56 Traveller Violet

[rollfaster]

Thank you, Sir! That's the best write-up of the differences between model years I've seen for the lightweights! And good pictures, too!
So I guess my gold Traveler is a 1955, after all!

Let’s see it, super rare color!!

 

[rennfaron]

For @Oilit

Off Center Head Badge | Lightweight Schwinn Bicycles

I picked up this 1955 Traveler needing work. There was no headlight or head badge and the guts of the Sturmey-Archer Dynohub were gone. The front wheel bearings were loose but in good shape so I got them re-adjusted and got a head badge off EBay. The new head badge screwed on with no problems...

thecabe.com

 

[SirMike1983]

That's a really nice guide. The gold and the violet are uncommon colors, but once in a great while you see one. The black seems to have been the most common, at least based on what I have seen. Less common than black but more than violet, I have seen red, blue, and green. The blues and greens are especially attractive. I had an Opal Green Traveler awhile back - really attractive bike. It was a "medium" (21 inch) size frame. I sold it to make space for Raleigh export-spec rod brake roadster I had been after for a long time.

Someone raised the issue of Schwinn brakes (either here or on a linked thread above, don't remember which). The earlier brakes are the steel "Schwinn Built" type, and the later ones are the aluminum "Schwinn Approved" import type. But in between those two types, for a brief period, was a transitional set of smooth, unlabeled steel calipers.

 

[Oilit]

That's a really nice guide. The gold and the violet are uncommon colors, but once in a great while you see one. The black seems to have been the most common, at least based on what I have seen. Less common than black but more than violet, I have seen red, blue, and green. The blues and greens are especially attractive. I had an Opal Green Traveler awhile back - really attractive bike. It was a "medium" (21 inch) size frame. I sold it to make space for Raleigh export-spec rod brake roadster I had been after for a long time.

View attachment 1247021

Someone raised the issue of Schwinn brakes (either here or on a linked thread above, don't remember which). The earlier brakes are the steel "Schwinn Built" type, and the later ones are the aluminum "Schwinn Approved" import type. But in between those two types, for a brief period, was a transitional set of smooth, unlabeled steel calipers.

@SirMike1983, Thanks! In the linked thread I asked when Schwinn started using the Weinmann calipers. So this picture posted by @Dan Shabel shows the transitional type, correct?

 

[rennfaron]

Here are some thoughts on that (I only reference lightweights). @GTs58 probably has some more input on this.

 

[GTs58]

I don't believe I've seen a caliper like the one on Dan's bike. That one almost looks like a polished alloy piece and shows components that are somewhat unique to the Weinmann calipers. Here is the one shown by Schwinn on the 39 models and I think shortly after that it was the Schwinn built caliper until Wienmann became the main supplier for the brakes.

 

[Oilit]

Here are some thoughts on that (I only reference lightweights). @GTs58 probably has some more input on this.

View attachment 1247067

When Dan first posted that picture I thought it was an unmarked Schwinn caliper, but looking at your picture just below it, they're similar but not the same. Both his and the Schwinn-built remind me of the calipers on English bikes. There's some Phillips calipers on Ebay that are very close to Dan's:

Vintage Phillips Raleigh Brake Calipers and Levers | eBay

Good Condition. See Photos.

rover.ebay.com

 

[fordmike65]

@Schwinn499

 

[SirMike1983]

Kind of hard to tell from the picture. It's a little easier when they're in-hand. I'll have to look through my old pictures for some of the transitional type. I lost a lot of my old stuff when my previous computer bit the dust back in November. They look and set up a lot like the "Schwinn Built" earlier ones, but they're smoother and have a little different contour. They're not shaped like the later import ones. They seem to have been only very briefly used. I wonder if there was some delay in acquiring the imported "Schwinn Approved" types and they had to fit a "stop gap" solution for a short period.

I agree with the point about similarity to English parts. My sense is that Schwinn based number of parts and designs on English bikes, particularly those produced in Brimingham in the 1930s. The Schwinn frame geometry seems to draw from the Phillips and Hercules designs of that time. GT pointed out a peculiar, early sidepull brake above, and there's a fair bit of similarity to the double-ended Philco/Philite/Phillips sidepulls. The "Schwinn Built" type also seem to have a basis in the English sidepulls of that era. There are also several Birmingham brake handle designs quite similar to the Schwinn type with their solid housing blocks.

That's not to say they just copied stuff, but it is to say they seem to have closely examined English (Birmingham Phillips and Hercules) designs of the immediate pre-war period, and then used that as a springboard for their own products. This makes sense because prior to WWII, Hercules was one of the largest import bike brands in the US. Phillips also was imported. After WWII, Raleigh products became more prevalent.

 

[s1b]

When I finally get mine to my house I will take detailed pictures.
It’s taking forever because i have a friend who is trying to do me a favor and save me money on shipping. He wants to personally fly it down here.
Unfortunately our schedules never line up for when he comes into town.