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Schwinn Paint Questions

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schwinnbikebobb

I live for the CABE
Schwinn Sales West (SSW) comment about Opaque Green being a slow seller got me remembering how bad I wanted a Super Sport in that color. Being a kid never could come up with the scratch. Have one now of course. Kool Green seemed to be the name used on accessories, not sure why.

Was thinking maybe SSW could shed some light on who in Schwinn made the decisions on paint colors and how it was done. Also he might have some insight on the black Sting-rays and how that happened. I have looked closely at 2 in person and I'm absolutely convinced that it is factory paint.

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Great, first cup of coffee, and you are putting me on the spot! LOL

First that color choice was BP, (before Palmer) so please don't shoot the messenger. And for the record, I bought a Brand-New Grabber Green Maverick, and followed that up with a Brand-New Lime Green Fiat X-19, so I'm not claiming to learn anything from history.

I'm sure it's just the same in any industry, when the bridge sway's violently and falls into the Puget Sound, you will not be able to find any engineer that claimed to be the bridge designer. Colors and product names are the sole property of the Product Managment Group. As much as I joke about it, it's a really tough position to predict the future consumer demand. I think their goal is "more rights, than wrongs". In my experience the best product managers and designers are the guys the eat, breathe, actually use, and live with their products. Chip Foose is an incredible automobile designer, not only is he a "credentialed designer", but he also lives with his product. He's not a hermetically sealed in an office building, he's out always looking, and experiencing what people like and how products are used. If you look back on the Old Towne Orange vintage bike ride photos you will see him on a Sunday morning ride with HIS Vintage Schwinn Beach Cruiser. In the early 1980's companies moved away from hiring "street smart" employees with extensive resumes and if you did not have a degree in the specialty they needed, your resume was set aside. Even today almost fifty years later, I have mixed feelings. When I drive across that bridge, I WANT TO HAVE that young "just out of school engineer" with the most current design training under his belt. But when I go into the store and buy a new Renn Spooner shirt I want a designer that is living at the beach, wearing his product, and is tuned into the latest colors and styles. You do not learn all of this stuff in a university setting.

I'm going to leave it at this point. During the 1980's the head of Schwinn's Product Management group was an accredited former employee of General Mills, and his product responsibility was the Wheaties Product Management. He was a good and likeable guy, but a "numbers crunching" guy without the hands-on grass roots experience in bicycles.

The Sting Ray days were fifteen years before I landed at Schwinn. I have never seen or heard of a black Sting Ray in the line, or able to be factory ordered. It was not unusual for them to assemble a bike for product management to review. It could be a color, or different accessories for review. If you determine the Black Sting Rays were actually "factory built", I'm sure they were just a small special run. It's not that unique, they were painting with black paint, and they were building Sting Rays, it was a simple adjustment to the order sheet. It was not a major engineering and frame stress testing exercise like they did on the "Z" bike.

John
 
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Schwinn Sales West (SSW) comment about Opaque Green being a slow seller got me remembering how bad I wanted a Super Sport in that color. Being a kid never could come up with the scratch. Have one now of course. Kool Green seemed to be the name used on accessories, not sure why.

Was thinking maybe SSW could shed some light on who in Schwinn made the decisions on paint colors and how it was done. Also he might have some insight on the black Sting-rays and how that happened. I have looked closely at 2 in person and I'm absolutely convinced that it is factory paint.

View attachment 1803978

View attachment 1803979

OK, one question, How do you ride that beautiful green bicycle, with the toe clips installed ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE PEDALS?

Sorry, I had to ask. LOL

John
 
I sit on the saddle facing the back of the bike!! Steering is problematic but who cares! Yes I switched them right after I took the pic years ago. I've got to get rid of that pic!! Good eye though! Thanks for the insight on the paint thing!

Man I'm not much of a Sting-Ray guy so somebody who knows chime in. Seems like many people think it was not possible to get a custom run. If I recall they were all out of Texas.
 
I sit on the saddle facing the back of the bike!! Steering is problematic but who cares! Yes I switched them right after I took the pic years ago. I've got to get rid of that pic!! Good eye though! Thanks for the insight on the paint thing!

Man I'm not much of a Sting-Ray guy so somebody who knows chime in. Seems like many people think it was not possible to get a custom run. If I recall they were all out of Texas.
I did not mean to imply that it was a dealer "optioned" ordered custom run thing. But the production managers, or engineering department guys could have had any variation they wanted to see in a real-life sample model done on the assembly line.

In the early days lots of possible options were available, but by the 1960's they were limited. Most of the options at our family dealership were thorn resistant tubes (every bike), and the options to change a Wasp (balloon tire) or an American (middleweight tire) into a Newspaper Special bike. We added the following factory options, 7000PB black plastic Mesinger saddle, Box handlebar, Superior 12" handlebar stem, .120-, or .105-gauge heavy duty spokes with a heavy-duty Bendix or large flange Schwinn front hub, all the Newspaper Specials got spring forks. Today, it seems like a lot of bike for $89.95, but it was an expensive bike in the 1950's, early 60's.

John
 
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a Consumer Price Index inflation calculator for inquiring minds about how much something would cost today (or ballpark estimate cost at least). Inflation can be a pernicious thing, especially if allowed to persist over time.

 
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