the tinker
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Today I was at a bike show in Sycamore Ill. and met an older gentleman named Jack Gercken that lived near the show. We started talking and I asked him what he did and what jobs he held during his life.
He mentioned that before he went into the army, that in 1951 he worked at the Monark Plant.......I was all ears!
I said to him," Tell me a Monark story..... Well get a load of this....There was a Schwinn next to us that had the springer on it. He pointed to it and told me how , in 1951 , they mounted a full size Schwinn with the rear of the bike on a platform. The saddle was taken off the bike and large weights were affixed to the bike, in place of the saddle. The front wheel was mounted over an off-set roller that would spin and on every revolution would "bump" the springer up and down. He said the engineers at Monark stood by it and observed the spring action and copied it . The 1953 Monark springer is a copy of the original Schwinn version. For years I have heard that Schwinn went after the Monark Co. to stop making their springer, as they supposedly copied Schwinn's. This proves they did.
He mentioned that before he went into the army, that in 1951 he worked at the Monark Plant.......I was all ears!
I said to him," Tell me a Monark story..... Well get a load of this....There was a Schwinn next to us that had the springer on it. He pointed to it and told me how , in 1951 , they mounted a full size Schwinn with the rear of the bike on a platform. The saddle was taken off the bike and large weights were affixed to the bike, in place of the saddle. The front wheel was mounted over an off-set roller that would spin and on every revolution would "bump" the springer up and down. He said the engineers at Monark stood by it and observed the spring action and copied it . The 1953 Monark springer is a copy of the original Schwinn version. For years I have heard that Schwinn went after the Monark Co. to stop making their springer, as they supposedly copied Schwinn's. This proves they did.
