Let’s see some late 70’s/early 80’s Cruisers and Spitfires

[RidinRelics]

77 Spitfire I wish I’d kept

 

[birdzgarage]

picked up my silver mist schwinn accessory frame yesterday.big thank you to those involved.now I have silver,green and white.just need a yellow one

 

[larock65]

Looks great! We’ll find you a golden yellow!

 

[rollfaster]

View attachment 2106354

That’s a cream puff!! What mine looked like before it went to Ohio in 2011, only for it to return with some very rusty rims!

 

[rollfaster]

My MR 80 Cruiser is back home and needs a löt of attention. My question is, what were the original seats and grips used on these?

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

My MR 80 Cruiser is back home and needs a löt of attention. My question is, what were the original seats and grips used on these?

View attachment 2286988

look at the seat in post #1760 and I believe it should have a set of cushion grips. The seats are hard to come by and they are under enginered and the frames bend easily under normal use. I may be wrong but I believe that is what you are looking for. If you are going to ride it I would skip the correct seat or at least find one and put it on a shelf for later.

 

[WillWork4Parts]

look at the seat in post #1760 and I believe it should have a set of cushion grips. The seats are hard to come by and they are under enginered and the frames bend easily under normal use. I may be wrong but I believe that is what you are looking for. If you are going to ride it I would skip the correct seat or at least find one and put it on a shelf for later.

I think only the Deluxe bikes with the springer got the Persons seat(and the 20" model). The rest of the models ran the rubber cover Mesinger seat....Listed here on ebay also found on the Exercise bikes. This is going by the examples I've had in the past and is one of the cases where I think even the Schwinn catalog pictures and specs are off.

This gives me a chance to dig into my new Specs Catalog.

The 1980 specs call out color match grips and Persons seats on coaster and Deluxe models. That's not the grips I remember on the bikes I've had, but neither version should decrease the value of the bike. I remember having 80 model cruisers with the black cushion grips, but I don't currently have a 1980 model to confirm. The different part number seats must indicate the difference between brown and black.

I don't think your bike is a 1980 model though!!! Schwinn stamped god knows how many MR serial numbers on headtube material during the 1980 strike and used them until they were depleted. That makes me think about how few S(81) year stamps I've seen.... The actual build date is a 4 digit code on the Schwinn badge, next to the letter I. What tips me off to the bike being later production is the fork pin striping(actually a silk screened pattern). As I understand it, that ornate fork pinstripe was introduced in 1981...where the 1980 catalog barely shows the classic dart pinstripe, it's too dithered to show up in the picture I took of my catalog. The 81 catalog clearly shows the ornate pinstripe on the forks and I've had many of these 81 models recently with the black rubber Mesinger seats, black cushion grips, and ornate fork pinstripe.

I don't have an 81 Specs Catalog, but I do have an 82 Parts Catalog that shows the seat I'm talking about, #7. For whatever reason, this isn't called out as the Cruiser seat in the description. The Persons seat isn't here in the seat section and isn't even in the Accessories section in 82.

The 79 specs catalog does call out the CC7-6(Spitfire, soon to become the Cruiser) model as having the same 7003BK seat, the same as on the Exerciser model that year too.

I would definitely take a look at your headbadge and confirm the year... hopefully the previous owners didn't change that out. The Mesinger seat is a lot cheaper, more comfortable, and more abundant than the Persons seat.

 

[koolbikes]

The bicycle in question is more than likely a 1981, Fork surfboard pinstriping was for 1981 & 1982 and it has the 1981 / '82 upgraded angle reflectors too.
1980 was the "only" year for the Persons seat on all 26" Schwinn Cruiser models, you may find some on early built 1981 models.
1981 & 1982 ... Mesinger Seat & Cushion Grips.

 

[rollfaster]

I think only the Deluxe bikes with the springer got the Persons seat(and the 20" model). The rest of the models ran the rubber cover Mesinger seat....Listed here on ebay also found on the Exercise bikes. This is going by the examples I've had in the past and is one of the cases where I think even the Schwinn catalog pictures and specs are off.

View attachment 2287084
This gives me a chance to dig into my new Specs Catalog.
View attachment 2287085
The 1980 specs call out color match grips and Persons seats on coaster and Deluxe models. That's not the grips I remember on the bikes I've had, but neither version should decrease the value of the bike. I remember having 80 model cruisers with the black cushion grips, but I don't currently have a 1980 model to confirm. The different part number seats must indicate the difference between brown and black.
View attachment 2287086


I don't think your bike is a 1980 model though!!! Schwinn stamped god knows how many MR serial numbers on headtube material during the 1980 strike and used them until they were depleted. That makes me think about how few S(81) year stamps I've seen.... The actual build date is a 4 digit code on the Schwinn badge, next to the letter I. What tips me off to the bike being later production is the fork pin striping(actually a silk screened pattern). As I understand it, that ornate fork pinstripe was introduced in 1981...where the 1980 catalog barely shows the classic dart pinstripe, it's too dithered to show up in the picture I took of my catalog. The 81 catalog clearly shows the ornate pinstripe on the forks and I've had many of these 81 models recently with the black rubber Mesinger seats, black cushion grips, and ornate fork pinstripe.

View attachment 2287092I don't have an 81 Specs Catalog, but I do have an 82 Parts Catalog that shows the seat I'm talking about, #7. For whatever reason, this isn't called out as the Cruiser seat in the description. The Persons seat isn't here in the seat section and isn't even in the Accessories section in 82.

View attachment 2287091
The 79 specs catalog does call out the CC7-6(Spitfire, soon to become the Cruiser) model as having the same 7003BK seat, the same as on the Exerciser model that year too.

I would definitely take a look at your headbadge and confirm the year... hopefully the previous owners didn't change that out. The Mesinger seat is a lot cheaper, more comfortable, and more abundant than the Persons seat.

Excellent info!!

 

[rollfaster]

The bicycle in question is more than likely a 1981, Fork surfboard pinstriping was for 1981 & 1982 and it has the 1981 / '82 upgraded angle reflectors too.
1980 was the "only" year for the Persons seat on all 26" Schwinn Cruiser models, you may find some on early built 1981 models.
1981 & 1982 ... Mesinger Seat & Cushion Grips.

Awesome thanks!