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Mine is a 2speedSomewhere in my parts stash i have a adapter kit to turn a single speed into a 3 speed. I don't have the shifter though
The chain gaurd decal was white on the Campus Green tri bikes. That black decal was correct on the Kool Lemon tri bikes. The bike frame and the fork and all three wheels were made by Schwinn Chicago. The three wheel conversion kit was made by Ret Bar in El Mirage, AZ. They were the vendor that supplied the parts to Schwinn. Put a little oil on that chain, loosen the kit to seat stays clamp before you try to adjust the kit back to tighten the chain. Nice to find one with good paint and chrome.Well, I was successful. What do y'all think? And as a little bonus, my wife's fraternal twin
View attachment 1755562
View attachment 1755563
The chain gaurd decal was white on the Campus Green tri bikes. That black decal was correct on the Kool Lemon tri bikes. The bike frame and the fork and all three wheels were made by Schwinn Chicago. The three wheel conversion kit was made by Ret Bar in El Mirage, AZ. They were the vendor that supplied the parts to Schwinn. Put a little oil on that chain, loosen the kit to seat stays clamp before you try to adjust the kit back to tighten the chain. Nice to find one with good paint and chrome.
John
The slip-on hubs with a roll type drive pin were made by Ret Bar. The made them in 28 or 36 hole. Schwinn's T&C were 24" wheels so they were 28 hole.You know the dual drive Town and Country rear wheels, who made the rear hubs? Also ive seen a similar hubs but that were made for a 36 spoke wheel. What where these 36 spoke hubs used for.
Any idea when Ret Bar was offering these conversions? Pat Patterson had three wheelers in his store years before Schwinn made them. Mesa was also a popular retirement community with hundreds of winter visitors.The slip-on hubs with a roll type drive pin were made by Ret Bar. The made them in 28 or 36 hole. Schwinn's T&C were 24" wheels so they were 28 hole.
The tribikes were basically broken down into two groups. They were either purpose built with the drive integrated into the frame design. Or they were "conversion kits" where you took the rear wheel off of a "usually girls" frame bicycle, added the kit, and an extra front wheel to build a tribike.
The two big players in the industry were Allen Gobby, Gobby MFG. located behind the Cystal Ice House in Glendale, AZ. The other player was Ret Bar Mfg. located in El Mirage, AZ. I'm really not sure what the relationship was between the two companies because they were less than five miles apart. Maybe a partnership break-up? Both were close to Sun City, AZ which is a mega retirement area with lots of OLD people interested in active retirement, "or potential Tri Bike Customers". Ret Bar was the vendor to Schwinn, and Gobby was the vendor that sold to Sears, Robuck.
Ret Bar built the kits for Schwinn. They made them in 20", 24" and 26" wheel sizes, Schwinn used their 24" wheel size kit.
I think I remember that they both (?) offered the option of the differential drive on their "purpose-built tri bikes". Sorry a little fuzzy on this. IMO the differential drive was kind of a gimmick. It's sounds good selling on the showroom floor, but it does not improve stability (tri bikes still fall over), and since it's an "open differential" it does not improve traction. It's sole advantage was the pedal to wheel speed differential was the same on both righthand and lefthand turns.
The shorter the wheelbase compared to the width of the rear wheels makes the bikes more stable to falling over. So the purpose-built framed bikes were a better ride.
John
All the Phoenix Metro dealers sold lots of Tri Bikes. It was a big item for the dealers. My memory thinks it started back into the early 60's, long before Schwinn jumped into the mix. It was hard for the dealers to sell the Schwinn T&C because of pricing. The kits were built in the Phoenix Metro area, shipped to Chicago, painted, fully assembled (less bars and seats), put into a huge refrigerator sized cardboard box, then the dealer had to pay for the shipping freight from Chicago back to the Phoenix area. The local Phoenix area dealers could drive out to the Gobby or Ret Bar factories and "will call" complete bikes for much less and sell them cheaper and also make a better profit. Win/Win.Any idea when Ret Bar was offering these conversions? Pat Patterson had three wheelers in his store years before Schwinn made them. Mesa was also a popular retirement community with hundreds of winter visitors.
The slip-on hubs with a roll type drive pin were made by Ret Bar. The made them in 28 or 36 hole. Schwinn's T&C were 24" wheels so they were 28 hole.
The tribikes were basically broken down into two groups. They were either purpose built with the drive integrated into the frame design. Or they were "conversion kits" where you took the rear wheel off of a "usually girls" frame bicycle, added the kit, and an extra front wheel to build a tribike.
The two big players in the industry were Allen Gobby, Gobby MFG. located behind the Cystal Ice House in Glendale, AZ. The other player was Ret Bar Mfg. located in El Mirage, AZ. I'm really not sure what the relationship was between the two companies because they were less than five miles apart. Maybe a partnership break-up? Both were close to Sun City, AZ which is a mega retirement area with lots of OLD people interested in active retirement, "or potential Tri Bike Customers". Ret Bar was the vendor to Schwinn, and Gobby was the vendor that sold to Sears, Robuck.
Ret Bar built the kits for Schwinn. They made them in 20", 24" and 26" wheel sizes, Schwinn used their 24" wheel size kit.
I think I remember that they both (?) offered the option of the differential drive on their "purpose-built tri bikes". Sorry a little fuzzy on this. IMO the differential drive was kind of a gimmick. It's sounds good selling on the showroom floor, but it does not improve stability (tri bikes still fall over), and since it's an "open differential" it does not improve traction. It's sole advantage was the pedal to wheel speed differential was the same on both righthand and lefthand turns.
The shorter the wheelbase compared to the width of the rear wheels makes the bikes more stable to falling over. So the purpose-built framed bikes were a better ride.
John
The slip-on hubs with a roll type drive pin were made by Ret Bar. The made them in 28 or 36 hole. Schwinn's T&C were 24" wheels so they were 28 hole.
The tribikes were basically broken down into two groups. They were either purpose built with the drive integrated into the frame design. Or they were "conversion kits" where you took the rear wheel off of a "usually girls" frame bicycle, added the kit, and an extra front wheel to build a tribike.
The two big players in the industry were Allen Gobby, Gobby MFG. located behind the Cystal Ice House in Glendale, AZ. The other player was Ret Bar Mfg. located in El Mirage, AZ. I'm really not sure what the relationship was between the two companies because they were less than five miles apart. Maybe a partnership break-up? Both were close to Sun City, AZ which is a mega retirement area with lots of OLD people interested in active retirement, "or potential Tri Bike Customers". Ret Bar was the vendor to Schwinn, and Gobby was the vendor that sold to Sears, Robuck.
Ret Bar built the kits for Schwinn. They made them in 20", 24" and 26" wheel sizes, Schwinn used their 24" wheel size kit.
I think I remember that they both (?) offered the option of the differential drive on their "purpose-built tri bikes". Sorry a little fuzzy on this. IMO the differential drive was kind of a gimmick. It's sounds good selling on the showroom floor, but it does not improve stability (tri bikes still fall over), and since it's an "open differential" it does not improve traction. It's sole advantage was the pedal to wheel speed differential was the same on both righthand and lefthand turns.
The shorter the wheelbase compared to the width of the rear wheels makes the bikes more stable to falling over. So the purpose-built framed bikes were a better ride.
John