# New Schwinn



## rusty.kirkpatrick (Apr 21, 2016)

Got my first Schwinn the other day. Thinking its a 52. Just going to clean and regrease everything and ride. Just curious what belongs and what doesn't. It's missing the rubber bumper on the springer for one. Are the grips supposed to be red? Leaving them, just curious. Thanks ahead for any info.


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## vincev (Apr 21, 2016)

Kool.Enjoy the ride.


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## GTs58 (Apr 21, 2016)

Looks like a stock Panther.  Your serial number was used in three different years, 52. 53 and 57.


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## rusty.kirkpatrick (Apr 21, 2016)

That confused me when I looked it up. How you supposed to know?


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## rusty.kirkpatrick (Apr 21, 2016)

That confused me when I looked it up. How you supposed to know?


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## fattyre (Apr 21, 2016)

The rubber bumper is there.  It's just incorrectly asembled.  Fix that before you attempt to ride it.  

Morrow hub seems kind of unusual.  Every Panther I've seen has a New Departure D.    Maybe it was an upgrade?  Others might know better than me.

What's with the Diamond stamp by the serial #?  Never seen one of those before.


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## then8j (Apr 21, 2016)

That's funny about the springer! I haven't seen that before. Take it apart and put it together correctly and it will ride smooth


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## then8j (Apr 21, 2016)




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## rusty.kirkpatrick (Apr 21, 2016)

Ahh, I see. Just unboxed it and threw it together, never noticed. Thanks for the diagram.


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## rhenning (Apr 22, 2016)

New Departure went out of business 1953/54 or so.  If that is the right back wheel I would guess it is a 1957 bike.  Roger


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## rollfaster (Apr 22, 2016)

Maybe not, keep this in mind. Yours has a bolt behind springer. In 55, they came out with the bolt thru design. Something to consider. Great bike btw.


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## chevbel57 (Apr 22, 2016)

I believe that the heavy weight Panther ran until 1954. They went with a mid-weight panther later on. I think it's either a 52 or 53


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## then8j (Apr 22, 2016)

If it was a 1957 that would be cool because you could refer people to the 57 Chevy and that things were made with more style back then.


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## rollfaster (Apr 22, 2016)

Oops! I had I brain fart. I was thinking phantom for some reason. Panther was 50-54 and phantom 49-59. Gonna look at the SN a little closer.


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## GTs58 (Apr 22, 2016)

rhenning said:


> New Departure went out of business 1953/54 or so.  If that is the right back wheel I would guess it is a 1957 bike.  Roger




The only balloon bikes offered in 1957 were the Phantom and Wasp. Also, the Morrow coaster hub was an optional rear hub in the early 50's.


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## cds2323 (Apr 22, 2016)

rhenning said:


> New Departure went out of business 1953/54 or so.  If that is the right back wheel I would guess it is a 1957 bike.  Roger




Not sure where you heard that. New Departure did not go out of business in 53/54. They're seen through some 59 models. They are listed in various catalogs into 59.

Page 30 of the 1959 Schwinn catalog still lists the New Departure brake as available at extra cost on all coaster brake models except the Tornado and Deluxe Tornado.


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## rusty.kirkpatrick (Apr 22, 2016)

Interesting stuff. Damn y'all good.


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## Metacortex (Apr 22, 2016)

cds2323 said:


> Not sure where you heard that. New Departure did not go out of business in 53/54. They're seen through some 59 models. They are listed in various catalogs into 59.




An article in the September 1959 Schwinn Reporter (dealer newsletter) indicated that on July 16, 1959 New Departure announced it had "discontinued the manufacture of bicycle brakes and hubs" because it had "found it unprofitable to produce and sell coaster brakes at prices competitive with foreign manufacturers". The article went on to state that the "inventory of New Departure brakes at the Schwinn plant, plus those available from the manufacturer, is expected to last the remainder of 1959".


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## rollfaster (Apr 23, 2016)

After narrowing down the number closer, I'm going with 53.


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## rhenning (Apr 23, 2016)

The story on ND as heard it as a kid was their factory was located in New England along a river.  In 1953 it was basically destroyed by a flood.  General Motors who owned ND decided there was not enough profit in bike parts never reopened the factory.  That doesn't mean that manufacturers bike dealers didn't have a stock of hubs in inventory but when they were gone from the warehouses they were were gone.  Roger


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## cds2323 (Apr 23, 2016)

rhenning said:


> The story on ND as heard it as a kid was their factory was located in New England along a river.  In 1953 it was basically destroyed by a flood.  General Motors who owned ND decided there was not enough profit in bike parts never reopened the factory.  That doesn't mean that manufacturers bike dealers didn't have a stock of hubs in inventory but when they were gone from the warehouses they were were gone.  Roger




Did you read the post from Metacortex? Are you saying New Departure waited six years, until July 1959, to announce they were discontinuing production of bicycle brakes and hubs?

They ceased production in 1959. The idea that they had enough backstock to supply for six years seems unlikely. Would you please provide some documentation backing your story you heard as a kid.


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## rhenning (Apr 23, 2016)

Metacortex and Schwinn literature can and does make mistakes.  A few years ago he told me there was no such thing as a 1976 curved seat Sprint model bike because it wasn't in his reporter or catalogs.  Interestingly I own one and he changed his tune about them when he bought one himself.  I am not afraid to admit I make mistakes unlike some others around here.  Roger


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## cds2323 (Apr 23, 2016)

rhenning said:


> Metacortex and Schwinn literature can and does make mistakes.  A few years ago he told me there was no such thing as a 1976 curved seat Sprint model bike because it wasn't in his reporter or catalogs.  Interestingly I own one and he changed his tune about them when he bought one himself.  I am not afraid to admit I make mistakes unlike some others around here.  Roger




You're sidestepping the issue. It really doesn't matter if Metacortex was mistaken before or if Schwinn lit was always accurate. Do you have documentation to back your claim that New Departure went out of business in 53? 


Rusty.kirkpatrick, 
That's a nice looking Panther. I'm sorry this thread was derailed. Hope you fixed the springer and took it for a ride!


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## SirMike1983 (Apr 23, 2016)

rhenning said:


> The story on ND as heard it as a kid was their factory was located in New England along a river.  In 1953 it was basically destroyed by a flood.  General Motors who owned ND decided there was not enough profit in bike parts never reopened the factory.  That doesn't mean that manufacturers bike dealers didn't have a stock of hubs in inventory but when they were gone from the warehouses they were were gone.  Roger




This may be an amalgam of two separate stories, creating one that isn't, by itself, true. New Departure's plant in the 1950s was in Bristol, Conn., but not along the banks of a major, flooding river or area. In 1955, there was major flooding in CT, mostly along the Housatonic, Connecticut, and Naugatuck Rivers. 

New Departure eventually _did_ move factories, but not because of a flood. It moved to a new plant elsewhere in Bristol in the late 1960s because its original plant had aged. At that time, they were producing bearings and roller clutches for GM. By that time though, they were well out of the bike brake business and concentrating on their work for GM.


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## Metacortex (Apr 23, 2016)

rhenning said:


> Metacortex and Schwinn literature can and does make mistakes. A few years ago he told me there was no such thing as a 1976 curved seat Sprint model bike because it wasn't in his reporter or catalogs. Interestingly I own one and he changed his tune about them when he bought one himself.




OMG I was actually wrong about those bikes in a post 5 years ago?  I not only admitted it back then I became an investigator of those models. Well that is until I was kicked off the SBF by one of the emotionally unstable "owners". 

Since then I have Schwinn factory documentation that the '76 and later Sprints were produced and it even includes exactly how many were produced.



> I am not afraid to admit I make mistakes unlike some others around here.  Roger




OK so to get this straight are you are admitting to your New Departure hub discontinuation date mistake or not?


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## CrazyDave (Apr 23, 2016)

if they did hold them all for six years, that would explain the oxidation on most i see.


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## cds2323 (Apr 25, 2016)

rhenning said:


> Metacortex and Schwinn literature can and does make mistakes.  A few years ago he told me there was no such thing as a 1976 curved seat Sprint model bike because it wasn't in his reporter or catalogs.  Interestingly I own one and he changed his tune about them when he bought one himself.  I am not afraid to admit I make mistakes unlike some others around here.  Roger




You've neither admitted a mistake nor have you provided any documentation to support your claim they closed in 1953. If the 'story' you heard as a kid is true it should be very easy for you to find info to back your claim.


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## rhenning (Apr 25, 2016)

Thia is still from memory and I will see if I can find more but it might be lost to me now.  I think the 1959 reference wasn't so much for new bikes with new hubs but had to deal with Schwinn not being able to have spare parts for hubs in bikes that had previously sold.  Roger


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