# Schwinn model year time?



## deepsouth (Apr 29, 2017)

What time of year did Schwinn do yearly model changes? Did the newer year models appear in the fall like cars? Or did the model change occur after the first of the year? 
Thanks in advance for your answers.


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## rhenning (Apr 29, 2017)

Fall of the year like cars.  That is why there are some 1954 made 1955 Corvettes for example.  Just in time for Xmas.  Roger


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## 2jakes (Apr 29, 2017)

Check this link:
HathiTrust Digital Library | Millions of books online

There’s a book published by Arnold, Schwinn & Company, Chicago (1945)

You can view original ads and information given on a yearly basis of the many
features that were incorporated by Schwinn.

Go to search and enter:
"Fifty years of Schwinn Built Bicycles" to view the entire book online.

But you need to fix a snack & a drink while you cruise over this very
interesting book!


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## deepsouth (Apr 29, 2017)

2jakes said:


> Check this link:
> HathiTrust Digital Library | Millions of books online
> 
> There’s a book published by Arnold, Schwinn & Company, Chicago (1945)
> ...




Thanks for the link. Looking forward to reading it.


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## GTs58 (Apr 29, 2017)

I hate to say it, but the info above is pretty much all false.


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## deepsouth (Apr 29, 2017)

GTs58 said:


> I hate to say it, but the info above is pretty much all false.



So, when did the model change occur?


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## Spence36 (Apr 30, 2017)

Usually roll
The new models in December late November for christmas thats what my Gpa told me who had three authorized Schwinn bike shops from  49-1980 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Metacortex (Apr 30, 2017)

Those who have studied the Schwinn Reporter (dealer newsletters) from the 1950s through the '80s as well as the News Flash (dealer bulletins) from the 1960s and '70s know the real answer. The truth is that up until 1976 Schwinn didn't start building a given model year's bikes until after the annual holiday "inventory and tool change" shutdown, which usually began before the end of the year and extended well into January. Using 1966 as an example according to the December 1965 Reporter the annual holiday shutdown was from Thursday December 30th 1965 until Monday January 24th 1966. That meant that the first 1966 model bikes would have been built on Monday January 24th 1966, and it would have taken some time (days or weeks) after that before they could be delivered to a dealer.

While Schwinn did not normally build complete bikes for a new model year until after the holiday shutdown, they most definitely did build and accumulate parts before then. This included frames and other dated components which could therefore have serial numbers and/or date codes from the year (or even multiple years in some cases) prior to the year the bike was actually painted and built. While experience has shown that frames with Nov. or Dec. serial numbers were most likely saved for the following year's production, there was no ironclad cutoff. To determine the actual model year on a bike with a late-in-the-year serial number you have to go by other things such as the paint color or other original parts that are present. 

The practice of not building a given model year's bikes until after the start of the year continued relatively unchanged until the 1976 model year, which according to the dealer bulletins was the first time that Schwinn started building bikes prior to the start of the year. According to News Flash bulletins and Reporter articles in late 1975 Schwinn indicated that by dealer request they used the last 10 days of 1975 production to build 1976 model bikes. Note that because this was done so late in the year those bikes were not built in time for Christmas sales, this was done only to insure that dealers wouldn't have to wait until February to get new bikes as was the normal practice up to that point.

According to the bulletins Schwinn continued this practice for the following two years on an expanded basis building approximately 40,000 '77 model bikes in the last half of December '76 and 45,000 '78 model bikes in Dec. '77. Because of the earlier expanded production some of those bikes were indeed shipped in time for Christmas in '76 and '77.

Due to the extensive number of changes in the '79 models Schwinn discontinued the advance build program that year. In other words for 1979 it was back to business as previously usual with the first '79 model bikes being built after the holiday shutdown on Jan. 15th 1979. Unfortunately I haven't seen any bulletins or records after that, however it seems that the practice of building next-years bikes before the end of the previous year became standard, especially after Chicago production ended in '83. A major clue to that effect are the headbage stamps. If the original headbadge is present, 1976 and later bike assembly dates can be verified by the headbadge number.

EDIT: I wanted to add that there were some exceptions such as models introduced mid-year or for special promotions, and in most cases the above did not apply to the imported models.


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## deepsouth (Apr 30, 2017)

Metacortex said:


> Those who have studied the Schwinn Reporter (dealer newsletters) from the 1950s through the '80s as well as the News Flash (dealer bulletins) from the 1960s and '70s know the real answer. The truth is that up until 1976 Schwinn didn't start building a given model year's bikes until after the annual holiday "inventory and tool change" shutdown, which usually began before the end of the year and extended well into January. Using 1966 as an example according to the December 1965 Reporter the annual holiday shutdown was from Thursday December 30th 1965 until Monday January 24th 1966. That meant that the first 1966 model bikes would have been built on Monday January 24th 1966, and it would have taken some time (days or weeks) after that before they could be delivered to a dealer.
> 
> While Schwinn did not normally build complete bikes for a new model year until after the holiday shutdown, they most definitely did build and accumulate parts before then. This included frames and other dated components which could therefore have serial numbers and/or date codes from the year (or even multiple years in some cases) prior to the year the bike was actually painted and built. While experience has shown that frames with Nov. or Dec. serial numbers were most likely saved for the following year's production, there was no ironclad cutoff. To determine the actual model year on a bike with a late-in-the-year serial number you have to go by other things such as the paint color or other original parts that are present.
> 
> ...



Thanks for your answer.


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