Brief video tour of the Chicago factory

[Schwinn Sales West]

I guess your definition of batch is completely different than mine. Every morning I would ride to Dunkin Donuts for a cup of coffee and a donut before I headed out on my paper route. Sometimes they didn't have my favorite and the lady said we're making up a batch right now. Those hot jelly filled are heaven!

Here's the King Size HD registry. The Corvette 5 speeds were not built in every month. There is even a 2 month gap where none were built.

View attachment 1890458

See there you go again, LOL.

You have already convinced everyone that the serial numbers were stamped into the head tubes "before the frames were welded together". So, the stamped serial number date has little meaning to exactly what day the bike went down the assembly line. The King Sized frames were a VERY SMALL production model. We might have sold two or three ever in our (500-1000 Club) dealership during the time period they were offered. It only makes sense that since they were a "hand built, hand brazed" frame, that Schwinn would have built up some King Size frames and used the built frames as they got orders for this special model. We both know there's absolutely no difference between a standard KS and a Heavy Duty KS except the parts hung on it during the assembly process. Schwinn pre-built lots of parts for each day's assembly line orders. All of the parts were staged for each days assembly line orders. It was planned out weeks in advance. You will find that communication published to dealers in the Schwinn Reporters that at one time was a monthly dealer newspaper.

It would make no sense for Schwinn to have someone get out the KS frame fixture and hand assemble, then hand braze the five King Sized bike frames that would be required for today's assembly line orders. The parts had to be staged and ready for the assemble line to grab as the dealer's order came down the line. It was the only way that your King Sized bike would have made it into the dealer's rail car waiting at the shipping dock. After the boxcar door closed, it was too late. Your registry confirms exactly what I just said.

I repeat, Schwinn Chicago assembled the bikes on the assembly line to fill the orders as they went down the assembly line.

They did not assemble bikes "in batches" to be placed into a holding area (warehouse) to fill dealer orders.

They had simply too many different "dealer order options" available for the dealer to order to do it any other way.

You can likely find exceptions, in small quantity models like Giraffe (chain drive) unicycles, tandem frames, Cycle Truck frames, maybe even Exerciser's that were so different they ran batches. But the vast majority of the one million Schwinn's built each year were custom assembled on that assembly line to fill the dealers, or the distribution centers order.

At least Leon makes a good argument for his cases, you need to do better.

John

 

[Xlobsterman]

See there you go again, LOL.

You have already convinced everyone that the serial numbers were stamped into the head tubes "before the frames were welded together". So, the stamped serial number date has little meaning to exactly what day the bike went down the assembly line. The King Sized frames were a VERY SMALL production model. We might have sold two or three ever in our (500-1000 Club) dealership during the time period they were offered. It only makes sense that since they were a "hand built, hand brazed" frame, that Schwinn would have built up some King Size frames and used the built frames as they got orders for this special model. We both know there's absolutely no difference between a standard KS and a Heavy Duty KS except the parts hung on it during the assembly process. Schwinn pre-built lots of parts for each day's assembly line orders. All of the parts were staged for each days assembly line orders. It was planned out weeks in advance. You will find that communication published to dealers in the Schwinn Reporters that at one time was a monthly dealer newspaper.

It would make no sense for Schwinn to have someone get out the KS frame fixture and hand assemble, then hand braze the five King Sized bike frames that would be required for today's assembly line orders. The parts had to be staged and ready for the assemble line to grab as the dealer's order came down the line. It was the only way that your King Sized bike would have made it into the dealer's rail car waiting at the shipping dock. After the boxcar door closed, it was too late. Your registry confirms exactly what I just said.

I repeat, Schwinn Chicago assembled the bikes on the assembly line to fill the orders as they went down the assembly line.

They did not assemble bikes "in batches" to be placed into a holding area (warehouse) to fill dealer orders.

They had simply too many different "dealer order options" available for the dealer to order to do it any other way.

You can likely find exceptions, in small quantity models like Giraffe (chain drive) unicycles, tandem frames, Cycle Truck frames, maybe even Exerciser's that were so different they ran batches. But the vast majority of the one million Schwinn's built each year were custom assembled on that assembly line to fill the dealers, or the distribution centers order.

At least Leon makes a good argument for his cases, you need to do better.

John

You beat me to it John.

 

[GTs58]

See there you go again, LOL.

You have already convinced everyone that the serial numbers were stamped into the head tubes "before the frames were welded together". So, the stamped serial number date has little meaning to exactly what day the bike went down the assembly line. The King Sized frames were a VERY SMALL production model. We might have sold two or three ever in our (500-1000 Club) dealership during the time period they were offered. It only makes sense that since they were a "hand built, hand brazed" frame, that Schwinn would have built up some King Size frames and used the built frames as they got orders for this special model. We both know there's absolutely no difference between a standard KS and a Heavy Duty KS except the parts hung on it during the assembly process. Schwinn pre-built lots of parts for each day's assembly line orders. All of the parts were staged for each days assembly line orders. It was planned out weeks in advance. You will find that communication published to dealers in the Schwinn Reporters that at one time was a monthly dealer newspaper.

It would make no sense for Schwinn to have someone get out the KS frame fixture and hand assemble, then hand braze the five King Sized bike frames that would be required for today's assembly line orders. The parts had to be staged and ready for the assemble line to grab as the dealer's order came down the line. It was the only way that your King Sized bike would have made it into the dealer's rail car waiting at the shipping dock. After the boxcar door closed, it was too late. Your registry confirms exactly what I just said.

I repeat, Schwinn Chicago assembled the bikes on the assembly line to fill the orders as they went down the assembly line.

They did not assemble bikes "in batches" to be placed into a holding area (warehouse) to fill dealer orders.

They had simply too many different "dealer order options" available for the dealer to order to do it any other way.

You can likely find exceptions, in small quantity models like Giraffe (chain drive) unicycles, tandem frames, Cycle Truck frames, maybe even Exerciser's that were so different they ran batches. But the vast majority of the one million Schwinn's built each year were custom assembled on that assembly line to fill the dealers, or the distribution centers order.

At least Leon makes a good argument for his cases, you need to do better.

John

I don't know why you don't like the word batch. If Schwinn produced and boxed 300 Varsitys in one day to fill the required amount for that day's order, that would be considered a batch. It's that simple. No need to muddy up the process with office paperwork procedure and the production of all the parts to build that day's final assembly. Or things that you assume I said or meant. And I never said that Schwinn just made batches of bikes for storage, future sales or inventory.

Again, it's this simple.
batches (plural noun)
1. a quantity or consignment of goods produced at one time:

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

Schwinn would have built up some King Size frames and used the built frames as they got orders

That sounds like a batch to me

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

lso whenwould the head tube serials be stamped"hand built, hand brazed"

Are you 100% sure about the hand built? The hand brazed I get ,weren't all the bikes they made hand brazed? I'm not busting chops ,I really want to know this information, what is meant by hand built? Also when would the head tubes have been stamped? Were the drop outs pre stamped with the serial before frame assembly?

 

[Siestabikes]

The factory tour video comes from this BMX clip I just watched on Youtube

 

[Oilit]

So it sounds like Schwinn made up batches of parts (including frames) but built complete bikes to meet orders as they came in, everything going down the same assembly line. Have I got this right? Considering how many different models they made, keeping all this organized must have kept somebody really busy.

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

So it sounds like Schwinn made up batches of parts (including frames) but built complete bikes to meet orders as they came in, everything going down the same assembly line. Have I got this right? Considering how many different models they made, keeping all this organized must have kept somebody really busy.

All before computers, very daunting task but they were getting it done.

 

[Xlobsterman]

John, I enjoy most of your articles/comments, but sometimes you come across as one condescending sob....

I don't see it that way! I see him simply pointing out the guys hypocrisy when it comes to dating the bikes with the serial numbers! Also, and from MY experience, there is nobody more condescending than Gary Treptow on these forums!

IMO, it must be pretty frustrating for him to see all these self proclaimed "Schwinn Experts" in these forums preaching their versions of the facts that they believe to be true, when it is not!

 

[AS-1]

The difference is that John actually knows what happened. The Know-it-all wannabee experts (hereinafter KIAWE) speculate based on information they found on the internet. I wonder how many of the KIAWE worked for Schwinn...or were regional managers for Schwinn...or went to the plant...or owned a Schwinn franchise...or attended Schwinn conferences....or actually had to make realtime decisions on complex day-to-day operations? I'll believe John before I'll believe some Google-Schwinn Expert...every time.