# 1953 Roadmaster Flying Falcon



## Oilit (Jan 28, 2020)

I like 3 speed balloon tire bikes and I've had a 1954 Schwinn Jaguar for a while, but these Roadmasters seem harder to find. I finally picked this up last summer and comparing it to the example @Dave Stromberger has posted, it struck me that the head badge, seat post decal and truss rods are different. I have what I believe is a 1953 Roadmaster catalog and there's no mention of this model, but this bike is all original as far as I can tell, and I started wondering if Roadmaster would really build two different versions of one bike in the same year. So I did some digging, and in the August 1953 issue of Boys' Life (Boy Scouts of America), there's a half page ad for "The New AMF Roadmaster Flying Falcon".  The earliest ad I've seen for the Jaguar is October 1953, so now it looks like the Roadmaster was a mid-year introduction and AMF got the jump on Schwinn, at least by a couple of months. Maybe this is old hat to some people, but it was news to me. Does anybody know of any earlier ads for either bike?


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## GTs58 (Jan 28, 2020)

That's pretty interesting since I only mess with the Schwinns. The earliest serial number stamping that I've seen on the Jaguar was September 53 and the majority that have shown up were October stampings. The Jag print  in Findley's scans was a page from the Schwinn Reporter and not a public ad. That may have been the first piece of printed lit on the Jag and the bike was an early 54 entry in late 53.       

I like the bow pedals on the Roadmaster. Are they Union pedals?


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## Oilit (Jan 29, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> That's pretty interesting since I only mess with the Schwinns. The earliest serial number stamping that I've seen on the Jaguar was September 53 and the majority that have shown up were October stampings. The Jag print  in Findley's scans was a page from the Schwinn Reporter and not a public ad. That may have been the first piece of printed lit on the Jag and the bike was an early 54 entry in late 53.
> 
> I like the bow pedals on the Roadmaster. Are they Union pedals?



To be honest, I don't know. I'll have to see if there's any markings I can get a picture of.


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## Dave Stromberger (Jan 29, 2020)

This balloon tire version of the Flying Falcon is a two year bike, like the Jag, which may account for the differences.  I have another one of these in pieces that has the same truss rods and badge as yours.


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## Oilit (Jan 30, 2020)

Dave Stromberger said:


> This balloon tire version of the Flying Falcon is a two year bike, like the Jag, which may account for the differences.  I have another one of these in pieces that has the same truss rods and badge as yours.



Well if you've still got all the paint, you're ahead of me! I have no idea what happened to the paint on this one!


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## razinhellcustomz (Feb 5, 2020)

GTs58 said:


> That's pretty interesting since I only mess with the Schwinns. The earliest serial number stamping that I've seen on the Jaguar was September 53 and the majority that have shown up were October stampings. The Jag print  in Findley's scans was a page from the Schwinn Reporter and not a public ad. That may have been the first piece of printed lit on the Jag and the bike was an early 54 entry in late 53.
> 
> I like the bow pedals on the Roadmaster. Are they Union pedals?



Yes i believe they are. My 1960 Roadmaster Jet Pilot has the same style  pedals as the Flying  Falcon. Good eye. Razin.


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## razinhellcustomz (Feb 5, 2020)

Oilit said:


> To be honest, I don't know. I'll have to see if there's any markings I can get a picture of.



I like the lines on the Flying Falcon better than the Schwinn's design. Any other thought's? Really a neato bike. Enjoy. Razin.


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## razinhellcustomz (Feb 5, 2020)

Oilit said:


> Well if you've still got all the paint, you're ahead of me! I have no idea what happened to the paint on this one!



Probably just poor paint preparation. Lack of a good coat of primer goes along way towards long lasting paint job. When your building upwards of 600-700 bikes a day their were probably issues with the quality of said painting techniques of the day were questionable at best.


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## razinhellcustomz (Feb 5, 2020)

Oilit said:


> I like 3 speed balloon tire bikes and I've had a 1954 Schwinn Jaguar for a while, but these Roadmasters seem harder to find. I finally picked this up last summer and comparing it to the example @Dave Stromberger has posted, it struck me that the head badge, seat post decal and truss rods are different. I have what I believe is a 1953 Roadmaster catalog and there's no mention of this model, but this bike is all original as far as I can tell, and I started wondering if Roadmaster would really build two different versions of one bike in the same year. So I did some digging, and in the August 1953 issue of Boys' Life (Boy Scouts of America), there's a half page ad for "The New AMF Roadmaster Flying Falcon".  The earliest ad I've seen for the Jaguar is October 1953, so now it looks like the Roadmaster was a mid-year introduction and AMF got the jump on Schwinn, at least by a couple of months. Maybe this is old hat to some people, but it was news to me. Does anybody know of any earlier ads for either bike?
> 
> View attachment 1131393
> 
> ...



What is the green bike in the back ground of picture #5? Just wondering. Thanks. Razin.


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## Oilit (Feb 5, 2020)

razinhellcustomz said:


> I like the lines on the Flying Falcon better than the Schwinn's design. Any other thought's? Really a neato bike. Enjoy. Razin.



I have to agree. CWC always built good looking bikes, I wonder if their engineers just had a good eye or if they had an a dedicated styling department?


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## Oilit (Feb 5, 2020)

razinhellcustomz said:


> What is the green bike in the back ground of picture #5? Just wondering. Thanks. Razin.



It's a pretty nice single speed 1954 Flying Falcon. I have a couple of 3 speeds in rough shape, and I had ideas of using parts from those to make a 3 speed out of that one. As far as I can tell, the 3 speeds were all red, but that's the only single speed I've seen. And you must have some really good eyes!


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## razinhellcustomz (Feb 6, 2020)

Oilit said:


> It's a pretty nice single speed 1954 Flying Falcon. I have a couple of 3 speeds in rough shape, and I had ideas of using parts from those to make a 3 speed out of that one. As far as I can tell, the 3 speeds were all red, but that's the only single speed I've seen. And you must have some really good eyes!



Yeah. No. Just my trusty VA supplied horn rimmed spectacles.I was a trained forward observer with the Army scouts before the first gulf war. I always look for things that normal people usually over look. Thanks for that!  Really nice bikes. Ride On. Razin.


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## OZ1972 (Mar 22, 2020)

Very neet bike


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## PCHiggin (Mar 22, 2020)

Oilit said:


> Well if you've still got all the paint, you're ahead of me! I have no idea what happened to the paint on this one!



It wasn't supposed to last nearly 70 years. It probably  looked fine at least 40 years,who knows?  Long,long after anybody thought it would still be in use. We were a major league throw away society. Amazing we still find things from that era this nice. My parents tossed my cool tricycle and Radio Flyer wagon thinking I was ready for a 2 wheeler with training wheels,nothing wrong with either of them. I loved those things!!  I gave away my minibike, I was going to put it to the curb,my buddy down the strreet took it and still has it. I thought I'd never ride it again,Wrong! I had small children and now grandchildren. Your bike is  a beauty! I'd be happy finding one or anything like it, paint and all.


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## Oilit (Mar 22, 2020)

PCHiggin said:


> It wasn't supposed to last nearly 70 years. It probably  looked fine at least 40 years,who knows?  Long,long after anybody thought it would still be in use. We were a major league throw away society. Amazing we still find things from that era this nice. My parents tossed my cool tricycle and Radio Flyer wagon thinking I was ready for a 2 wheeler with training wheels,nothing wrong with either of them. I loved those things!!  I gave away my minibike, I was going to put it to the curb,my buddy down the strreet took it and still has it. I thought I'd never ride it again,Wrong! I had small children and now grandchildren. Your bike is  a beauty! I'd be happy finding one or anything like it, paint and all.



The guy I bought this from found it at an estate sale. He told me he's found other old bikes and parted them out, but he just couldn't bring himself to do that to this one. And I'm happy that he didn't!


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## GTs58 (Mar 22, 2020)

That has the same Rocket Ray that Pantmakers 54 Jag has. I believe the visor was a Schwinn thing like so many other special Schwinn Approved parts that are produced strictly for Schwinn. The green is close but not an exact match. Possible Roadmaster light, bezel is painted not chrome.


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## mrg (Oct 4, 2020)

Weird how all 3 heavyweight 3 spds, Schwinn Jaguar, AMF Flying Falcon & Evans Colson Firebird came out at the same time ( some pre model yr 53's ) were all 2 year models, 54 & 55 then all went middleweight and just noticed AMF Falcon Flyer & my E/C Firebird both had Brampton 3 spds. Seems like the Evans-Colson was the only one still in "Full Dress" with tank, springer & fat fenders.


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## Oilit (Oct 5, 2020)

mrg said:


> Weird how all 3 heavyweight 3 spds, Schwinn Jaguar, AMF Flying Falcon & Evans Colson Firebird came out at the same time ( some pre model yr 53's ) were all 2 year models, 54 & 55 then all went middleweight and just noticed AMF Falcon Flyer & my E/C Firebird both had Brampton 3 spds. Seems like the Evans-Colson was the only one still in "Full Dress" with tank, springer & fat fenders.View attachment 1278657



You're right, neither the balloon tire Jaguar or Flying Falcon ever had a tank that I know of, or a springer front end either. I hadn't heard of this bike, I'm guessing they aren't common. Thanks for posting!


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## Oilit (Oct 5, 2020)

And I think @SirMike1983 said he thought Brampton may have built the Hercules hubs. I have no idea what advantage buying from Hercules or Brampton had over Sturmey-Archer. And can we get some close-ups of the brake mounts?


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## razinhellcustomz (Oct 5, 2020)

Oilit said:


> I have to agree. CWC always built good looking bikes, I wonder if their engineers just had a good eye or if they had an a dedicated styling department?



I think the the CWC bikes always had nicer lines. My Roadmaster Shark bike is one of the COOLEST bikes I've seen or owned. Very rare and unusual bike. I'm not sure if they had their own styling department but they were thinking out side of the box that's for sure. Enjoy and Ride On. Razin.


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## mrg (Oct 5, 2020)

By articles in the Schwinn reporter seems like  Sturmey-Archer had supply problems a few times over the years so weather they could not keep up with Schwinn's & European demands and when Brampton came on the seen ( I have not done any research on Brampton ) but in another thread we had been discussing a Schwinn S7 rim/Brampton 3 spd I just bought incase I needed spare Brampton parts , weather Schwinn ever used Brampton or somebody laced over the years. I can't remember ever seeing one?. Forgot to take Firebird brake pics today so here's some dark ones. Large WEINMANN calipers, bracket off seat stay in rear and front bracket off springer


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## mrg (Oct 5, 2020)

Finding nothing googling Brampton hubs or on Sheldon Brown's site but alot of Bromptom hubs?, my Firebird & the Flying Falcon have a Brampton model no. 140B-3 and the S7 has a 140B-5 so is it newer ?.


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## Oilit (Oct 6, 2020)

mrg said:


> Finding nothing googling Brampton hubs or on Sheldon Brown's site but alot of Bromptom hubs?, my Firebird & the Flying Falcon have a Brampton model no. 140B-3 and the S7 has a 140B-5 so is it newer ?.



The only Schwinn I've seen with a Brampton hub is a 1951 Traveler that was on EBay a few years ago. But from the pictures it looks like it could be original.
And if @SirMike1983 is right, then it makes sense that the Brampton numbers follow a similar pattern to the Hercules hubs, so the B-3 is 1953, the B-5 is 1955 and the B?-1 on this Schwinn is 1951. Actually, I think the Hercules hubs were "A Type 1" in 1951, but the spoke in the picture covers whatever letter might be on this hub.


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## Oilit (Oct 12, 2020)

mrg said:


> Finding nothing googling Brampton hubs or on Sheldon Brown's site but alot of Bromptom hubs?, my Firebird & the Flying Falcon have a Brampton model no. 140B-3 and the S7 has a 140B-5 so is it newer ?.



Come to think of it, a "No. 140B-5" is the highest number I've seen on a Brampton hub, and if that's the year, then they went out of production just as Schwinn started building the middleweights, which may explain why they aren't seen more often.


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## razinhellcustomz (Oct 12, 2020)

Oilit said:


> The only Schwinn I've seen with a Brampton hub is a 1951 Traveler that was on EBay a few years ago. But from the pictures it looks like it could be original.
> And if @SirMike1983 is right, then it makes sense that the Brampton numbers follow a similar pattern to the Hercules hubs, so the B-3 is 1953, the B-5 is 1955 and the B?-1 on this Schwinn is 1951. Actually, I think the Hercules hubs were "A Type 1" in 1951, but the spoke in the picture covers whatever letter might be on this hub.
> 
> View attachment 1279227
> ...



Is that a generator front hub? And if so , is that a Sturmey-Archer hub or not? Thanks for sharing.  Enjoy and Ride On. Razin.


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## Oilit (Oct 12, 2020)

razinhellcustomz said:


> Is that a generator front hub? And if so , is that a Sturmey-Archer hub or not? Thanks for sharing.  Enjoy and Ride On. Razin.



It's a Sturmey-Archer "Dynohub" to power the lights. It was an extra cost option on the Traveler to replace the Miller "bottle" generator.


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## razinhellcustomz (Oct 12, 2020)

Oilit said:


> It's a Sturmey-Archer "Dynohub" to power the lights. It was an extra cost option on the Traveler to replace the Miller "bottle" generator.



That's a really COOOL generator hub. I can't say I have ever seen one like it. Great score and a really nice old Roadmaster bike. Enjoy. Razin.


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## Oilit (Oct 20, 2020)

@mrg, your Evans-Colson got me thinking. I've seen other balloon tire bikes with two or three speed hubs, but they all use *drum* brakes. There were a couple of Hawthornes on Ebay last year, one man's and one woman's, with the woman's pictured below. I had saved pictures of the man's as well, but I lost the thumb drive.  But I don't know if these were regular production bikes, special orders or aftermarket modifications. Schwinn used three speed hubs with *caliper* brakes from the late '30's, but only on lightweights. Evidently what was new was a caliper big enough for balloon tires, the Weinmann 1080. But Weinmann was a Swiss company, and then the calipers had to be adopted to the American bikes, which took special brackets like on your bike, or a special fork, like on the Roadmaster and the Schwinn. This didn't happen by accident; there's got to be a story behind it but whether anybody can piece it back together now is an open question.

@prewarmachine posted a 1946 B6 here with a New Departure Double or Triple Speed (I can't tell which) and a Schwinn drum front brake:








						1946 BF Goodrich B6 | Classic Balloon Tire Bicycles 1933-1965
					

Just brought this home. So much patina it is bare metal in areas, but still extremely solid. Hard to show, but the maroon paint is still present under the rack..in the shape of the rack. It is well aged.




					thecabe.com
				




And @Commish1969 recently posted this 1953 B6 with a Sturmey-Archer AB hub in the rear and a Sturmey drum in front:








						B6 with Sturmey Archer hubs | All Things Schwinn
					

Recently acquired 1953 B6. Not uncommon I know, except maybe for the rear SA 3 speed with expander brake and front SA fore-brake. Both are laced to knurled S2’s. Is this an uncommon set up? A factory/dealer upgrade option? Thanks for any knowledge you have to share.




					thecabe.com
				




And here's the Hawthorne, also with Sturmey-Archer drum brakes. But I'm guessing drum brakes were relatively expensive, because they sure aren't common.


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## prewarmachine (Oct 20, 2020)

My B6 I believe had the 2 speed added after the fact, so it might not be much help for your research


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## Oilit (Oct 20, 2020)

prewarmachine said:


> My B6 I believe had the 2 speed added after the fact, so it might not be much help for your research



I've never heard of the New Departure being a standard option, but I've seen a few other Schwinns with that set-up. If it wasn't an option, it must have been a fairly popular aftermarket conversion. Maybe somebody knows something, we'll just have to wait and see.


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## mrg (Oct 20, 2020)

I have had a couple of Schwinn's with optional factory installed SA 3 spd drum on S2's. As for balloon tire 3 spd/caliper brake at least 3 company's started producing them in 53 ( 54 model ? ) Schwinn, Colson & AMF-Roadmaster, I started this thread a few years ago explanes a little about Schwinn's 2 yr experiment with a S2 3 spd. ( and adding calipes brackets ) to complete with the middleweights. https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/prototype-jaguar.70602/


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## Oilit (Nov 19, 2020)

The whitewall tires on the Flying Falcon are deteriorated, but I thought I could just make out "U.S. Royal Riders", so I did some more digging. I haven't found anything that names the original tires, but these two ads make me think it was the Royal Riders. And then @hzqw2l pointed out that the Schwinn Reporter ad for the Jaguar specifies U.S. Royal Riders as well! As for the claim that they coast 65% farther, that sounds like a tire with higher air pressure, but I don't know if there was any real change to the tires or it was just marketing hype. And thanks to Shawn for the Jag ad and to Michelle for helping me with the others!


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## razinhellcustomz (Nov 19, 2020)

Oilit said:


> The whitewall tires on the Flying Falcon are deteriorated, but I thought I could just make out "U.S. Royal Riders", so I did some more digging. I haven't found anything that names the original tires, but these two ads make me think it was the Royal Riders. And then @hzqw2l pointed out that the preproduction ad for the Jaguar specifies U.S. Royal Riders as well! As for the claim that they coast 65% farther, that sounds like a tire with higher air pressure, but I don't know if there was any real change to the tires or it was just marketing hype. And thanks to Shawn for the Jag ad and to Michelle for helping me with the others!
> 
> View attachment 1304001
> 
> ...



Refresh my memory. Are the Royal Riders a saw tooth tread pattern or were they more like the chain link tires? Thanks for sharing and Ride on. Razin.


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## Oilit (Nov 19, 2020)

razinhellcustomz said:


> Refresh my memory. Are the Royal Riders a saw tooth tread pattern or were they more like the chain link tires? Thanks for sharing and Ride on. Razin.



The tires on the bike are Royal Riders as far as I can make out. The 4th picture is a close-up of the Rocket Ray, but it also gives a good look at the tread.


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## hzqw2l (Nov 19, 2020)

Tread pattern looks like royal riders.  They didn't survive well over the years.  Not many rideable whitewall royal riders out there.


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## Oilit (Jun 10, 2021)

I picked up some interesting Roadmaster material off EBay this last weekend, including this brochure. This looks like part of the advertising campaign to introduce the Flying Falcon, but there's no date. There's a picture of the May 11, 1953 issue of Life Magazine, and there's a mark in one corner "DM 53-6 5M" which must be some kind of printer's code, but Google didn't return any clues. The "53-6" could refer to June 1953, but that's pure speculation on my part. If you look at the picture of the bike, there's some curious features - bent chain stays, a white contrast stripe on the chain guard, and some kind of (steel?) brake handles, which I've never seen on one of the bikes, so this drawing was probably produced before all production details were finalized. Does anybody know what that code referred to?


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## Dave Stromberger (Jun 10, 2021)

Oilit said:


> I picked up some interesting Roadmaster material off EBay this last weekend, including this brochure. This looks like part of the advertising campaign to introduce the Flying Falcon, but there's no date. There's a picture of the May 11, 1953 issue of Life Magazine, and there's a mark in one corner "DM 53-6 5M" which must be some kind of printer's code, but Google didn't return any clues. The "53-6" could refer to June 1953, but that's pure speculation on my part. If you look at the picture of the bike, there's some curious features - bent chain stays, a white contrast stripe on the chain guard, and some kind of (steel?) brake handles, which I've never seen on one of the bikes, so this drawing was probably produced before all production details were finalized. Does anybody know what that code referred to?
> 
> View attachment 1427855
> 
> ...



Very cool. Thanks for sharing!


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## mrg (Jun 10, 2021)

Probably early pre production literature that changed by the time the bike was released, like the 3 speed balloon tire Schwinn Jaguar and the Colson Firebird the Flying Falcon only short lived, 54-5?, I know Schwinn & Colson started ads in 53. Just noticed the pics at the beginning of this thread, are those the long-coasting Royal Riders!, can you read the PSI?


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## Oilit (Jun 11, 2021)

mrg said:


> Probably early pre production literature that changed by the time the bike was released, like the 3 speed balloon tire Schwinn Jaguar and the Colson Firebird the Flying Falcon only short lived, 54-5?, I know Schwinn & Colson started ads in 53. Just noticed the pics at the beginning of this thread, are those the long-coasting Royal Riders!, can you read the PSI?



I'll look again this weekend. As I recall, the whitewalls were pretty deteriorated, but if anything has survived, that would settle whether they ran higher pressure! This 2 page ad from the November 1954 issue of American Bicyclist shows the tread pattern, but there's nothing about why they were supposed to coast farther.


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## razinhellcustomz (Jun 13, 2021)

Oilit said:


> I picked up some interesting Roadmaster material off EBay this last weekend, including this brochure. This looks like part of the advertising campaign to introduce the Flying Falcon, but there's no date. There's a picture of the May 11, 1953 issue of Life Magazine, and there's a mark in one corner "DM 53-6 5M" which must be some kind of printer's code, but Google didn't return any clues. The "53-6" could refer to June 1953, but that's pure speculation on my part. If you look at the picture of the bike, there's some curious features - bent chain stays, a white contrast stripe on the chain guard, and some kind of (steel?) brake handles, which I've never seen on one of the bikes, so this drawing was probably produced before all production details were finalized. Does anybody know what that code referred to?
> 
> View attachment 1427855
> 
> ...



I do believe your right about the date code and when i took a course in  print shop and press operation the 5M code i think is for 5 million which would have been the number of these ads printed on the first press run. Razin.


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## razinhellcustomz (Jun 13, 2021)

Oilit said:


> The whitewall tires on the Flying Falcon are deteriorated, but I thought I could just make out "U.S. Royal Riders", so I did some more digging. I haven't found anything that names the original tires, but these two ads make me think it was the Royal Riders. And then @hzqw2l pointed out that the Schwinn Reporter ad for the Jaguar specifies U.S. Royal Riders as well! As for the claim that they coast 65% farther, that sounds like a tire with higher air pressure, but I don't know if there was any real change to the tires or it was just marketing hype. And thanks to Shawn for the Jag ad and to Michelle for helping me with the others!
> 
> View attachment 1304001
> 
> ...



Iv'e had a few of these Uniroyal chain link tires that called for 40-45 psi and i know these are later than the U.S.Royal tires by a couple years, but they could be of the same construction techniques used in the mid 50's. Razin.


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## kostnerave (Jun 13, 2021)

Oilit said:


> The only Schwinn I've seen with a Brampton hub is a 1951 Traveler that was on EBay a few years ago. But from the pictures it looks like it could be original.
> And if @SirMike1983 is right, then it makes sense that the Brampton numbers follow a similar pattern to the Hercules hubs, so the B-3 is 1953, the B-5 is 1955 and the B?-1 on this Schwinn is 1951. Actually, I think the Hercules hubs were "A Type 1" in 1951, but the spoke in the picture covers whatever letter might be on this hub.
> 
> View attachment 1279227
> ...



A good friend of mine, and a fellow caber, has a 1953 Varsity Tourist, which I sold to him many moons ago. The bike is burgundy with white fenders, red pin stripes and a Brampton 3 speed hub and shifter. I don't have a serial #, but I hope this information helps.


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## Oilit (Jun 13, 2021)

razinhellcustomz said:


> Iv'e had a few of these Uniroyal chain link tires that called for 40-45 psi and i know these are later than the U.S.Royal tires by a couple years, but they could be of the same construction techniques used in the mid 50's. Razin.



I read (on Wikipedia?) that U.S. Royal eventually became Uniroyal, but anyone who was there when they made bicycle tires is probably long since retired. I took some close-ups of the sidewalls, and you can almost read it, but not quite.


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## Oilit (Jun 13, 2021)

kostnerave said:


> A good friend of mine, and a fellow caber, has a 1953 Varsity Tourist, which I sold to him many moons ago. The bike is burgundy with white fenders, red pin stripes and a Brampton 3 speed hub and shifter. I don't have a serial #, but I hope this information helps.



I later ran across this really nice example that @Schwinn499 listed back in 2015. He says he's only seen Brampton hubs on a few 1952 Schwinn lightweights. But @mrg did find one laced into an S-7, so maybe there's an early middleweight or two out there somewhere with one. And the switch on this one looks like a rebranded Hercules "Synchro Switch", which lends weight to the idea of a connection between Brampton and Hercules. 








						1952 Schwinn World Traveler W/ Dynohub and Brampton 3-Speed Blue | Sell - Trade: Bicycle Parts, Accessories, Ephemera
					

1952 Schwinn World Traveler W/ Dynohub and Brampton 3-Speed Blue  Beautiful bike, NOS tires in great condition with maybe 50 miles on them. Working SA Dynohub setup. Fresh grease all around. Paint and decals have some scratches but are in overall great shape and strong. Uncommon Brampton 3-speed...




					thecabe.com


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## Oilit (Jun 13, 2021)

razinhellcustomz said:


> I do believe your right about the date code and when i took a course in  print shop and press operation the 5M code i think is for 5 million which would have been the number of these ads printed on the first press run. Razin.



Thank you! In the digital age, I was afraid this might be some obscure practice long since abandoned and forgotten.


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## Oilit (Jun 13, 2021)

Here's the page on the Flying Falcon from the 1954 AMF catalog, which is the other item I picked up last weekend. I've had a green Flying Falcon for a few years, marked "54Cw" under the bottom bracket. It was single speed when I got it, and I assumed it had always been a single speed, but looking at the catalog and price list, it's now more likely that somebody swapped out some parts. Does anybody know what these wheels may have come from? I can't find any markings on the rims.
And notice the green version is listed as having 1.75" tires!


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## razinhellcustomz (Jun 13, 2021)

Oilit said:


> I read (on Wikipedia?) that U.S. Royal eventually became Uniroyal, but anyone who was there when they made bicycle tires is probably long since retired. I took some close-ups of the sidewalls, and you can almost read it, but not quite.
> 
> View attachment 1429424
> 
> View attachment 1429425



If memory serves me correctly Uniroyal came  about in either 1962 or 63 because they were making the Tiger Paws Redlines for some of the early Super or Muscle cars of the era. Hope this helps. Razin.


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## Hukah (Jun 14, 2021)

I think I read that the designer of the luxury liner was Otto Kuhler, the father of streamline industrial engineering?
I'm not having any luck finding the article now.


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## mrg (Jun 14, 2021)

@Oilit, differently think it was a 3 Spd with that handbrake fork and the rear fender mt & bolt, any mark from the 3 spd hardware?, those rims look like standard Lobdell style that came on a few 50's bikes including some Monark, Murry etc. Roadmaster used their own rims even on the middleweights so probably 3 spd too. weird that the Special was a middleweight and Deluxe 2.125.


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## GTs58 (Jun 14, 2021)

mrg said:


> @Oilit, differently think it was a 3 Spd with that handbrake fork and the rear fender mt & bolt, any mark from the 3 spd hardware?, those rims look like standard Lobdell style that came on a few 50's bikes including some Monark, Murry etc. Roadmaster used their own rims even on the middleweights so probably 3 spd too. *weird that the Special was a middleweight and Deluxe 2.125.*




Schwinn did that same thing with the 1956 Hornets.


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## Oilit (Jun 15, 2021)

Hukah said:


> I think I read that the designer of the luxury liner was Otto Kuhler, the father of streamline industrial engineering?
> I'm not having any luck finding the article now.



If you find something, I'd be interested. I hadn't considered companies hiring people to design these bikes, but design is a field I know very little about.


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## Oilit (Jun 15, 2021)

mrg said:


> @Oilit, differently think it was a 3 Spd with that handbrake fork and the rear fender mt & bolt, any mark from the 3 spd hardware?, those rims look like standard Lobdell style that came on a few 50's bikes including some Monark, Murry etc. Roadmaster used their own rims even on the middleweights so probably 3 spd too. weird that the Special was a middleweight and Deluxe 2.125.



@mrg, thanks! I've heard of Lobdell, but I haven't seen enough to recognize them.
The 1.75 tires surprised me too, especially for a 1954. That ad in the Nov. 1954 American Bicyclist is the first use of the term "middleweight" that I've seen. I'm beginning to think U.S. Royal were the ones who coined the term, the early Schwinn ads all refer to 1.75" tires.
And you're right, there should be some marks on the frame from the pulley and cable clamps. I haven't noticed any, but I need to look close. Either way, there's another bike I've had for a while, repainted and with the wrong seat and fenders, but it still has the original wheels and brakes, so it makes an excellent  candidate for a parts bike.


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## jimbo53 (Jun 15, 2021)

Really nice bike, Joel! Enjoyed seeing it up close and personal on the last Hurricane Coaster ride. Here’s an overhead shot from some stairs.


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## Oilit (Jun 15, 2021)

jimbo53 said:


> Really nice bike, Joel! Enjoyed seeing it up close and personal on the last Hurricane Coaster ride. Here’s an overhead shot from some stairs.
> View attachment 1430258



Thanks, Jim! It's like Shawn says, that's what they were made for! Riding, that is!


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