout axle mount.. when i got the bike i supposed the springer fork and stem was original..  the springer fork has AS bolts only on the crown where the spring is at and i am guessing it's a panther. Could my springer fork be a middle weight fork?? and was added later on?? I noticed on 50's balloon panther bikes the springer fork has a bracket that wraps around the forks and you pass the bolt through the bracket to connect the forks together..... mine the bolt runs straight through the forks just like i saw on a middle weight phantom what do you think?? 1956 hornets were a cantilever frame so that X my bike as a 56 hornet

My concern are I don't want to buy parts for a Panther when I have a Hornet or even a Wasp and they are not the right parts for the frame. For instance I have been reading and seeing pictures on the internet, that bikes like my style had skiptooth sprocket and some did not, so before I can buy hubs , rims , chain even a sprocket I need to know.. same with the AS bolts I don't want to start buying bolts when my front end needs forks and truss rods.. I am trying to research but it's slow..

how can i tell if this frame is a balloon or a middle weight?? my 26" 2.125 tires fitted the fork with fenders no problem?? 
got knowledge of the springer forks for middle weight and ballooners and bicycle frame sizes??


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## rustyspoke66 (Feb 23, 2010)

From what I can tell your bike was made between June 23rd to 28th 1954.


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## rustyspoke66 (Feb 23, 2010)

P.S. your bike could be one of many different models like a Hornet or Panther. If the frame and fork is all you have I would pick wich ever bike you like best, build it and ride it.


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## PCHiggin (Feb 24, 2010)

Your bike is a ballooner. All middleweights used cantilever frames.

Pat


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## PCHiggin (Feb 24, 2010)

I can't edit my posts. I meant to write that all m/w's of that era used the cantilever frame.Schwinn used a different style in mid/late '61 and '62 on a few entry level models.

Pat


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## Strings-n-Spokes (Feb 24, 2010)

Is this pretty close?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Schwinn-Mens-St...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9eacf6d6


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## chriscokid (Feb 24, 2010)

okay Cool

 what about the springer fork... mine the bolt runs straight through the forks just like i saw on a middle weight phantom  and others have a bracket that wraps around the forks and you pass the bolt through the bracket to connect the forks together..


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## Strings-n-Spokes (Feb 24, 2010)

I'm not %100 sure, but I don't think that type of knee action springer  shows up on middleweight bikes.  Also '54 seems early for a middleweight bike. It looks kinda like the original paint on the frame matches the fork.  But I am not a Schwinn expert by any means.


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## PCHiggin (Feb 24, 2010)

*No middleweight Phantom*

They never made such a thing back then. Your style fork was the standard springer beginning sometime in '54 when they dropped the locking unit.

Pat


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## chriscokid (Feb 24, 2010)

alright thanks strings-and spokes , pchiggin and rustyspoke66  for the information and input guys i was just skeptical about a few things   i guess i'll call it a 1954 panther what do you all think?? underneath all that orange & black there is some red so that gives me some indication of what color the bike was.

today i'm going to strip off some of that paint and see what i can find

ps.. i'm going to keep adding pictures of this build to my profile 

thanks again guys yall were some real help


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## militarymonark (Feb 24, 2010)

PCHiggin said:


> Your bike is a ballooner. All middleweights used cantilever frames.
> 
> Pat




not true there is a straight bar middleweight its called a tornado but instead of one bar that is straight its two bars. Not sure if you consider it cantilever but it is straight


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## Strings-n-Spokes (Feb 24, 2010)

But that was one year only I thought


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## Adamtinkerer (Feb 24, 2010)

No one's noticed yet that there's no built in kickstand? I don't see any evidence of one being there, and I have a 60s frame where the stand pawl came off. There's indents in the frame tubes where it was welded on. I'm going to say this bike was probably a Spitfire or 50s DX equivalent, and a good chance it's a middleweight. The mw line was introduced in 54, and I've seen a couple straight bar versions, along w/the "no bar" Flying Star. 74


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## PCHiggin (Feb 24, 2010)

militarymonark said:


> not true there is a straight bar middleweight its called a tornado but instead of one bar that is straight its two bars. Not sure if you consider it cantilever but it is straight




You're correct, Read my second reply,I can't edit anything. What's going on? I e-mailed Scott about it.

Pat


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## rustyspoke66 (Feb 24, 2010)

Sweet, sounds like a red Panther!


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## chriscokid (Feb 25, 2010)

WELL I DID ALOT OF SEARCHING AND I DID ALOT OF SEARCHING!! and this is what i came up with


On this frame the kickstand would be a bolt on type. Almost all post-war Schwinns had a welded on kickstand except for some of the more expensive lightweight bicycles and the lower priced bottom line models such as (Wasp Spitfire etc etc) until some time around the year 1964, with the exception of model D19 year 1955 & 1956 Deluxe Hornet

The springer fork style on my bicycle is the standard springer fork beginning sometime in mid 1956 early 1957. The pivot bolt goes through the curved part of the fork. On Earlier models the pivot bolt was behind the curved part of the fork by about 3/4 of an inch away from the fork. The more expensive earlier springer forks had a locking mechanism springer fork with a key. They stop making the springer forks with keys at the end of 1955 or early 1956.

Could my bike have come equipped with the new springer fork style in 1956 ? Well there was only 4 months left till the new brochure comes out for the new year of 1957 with the new springer fork style. So that means Schwinn was already making the new springer forks or just getting started with them and that's about the same time my bicycle was being made. 

Was my springer fork added later on in life?? Or could my bicycle be a 1956 Deluxe Hornet with the new model springer fork? The problem is the brochure does not show a Deluxe Hornet with the new model springer fork in 1956 or in 1955 but in the 1955 brochure it does shows and list a bolt on kickstand for the deluxe hornet 

My alternative is the  1954 or 1956 Spitfire it was made throughout years in the 1950s. It did not come with a springer fork and it is a straight bar frame with a bolt on kickstand. so where did the springer fork come from???


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## chriscokid (Feb 25, 2010)

well  when i striped the paint i say there was 3 layers of paint 
1. orange
2. black
3. red 
4. (and a primer red)  did schwinn prime there bikes in a no rust red?

no matter what the out come is... the bicycle is a classic and i will enjoy riding it


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## bonedaddy (Jan 1, 2013)

*1 inch pitch or 1/2 inch pitch?*

I too have a 1954 Schwinn straight bar (M69015).  My only question is whether or not Schwinn was still using the 1 inch pitch sprockets on their bikes or not, and if so, what models?  Any help would be welcome.

Thanks,
Bonedaddy


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## spoker (Jan 2, 2013)

*confused*

ballooner panthers had a weldon kickstand,i think they quit making ballooner panthers b4 that fork came out,both he ballooner panther and deluxe hornet had the old style springer and weld on stand,standard hornet and lower priced models had bolt on kickstands


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## Larmo63 (Jan 2, 2013)

If you want the older style springer, sell yours on eBay and buy the older style

one. That's what I would do. You will find out that in the long run, it is easier and

cheaper to buy a complete bike. There are some real high quality clamp-on kickstands

that Schwinn and other manufacturers used too. I noticed a bolt/screw into the frame

at about where a non-original chain guard may have been attached. That needs to go.

You can find the parts you need for this, but it's going to take some real dough.....


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