When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

1962 Schwinn Racer With Front Wheel Generator----How Rare?

-
Thanks a lot mates. The stamp was weak and I am a sloppy reader.
No problem. It is a nice bike, hopefully you hold onto it for a while. I don't know if you are a purist or not, but it would be easy to get it back to original condition. It looks like only the hubs need to be swapped out.
 
I'm going to hijack the thread for just a second, to comment on the headlights and dynohub design... I haven't ever seen any literature on best practices for wire placement / routing from the generators to the lights. I have seen many different ways of doing this and some look better than others but all still seem like their trying the best they can and don't really look all that great. I try my best to route them to give steering allowance, but also tighten them on there so they don't hang loose. A couple of clear, tiny zip ties usually helps with the job, but that would be a modern approach to addressing this issue (see attached image of a red traveler I overhauled. I like to twist them around some existing cables and keep them taut with the zip ties). Maybe they didn't care about the bike being tidy back in the day? I would have at least thought Miller and Schwinn would have teamed up to create some bespoke brackets to help keep it all looking nice and routed to complement any of the cables already on the bike. The worst of them is the dynohubs... I have a '55 bike with dynohub with original wires and they look like old school speaker wire or lamp cord, not even like they belong on a bike. And they have to be routed all over the bike and just look terrible. I am sure you could get some much nicer looking wire these days, but still doesn't explain how out of place the kit looks. I think the lights and generators add something extra to the overall appearance of the bike, but the wires...are really sloppy...

4.jpg
 
Last edited:
The English did have clamps and strips for retaining electrical wire. The clamps came in different shapes, depending on the tube you were fastening the wire to. The round clamps were for frame tubes and seat stays, oblong-clamps for forks. The electrical retaining clamps are identified by having flat, protruding area specifcally for the two-wire, flat electrical cord. They came in both plated and painted varieties. Another offering for a more budget-oriented person was the metal strip with pull-buckle. These were all-purpose and very basic.
 
Thanks Mike - do you have a pic of these more custom ones? The ones for the forks sound nice. I have a bunch of the metal strip with pull-buckle.
 
In the first picture, I think I see "56" on the back of that Dynohub, so it's older than the bike. Travelers had these as an option, so someone may have swapped it out.
 
In the first picture, I think I see "56" on the back of that Dynohub, so it's older than the bike. Travelers had these as an option, so someone may have swapped it out.
I counted the spokes, 32. The front wheel is most likely from a Raleigh, but definitely not a Schwinn wheel. The english rims of that era look similar to S5's so it's easy to get them confused.
 
I counted the spokes, 32. The front wheel is most likely from a Raleigh, but definitely not a Schwinn wheel. The english rims of that era look similar to S5's so it's easy to get them confused.

This is a good catch - those do look like 1950s Raleigh Westrick pattern rims. The Raleigh Westrick rim of that era can be identified by it's shape, with the bump in the center of the profile, the tire size of 590mm bead seat, and the fact that the bump in the center has a dull grey color to it rather than knurling or shiny chrome. It could well be these are Raleigh wheels swapped onto the Schwinn, at least the pictures look like it.

An example of the clamps are below. They came in various shapes to fit to the fork, frame tubs, stays, etc.

clamps.JPG
 
An example of the clamps are below. They came in various shapes to fit to the fork, frame tubs, stays, etc.
Thanks. And I assume that these were all added on at each dealer location, so the layout and wiring were attached per how they thought best? Like I said, I haven't come across anything showing the wires in promotional material or dealer material that would suggest some type of standard install. I guess it is just a consequence of having the lighting kit which requires many additional wires and clamps. The clamps would at least hold the lines taut.
 
Back
Top