# 1956 Schwinn Spitfire



## SirMike1983 (Oct 7, 2013)

Sold the Hercules Model G and the Raleigh Dawn Tourist bicycles and have started up a new project: a 1956 Schwinn Spitfire. This Spitfire has picked up a couple vintage upgrades, first someone added truss rods, giving it the look of a Hornet, and second someone added a red band 2 speed Bendix auto hub. I wanted a bike to bridge the gap between my Columbia and Schwinn balloon tire bikes and my lightweight Raleigh and New World bicycles. A middleweight straightbar with a 2 speed hub sounded like a great intermediate bicycle for when I want an American style bike, but a little more forgiving on the legs than a full ballooner. This will be my fall and winter Bike Shed project.

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/10/another-project-1956-schwinn.html


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## SirMike1983 (Oct 8, 2013)

Hammered out the fenders and straightened a buckled brace:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2013/10/1956-schwinn-project-repairing-damaged.html


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## mruiz (Oct 9, 2013)

Funny how schwinn, made these. I got a 56 also but in 24 inch, but it is a balloon DX frame.
Yours is a middleweight.
 Mitch


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## SirMike1983 (Oct 12, 2013)

I suspect the rear hub was an early 1960s swap for a 2 speed, but yes, the rims are middle weight. 

I'm going to build two candidates for a multispeed cruiser bike- the first is this 2 speed Schwinn Spitfire. The second is going to be a Schwinn ballooner with a 3 speed Sturmey Archer coaster brake hub. I'll keep the one I like more and sell the other. My plan is to create a pair of cruiser bikes with multispeed (well 2 or 3 speed at least) abilities.


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