When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Hungarian Schwinn S2?

-

mrg

Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Just picked this up on a mixed bag 79 Spitfire, knurled S2 with a Bendix 86 and a odd seam/bump, I know Schwinn bought into a Hungarian factory in the min 80's and shipped some S2 tooling there and started making S2's but the factory burnt down soon after, years back I bought a girls Made in Hungary Schwinn just for 1 S2 with nice gum wall knobby, really don't remember the rim but think I would remember that rib/bump, any ideas @Xlobsterman, @GTs58, anybody?
1387246

1387247


1387248
 
I don't think I've come across one that looked like that. Is it marked S-2, looks aftermarket? I had a late 80's Cruiser 5 and the rims didn't look like that and they were not marked.

Here's some Hungarian S-2's that I should have bought years ago just for the fun of it.

1387257


1387258


1387260
 
Just picked this up on a mixed bag 79 Spitfire, knurled S2 with a Bendix 86 and a odd seam/bump, I know Schwinn bought into a Hungarian factory in the min 80's and shipped some S2 tooling there and started making S2's but the factory burnt down soon after, years back I bought a girls Made in Hungary Schwinn just for 1 S2 with nice gum wall knobby, really don't remember the rim but think I would remember that rib/bump, any ideas @Xlobsterman, @GTs58, anybody?View attachment 1387246
View attachment 1387247

View attachment 1387248

I believe the Hungarian S-2 rims were made late 80's and/or in the early 90's.

If the 86 bendix hub is OE to the wheel, then it is a later wheel set from the same era I mentioned for the rims.

Also, a 79 Spitfire would have had a 76 rear hub from the factory.
 
As said the 79 Spit was a mixed bag of parts so know the 86 was not og to that bike, front was a 81. I think the the Hungarian factory ( with the S2 tooling ) was already burnt down by late 80's early 90's and Schwinn had moved on to Giant for production. and as far as that rim being aftermarket the inside looks factory dbl wall S2 construction.
1387761

1387762


1387763
 
Last edited:
Interesting Mark. I noticed the holes along the walls on your rim are spaced about every 2-2 1/2"! The holes on those Hungarian rims look like 8" o.c. and my 1953 Phantom rear rim has just one hole on each side in line with the valve stem hole. So there are no markings at all on that rim?
That rim could have been one of the Hungarians first runs of the S-2's getting the tooling set up. That's all I can think of that would explain that. Schwinn's deal in Csepel started in late 1988 and the relationship lasted for 5 years until Scott took over Schwinn and decided not to renew any contracts.
 
I don't think I've come across one that looked like that. Is it marked S-2, looks aftermarket? I had a late 80's Cruiser 5 and the rims didn't look like that and they were not marked.

Here's some Hungarian S-2's that I should have bought years ago just for the fun of it.

View attachment 1387257

View attachment 1387258

View attachment 1387260
Topic, if stamped S2 then it's Schwinn some were just poorly made, the kurdling gear was getting clogged or not cleaned as frequently late 70's/ early 80. .

Error comment and Link edited out
;)
 
Last edited:
As said the 79 Spit was a mixed bag of parts so know the 86 was not og to that bike, front was a 81. I think the the Hungarian factory ( with the S2 tooling ) was already burnt down by late 80's early 90's and Schwinn had moved on to Giant for production. and as far as that rim being aftermarket the inside looks factory dbl wall S2 construction.View attachment 1387761
View attachment 1387762

View attachment 1387763

Schwinn went to the Giant factory in 85 for the Cruiser bikes, then a few years in Hungary late 80's and early 90's, then back to Taiwan after that.
 
Topic, if stamped S2 then it's Schwinn some were just poorly made, the kurdling gear was getting clogged or not cleaned as frequently late 70's/ early 80. .

And as far as Hungary goes, That's not true, B/C, that's were the 1995/6 Black Phantom rims came from. And as clean and sharp that Hungarian set is, might be extra stock from BP's run. Surprise, surprise, surprise.
Read this article: https://www.recordnet.com/article/19960128/A_NEWS/301289968

;)
The article you linked doesn't mention the Hungarian factory, and that's the first I've heard of the Scott Group having any dealings with the Hungarian factory after 1990, when they first bought Schwinn. But if they still had the tooling for the rims, it would make sense. Have you got a link for that?
 
Back
Top