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Early Schwinn S-6 Rims

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These wheels had the guts removed from the hubs and then went in the OA bath after the rest of the bike. The rebuilt hubs spin great but I will respoke when it comes time to use them.
Those will make a nice set of the early rims. Thanks for posting!
 
The biggest worry I have with these rims is the future availability of tires. I don't see old stock tires as a long-term solution, especially if you have more than one of these bikes and you ride a lot. For new tires we have just the Kendas, and those now are limited due to COVID (the white walls were always somewhat limited, the black and the gum a little more available). If Kenda discontinues the tires and we're down to only old stock finds, then conversion to something like a 590mm Sun CR-18 starts to become appealing. English Westricks or Endricks might also be an option. But the tires in this Schwinn size are what worry me going forward. I think there will be a stock of rims (whether Stainless or Chrome S-6) for awhile yet, but we're relying on a single manufacturer for new tires.
 
I checked a few of the LBSs and bought up as many tires as were available, which was three. One of those went on a friends '71 Collegiate and I had a hard time getting that one to seat well. It is unfortunate that the Kendas are the only option as it seems most of them aren't quite round but where would we be without em. Suddenly they'd be looking pretty good.
 
@SirMike1983, your comment about the similarity between Lobdell rims and the Schwinn Superior rims got me thinking. I posted a 1942 CWC-built "Fleet Wing" victory bike a while back, but I never saw any marking on the rims. This morning I got out my reading glasses and did some gentle cleaning and the CWC's rims are marked (it's faint, but it's there), and they are very similar to the Superiors. For comparison:

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@SirMike1983, your comment about the similarity between Lobdell rims and the Schwinn Superior rims got me thinking. I posted a 1942 CWC-built "Fleet Wing" victory bike a while back, but I never saw any marking on the rims. This morning I got out my reading glasses and did some gentle cleaning and the CWC's rims are marked (it's faint, but it's there), and they are very similar to the Superiors. For comparison:

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Did Schwinn actually make any of their rims prior to post war times? Or were they all outsourced and just had the markings changed (Superior) specifically for them?
 
The two pre-war type rims are very similar, though I can't say as I have definitive proof they actually are the same. It's a basic enough design to stamp out that it is possible for several makers to produce very similar rims. But you're right that if you have one in each hand, it's a similar rim. It would be interesting if someone could prove Lobdell made the pre-war Schwinn endrick rims and they just had different markings.
 
I finally got around to pulling the front wheel (off of a women's Continental), and the stainless rims are indeed tubular. Why Schwinn didn't stamp "Tubular" on them is beyond me. I was going to snap some pictures and put the tire back on the rim, but the rim band has turned into something like old tar and glued itself on in a couple of spots. Anybody got any bright ideas for getting it off?
Also, the stainless wheel seems to be pretty light but I didn't have a chrome S-6 handy to compare. Has anyone ever checked the weight of a chrome rim against a stainless one? I'm wondering what gauge sheet metal was used for the stainless.
About all I know about the Continental is it's a late '40's single speed, and I put a damaged S-5 front wheel on until I finish cleaning the original. My supervisor seemed to be o.k. with that.

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I don't think the new S-2's had tubular stamped on them either. Try rubbing alcohol on the rim tape. I have it in a spray bottle at work and use it to clean off old gasket material among other things.
 
I don't think the new S-2's had tubular stamped on them either. Try rubbing alcohol on the rim tape. I have it in a spray bottle at work and use it to clean off old gasket material among other things.
If it works on gasket material it should loosen this stuff. Thanks!
 
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