# My Dad's 1940s Superior



## gms0707 (Sep 15, 2020)

I found a scrapbook my Dad made of newspaper articles about bicycle racing when he lived in LA between 1946 and 1949. This is a picture of my Dad's Superior from the scrapbook. It does not look like there were any decals on it. I would not be surprised if he got it secondhand. In the 1960s the seat stay broke loose and Schwinn repaired it and repainted a nice blue. He was upset because the original headbadge was replaced when repaired. About 1968 a Schwinn Varsity that was bought for my Christmas was in a fire. I found out 30 years later he used his Superior to practice painting before repainting my Varsity for Christmas. Now the Superior is an ugly brown. The original picture looks like a single freewheel with f/r hand brakes. Now it has a 3 sprocket freewheel with Huret shifter.
Serial number K3802. Can you help me pin down the year?
There is also a star next to SN. What does that mean? 

The last item in the scrapbook dated 1948 is about Norma Jean Belloff.  I just finished the book Norma Jean's daughter wrote about her mother's adventure. She started from San Diego on a balloon tired single speed to ride to her Grandmother's in Baltimore via Miami FL. She set a record racing back from New York to San Diego on a 3 speed Schwinn Continental.


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## Goldenrod (Sep 15, 2020)

My kind of woman.


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## cyclingday (Sep 15, 2020)

Nice!
Thanks, for posting.
There’s a thread about Norma Jean Belloffs transcontinental ride in the general discussion forum,
I just refreshed it, to make it easier for you to find.


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## geosbike (Sep 15, 2020)

that's way kool


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## GTs58 (Sep 16, 2020)

I'm having a hard time placing this as a post war model just by the serial number and those old photos that don't show a good shot of the the kickstand. I'm thinking your Dad's bike is war time or posssibly an early 45 model. It does kind of look like there is a bolted on stand but I can't tell for sure. Post war had the built in stands. Need more pictures. Here's a thread with a list of the New Worlds and the serial numbers. 





Here's @Miq 's thread on these NW lightweights. If in fact the bike is a Superior and not a post war Continental my guess is it fits in with the K bikes on this list. 









						Wartime Schwinn New World Bikes - We Know You Have Them - Tell Us About Them!! | Lightweight Schwinn Bicycles
					

Please help us gather some more info on wartime Schwinn New Worlds (or other lightweights).  We know many of you have these unique bikes and they all have an interesting story to tell.  We are already starting to get an idea of what serial number New Worlds have the transition from brazing to...




					thecabe.com


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## SirMike1983 (Sep 16, 2020)

These are really nice bikes. Was it that the seat stay detached from the seat tube up near the opening? That's one of the common failure points the frames, especially with a taller rider and an extended seat post. Having Schwinn mend it and re-paint is really a full-service repair, and the blue is a beautiful color. It's too bad he over-painted it, but it sounds like it was for a good cause. I had a blue Continental for awhile and it was really an impressive looking bike.


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## ccdc.1 (Sep 16, 2020)

I vote for post-war Continental. All the first-generation Superiors I have ever seen have B-prefix serial numbers. Probably the 'tell' in the photos of the original bike is the attachment point of the front fender brace at the fork leg: the early Superiors had the attachment point further up the fork, while the pictured bike's attachment point is consistent with the lower attachment point of the Continental. The New Worlds had the fender brace attached to the axle itself. There are certainly decals in the photo of the original bike, and they are consistent with the second style of Continental decals.

The early Continentals were on a par with the earlier Superiors in quality and fitments, but with a bias towards a more European sports touring style; other than Paramounts, I do not believe there were any track bikes produced post-war.


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## Oilit (Sep 16, 2020)

Interesting bike! Can we get some more pictures? Lots of these old bike have been modified over the years, the more details we can see, the more likely we can figure out what's been changed.


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## 49autocycledeluxe (Sep 16, 2020)

where are the current pictures of the bike!!


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## gms0707 (Sep 16, 2020)

Dad always told me it was a Superior. I will pull the bike out and get some current pictures.


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## GTs58 (Sep 16, 2020)

I'm thinking the same as ccdc.1 and  your Dad's bike is a Continental also . Strange that it has what looks like a bolt on kick stand. Maybe the stand tube broke off and that's a substitute stand. I believe this one was owned by @SirMike1983 and was 1947 model. K serial with 4 digits but a larger number. I've also seen that star stamped on a different Continental but the star was stamped on the kickstand tube. I have no idea what that signifies. A picture of where the kickstand is mounted would be nice to see, and how the rear fender is attached at the bottom.


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