# Richard Schwinn on Schwinn



## Oilit (Jun 7, 2020)

I watched the Youtube video (The Sad Saga of Schwinn) that @Xlobsterman posted at the end of this thread:








						Greenville, MS Schwinn bicycles | All Things Schwinn
					

Can anyone point me to a list of which models (and years) were produced in Greenville, MS? I have tried searching with not much luck. TIA




					thecabe.com
				



And then this video came up, a talk on the history of Schwinn by none other than Richard Schwinn.




I question some of his conclusions, but he's obviously put a lot of thought into it and it's interesting to hear his perspective.


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## Xlobsterman (Jun 7, 2020)

An interesting video, thanks for posting it.

I worked for a Schwinn dealer from 77 to 82, and the owner was a good friend of the family. He and his father started the shop in 62 or 63, then he ended up selling it in late 81, or early 82. He was close personal friends with the Schwinn sales rep, and now in hindsight, I think the sale of the shop was directly related to the inside info he had from the sales rep that the Chicago Factory was getting ready to close its doors?

The 5 years I worked at the shop were great years, and my first job working part time after school, and on Saturday. It then became full time after I graduated from high school, and until he sold the shop. I only worked for the new owners for 6 months or so before they fired me to hire one of their family members......LOL  That shop remained in business for 54 years up until Oct. of 2017 going through a few owners over the years.


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## Xlobsterman (Jun 7, 2020)

He also mentioned the Air-Dyne, and I remember the first one of those I assembled out of the box in 79. While assembling it, I wondered to myself just how someone could sit down and design something like that?

I happen to have an Air-dyne, it is a Taiwan built bike from 86. I got it at a thrift shop for $40 a couple of years ago.


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## Xlobsterman (Jun 8, 2020)

I did a quick Google search this morning to see if I could get an image of the new business that is now where my old shop was back in the day.

Here is what I found.


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## Xlobsterman (Jun 9, 2020)

I do find it entertaining that he states Schwinn was the first company to enter the market with a production Mountain Bike. I am assuming he is referring too the King Sting that came out in 81?

I was building custom mountain bikes long before Schwinn introduced the King Sting.

Here I am on my custom Champion BMX style MTB in 79 that I built for myself when working at the shop. This pic was taken at a street race in Manhattan Beach, Calif.


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## Oilit (Jun 9, 2020)

Xlobsterman said:


> I do find it entertaining that he states Schwinn was the first company to enter the market with a production Mountain Bike. I am assuming he is referring too the King Sting that came out in 81?
> 
> I was building custom mountain bikes long before Schwinn introduced the King Sting.
> 
> ...



Do you think he meant the Klunker 5? It had the name, so at least they had heard of the concept. Although come to think of it, Schwinn called the King Sting an "All Terrain Bike", and the Klunker 5 never made it into the catalog. I'd say the 1983 Sierra was their first real mountain bike.


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## Mymando (Jun 9, 2020)

Xlobsterman said:


> I did a quick Google search this morning to see if I could get an image of the new business that is now where my old shop was back in the day.
> 
> Here is what I found.
> 
> View attachment 1207402



Sad!!


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## Bill in Bama (Jun 9, 2020)

Mymando said:


> Sad!!



Sorry for your lose! Trying to help here but.. it could have been a pay day loan store! Looks like good building upkeep??? Again sorry! If i had a 1,000,000$ ...to blow...I’d love to open a bike shoppe in my town! Sincerely bill in bama!


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## barneyguey (Jun 9, 2020)

Although some of the "Facts" are shall we say questionable, like the year the Aerocycle came out, I really enjoyed hearing the history of how they distributed their bicycles and the changes over the years. Barry


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## cyclingday (Jun 9, 2020)

They always say, that genetics skips a generation.
Well, I can sure see a lot of his grandfather, 
“The Old Man” Frank in him.


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## Xlobsterman (Jun 10, 2020)

Oilit said:


> Do you think he meant the Klunker 5? It had the name, so at least they had heard of the concept. Although come to think of it, Schwinn called the King Sting an "All Terrain Bike", and the Klunker 5 never made it into the catalog. I'd say the 1983 Sierra was their first real mountain bike.




The King Sting was their first production MTB with the BMX flair as were most of the the MTB in the early days. The 83 Sierra you mentioned was almost the same as the Sidewinder, and still listed as an ATB in the catalog. The bikes slowly evolved into what most people perceive as a MTB with cantilever brakes, and those funky triangle handle bars that I never really liked............LOL


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## Xlobsterman (Jun 10, 2020)

barnyguey said:


> I really enjoyed hearing the history of how they distributed their bicycles and the changes over the years. Barry




The local Schwinn dealers in my area back in the day, would place their bike orders, then they would be shipped via rail direct from Chicago. We would all coordinate the off loading of the box cars on the same day, and we would all unload each others bikes into rented trucks for transport to our storage facilities.


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## barneyguey (Jun 10, 2020)

Xlobsterman said:


> The local Schwinn dealers in my area back in the day, would place their bike orders, then they would be shipped via rail direct from Chicago. We would all coordinate the off loading of the box cars on the same day, and we would all unload each others bikes into rented trucks for transport to our storage facilities.



Thank you very much for the information. Very interesting. Barry


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## schwinnlax (Jun 10, 2020)

barnyguey said:


> Although some of the "Facts" are shall we say questionable, like the year the Aerocycle came out, I really enjoyed hearing the history of how they distributed their bicycles and the changes over the years. Barry



The innovation of the distribution network is discussed pretty extensively in the “No Hands” book.  I was hoping for more information or some “insider’s perspective” in Richard’s talk, but it’s really far less than what the book goes in to.


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## Oilit (Jun 10, 2020)

Xlobsterman said:


> The King Sting was their first production MTB with the BMX flair as were most of the the MTB in the early days. The 83 Sierra you mentioned was almost the same as the Sidewinder, and still listed as an ATB in the catalog. The bikes slowly evolved into what most people perceive as a MTB with cantilever brakes, and those funky triangle handle bars that I never really liked............LOL
> 
> View attachment 1208615



I guess I think of the '83 Sierra as the first Schwinn mountain bike because of the brakes, in my experience cantilever brakes have more stopping power than caliper brakes. And the earliest Sierras were built in Chicago, or at least the frames were, even if they were just Sidewinders with cantilever brakes and a Tange fork. From what I've read (mostly on the MOMBAT website) most people consider the 1984 High Sierra as Schwinn's first competitive mountain bike. But you were right in the middle of it, so you've got an advantage over me. I got back into bicycles a few years back, before that I hadn't had one since me and my brothers shared a 3 speed as kids, and that only lasted until my youngest brother decided to take the rear hub apart to see how it worked. My next bike after that was a CL350 Honda.


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## Xlobsterman (Jun 11, 2020)

Oilit said:


> I guess I think of the '83 Sierra as the first Schwinn mountain bike because of the brakes, in my experience cantilever brakes have more stopping power than caliper brakes. And the earliest Sierras were built in Chicago, or at least the frames were, even if they were just Sidewinders with cantilever brakes and a Tange fork. From what I've read (mostly on the MOMBAT website) most people consider the 1984 High Sierra as Schwinn's first competitive mountain bike. But you were right in the middle of it, so you've got an advantage over me. I got back into bicycles a few years back, before that I hadn't had one since me and my brothers shared a 3 speed as kids, and that only lasted until my youngest brother decided to take the rear hub apart to see how it worked. My next bike after that was a CL350 Honda.




Regardless of what exact year Schwinn produced their first production MTB or ATB in the early 80's, they were way late to the scene since they knew about it in 1975 as referenced in the other video I posted.


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## Oilit (Jun 11, 2020)

Xlobsterman said:


> Regardless of what exact year Schwinn produced their first production MTB or ATB in the early 80's, they were way late to the scene since they knew about it in 1975 as referenced in the other video I posted.



I have to agree. The lesson I draw from Schwinn is that Frank Schwinn made innovations that the rest of the industry had to follow or get left behind. But by the early '80's, other people were making all the innovations, and it was Schwinn that got left behind. I give Ed Schwinn credit for maintaining a decent standard of quality, but other than that he might as well have been running a widget factory.


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## Bill in Bama (Jun 11, 2020)

Xlobsterman said:


> I do find it entertaining that he states Schwinn was the first company to enter the market with a production Mountain Bike. I am assuming he is referring too the King Sting that came out in 81?
> 
> I was building custom mountain bikes long before Schwinn introduced the King Sting.
> 
> ...


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## Bill in Bama (Jun 11, 2020)

Bill in Bama said:


> View attachment 1209406
> 
> View attachment 1209407



Ok ... i goof something! I posted my bike to say .. i agree with dude! Ive alway thought that “big bike” should have been honest and just sold mountain bikes as bmx for grown ups! Hell most older teens were crafting them in their dads garage! Ive got some sweet chrome bmx bars and center pull brakes i could add .. but im gun shy around front brakes!


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## Bill in Bama (Jun 11, 2020)

I did watch the thing about the schwinn heir...i gotta say i was left wanting! Some of it i found really fun. But ...as we all know the ending was sad! He could really put together a sweet “schwinn experience”...if Disney had a Schwinn mountain ride id use all my E tickets on just that!


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## Oilit (Jun 11, 2020)

cyclingday said:


> They always say, that genetics skips a generation.
> Well, I can sure see a lot of his grandfather,
> “The Old Man” Frank in him.



Now that you mention it, he kind of looks like Ignaz somehow.


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