Early Tiger.

[GTs58]

Just like automobile manufacturers, production for a given bike for a given year is started during the last months of the preceding year. So the production of 1955 bikes was started back in 1954. If you look through all of the Schwinn brochures, you'll see that Schwinn DID NOT manufacture a middleweight for the 1954 year; the first year for middleweight models was 1955. Your bike is more than likely an early 1955 built in 1954.

See my post, # 29 page 2. The Tiger and the Corvette were on a few dealers floors and they were being sold at least by June 1954. Like the first Mustangs, they're 54 1/2 models. lol

 

[Rivnut]

See my post, # 29 page 2. The Tiger and the Corvette were on a few dealers floors and they were being sold at least by June 1954. Like the first Mustangs, they're 54 1/2 models. lol

I'll buy that (unless it was just corporate hype ) but as of this posting of Fair Trade Prices, there were no middleweights listed as of the date of publication.

{Fatbike: Did you ever get the bike "in front.....' and take a look at the serial number?}

 

[fatbike]

Finished Tiger. Rides well. Came together faster then I expected. Got to love the 2 spd manual hubs. Fork is straighten, found a front brake caliper so that will be installed next along with beer getter basket.

 

[GTs58]

Finished Tiger. Rides well. Came together faster then I expected. Got to love the 2 spd manual hubs. Fork is straighten, found a front brake caliper so that will be installed next along with beer getter basket.

View attachment 1206475

View attachment 1206476

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With gears now a good beer getter basket is off a Cycle Truck and then bolted on a 9 hole rear carrier. The front caliper will be needed when the basket is loaded so don't forget to install that.

 

[fatbike]

Just like automobile manufacturers, production for a given bike for a given year is started during the last months of the preceding year. So the production of 1955 bikes was started back in 1954. If you look through all of the Schwinn brochures, you'll see that Schwinn DID NOT manufacture a middleweight for the 1954 year; the first year for middleweight models was 1955. Your bike is more than likely an early 1955 built in 1954.

Agree. Probably so.

 

[schwinnlax]

So what years in production was the Tiger model produce? 54-62 ?

The Tiger was cataloged through '64. Here's my '63. It gained chrome fenders that year.

I've since added a new Troxel beehive seat, a '60s rear rack, and Kenda whitewall tires. It's now my "around town" cruiser.

 

[Oilit]

Just for the record, here's one that was on Ebay. It needed work, but the serial dates to December 1953 and the hub is dated April 1954. The seat's later, and I'm not sure about that fork, but it looked mostly right. I thought about buying it just because it was so early, but the price seemed a little high. I was waiting to see if they would come down, but somebody else got tired of waiting before I did.

 

[SilverBullet08]

My early Tiger

 

[Roger Henning]

It would be hard to have a sales date of 1953 when the the rear hub was made the 4th month of 1954 and still had to be shipped to Schwinn for use from England. People always try to make things older than they are. By the time it got here and was used it has to be a 1954 or even later bike. Roger

 

[Oilit]

It would be hard to have a sales date of 1953 when the the rear hub was made the 4th month of 1954 and still had to be shipped to Schwinn for use from England. People always try to make things older than they are. By the time it got here and was used it has to be a 1954 or even later bike. Roger

You're right, on the '50's Schwinns I've seen the hub is usually dated a couple months later than the frame. I just thought this one was interesting because it's the earliest serial number I've seen on a middleweight. I believe one of the Schwinn Reporters @GTs58 posted said that the Tiger was the first middleweight model, with the Corvette and American close behind. And the dates on this bike support a mid-1954 introduction.