# Help identify pre war Schwinn The World step through bicycle



## silverbear (Jul 17, 2010)

A month ago I placed a free ad in the local paper in Ely, Minnesota (wanting a 1950's or earlier balloon tire bike) which is apparently still running it since I got a call a couple of days ago from an old lady in Hoyt Lakes Minnesota, about 25 minutes from here. I told the lady I was only looking to pay $20.00 or $25.00 and she said I could come look at it... she thought 1940's and a step through which has been hanging in her garage.
Today I saw it and the tires had been pumped up. The front one was an original Schwinn Typhoon without checking tire and still lots of tread. The back tire is Uniroyal and a different tread, so had been replaced somewhere along the way. The head badge is brass with a green globe and says Arnold Schwinn and The World on it... very cool and flawless. I noticed the marks on the curved downtubes which suggest it had some kind of tank at one time. The down tubes are spaced differently from a 51 Schwinn step through I picked up a week ago. The frame behind the seat is also different and the kickstand on the 51 was built in to the frame where the kickstand on this one is removable and has a plate and bolt. I asked if it had been her bike and she said she got it as a hand me down in 1946 when her big sister graduated from high school... I've been thinking about that and wish I'd asked when her sister got it. So I think we can say with some assurance that it is pre war. It is a skip tooth chain and crank but those were used clear into the early fifties and are not a true indicator of age. The truss rod is rusted and the front fender pretty banged up, but other than that is in good shape. Even the blue hand grips aren't scuffed, so it was pretty well taken care of. Once home I rode it around and it pedaled nicely and the brake works fine. Pretty amazing for such a time machine. Serial number is D13865. I tried to find it on the CABE Schwinn code, but it is sketchy before 1946 and I'll have to post photos on their forum for a year identification.
I was about to leave Hoyt Lakes when i asked where she and her sister grew up. It turns out that it was in the same pioneer Finnish settlement where I lived and built a stone house by hand in the 1970's and she had known the man who had formerly lived on my property and had a sort of beaver farm with a ten acre pond which was actually a sea plane drop off for illegal beaver pelts and other contraband coming in from Canada in the 1930's. Many of the people who I had written stories about for the local newspaper in a series of historical articles she had known, people I had interviewed were her childhood neighbors and relatives. The White Iron Lake community was all Finnish immigrants who went to a one room school and I knew about that school as I had interviewed the last of its teachers. Dorothy had tears in her eyes when I left and I thanked her for making my day as she thanked me for making hers. I got an awful lot for $25.00, I'd say.
SB


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## Xcelsior (Jul 17, 2010)

1940... chainguard looks to be original (2 year guard) but no ears on the frame for a drop stand so 40. a,b,c would be mostly 39 as well, d puts it in 40 range.


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## OldRider (Jul 17, 2010)

For 25 dollars you not only bought a good looking step through Schwinn but also a whole lot of history. I love hearing stories like that, thats what keeps me coming back! Take good care of that Schwinn, SB.......


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## silverbear (Jul 18, 2010)

I'm going to call Dorothy and let her know what year her sister's bike was.  Thank you guys both for your comments.  
SB


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