Lets make a thread of what's NOT collectable

[37fleetwood]

If its like collecting rocks why do they hold there value so well and high price and people still buy them. Are the people that talk smack the same people that can't afford them... Hhhmmm and have to build bikes out of another bike and make it so far from original

interesting point, if only it were true...

here is one of my "poor mans" Huffys, match it with one of your Schwinns and we'll talk about whether I can't afford a Schwinn...

...and I don't know why people collect rocks, perhaps they are for their rock garden, or perhaps they simply have no imagination, and just want things because they see other people want them too.

 

[MrColumbia]

Collecting is either in ones blood or it isn't. There are plenty of wealthy people who don't collect anything. There are also those amongst us that will collect anything not nailed down and maybe even the nails as well. I was at Brimfield two weeks ago and saw someone's ball point pen collection. It was extensive but it is doubtful any one pen cost the collector very much. It was apparently his passion though.

This thread the way I take it is an opinion poll on what bikes may never get collected by the majority of collectors. It's not necessarily about if they are worth a lot monetarily or ever will be. A poorly made bike that has little esthetic attributes may never be sought after by most collectors but someone out there may just fall in love with them and corner the market.

Personally I like collecting things with the letter "Q" because I'm still angry at numbers.

 

[partsguy]

What year?... Schwinn approved is a different animal.. just depends on the year of the bike... Ebb n flow with the market.. If its cheaper to out source then that's what companies do..ie Verizon ect... Dont forget, They made their own cranks grips tires crank hangers ,bearing races and cages, bolts screws some handle bars.. Ect.. The fact is, many bikes shared many parts from many different manufacturers just as you have stated.. But if it said Schwinn in script or AS and not Schwinn approved, guess where it was made.. Im unaware when Schwinn approved started showing up. But just like Chevrolet and Harley Davidson, if it can be made cheaper in China, then guess what...okok back to crap bikes... Ummm lets see 80s Murray

Schwinn cornered the market on tires, Schwinn tires only fit Schwinn rims and vise-versa. It was a smart and profitable thing, but it doesn't make it better. I like going to the local hardware store or LBS and being able to buy tires without paying a small fortune for a regular wear and tear item. As far as my vintage era of Schwinns, mine ranged from the late 60s - late 70s. I had the opportunity to buy what looked likea mid 60s Schwinn Jaguar or Speedster or something but the guy was a pack rat who had it hanging in his garage for 25 years and always thought he would "fix it up someday". I'll spare the details of that upset and waste of time and gas. But if his wife was like the other older ladies I've run into, she would have sold that bike no questions asked!

 

[babyjesus]

me no have colson... Me have Schwinnnnnssss

I may have got you confused with fatbike - but I am not certain - however I'll take your word for it

 

[SJ_BIKER]

....

and there were so many made collecting them is like going out in the yard and collecting rocks. saying Schwinn collection is like saying rock garden, people do it I suppose...

So is it safe to say your not a Schwinn guy...

 

[37fleetwood]

So is it safe to say your not a Schwinn guy...

It's not the Schwinn so much as the attitude of so many of the Schwinn guys out there who are not shy in saying that if it isn't a Schwinn it isn't worth having. Schwinns are fine, I've owned several. You can always spot them, they start out by saying that somehow you're jealous because you can't afford a Schwinn, where they are a better class of person because they have been blessed with both the affluence and the wisdom to have a Schwinn. obviously to them any other bike of any other brand is crap and not worth anything.

and this is a thread designed to pit one person against another. a kinda, what I collect is great what you collect is crap, thread.
...or did I miss something?

 

[babyjesus]

It's not the Schwinn so much as the attitude of so many of the Schwinn guys out there who are not shy in saying that if it isn't a Schwinn it isn't worth having. Schwinns are fine, I've owned several. You can always spot them, they start out by saying that somehow you're jealous because you can't afford a Schwinn, where they are a better class of person because they have been blessed with both the affluence and the wisdom to have a Schwinn. obviously to them any other bike of any other brand is crap and not worth anything.

and this is a thread designed to pit one person against another. a kinda, what I collect is great what you collect is crap, thread.
...or did I miss something?

I used to be an everything but Schwinn guy although now I am experimenting with Schwinns. They are all the same, thats my only problem with them. After about 1940 you just need one of each style and your done unless you want to collect by colour. That can only mean there was a lack of creativity in order to make money. Otherwise they would have made more changes and tried new things but thats not the best way to make money. Using the same everything over and over is much better if you want to dominate the market.

 

[partsguy]

I used to be an everything but Schwinn guy although now I am experimenting with Schwinns. They are all the same, thats my only problem with them. After about 1940 you just need one of each style and your done unless you want to collect by colour. That can only mean there was a lack of creativity in order to make money. Otherwise they would have made more changes and tried new things but thats not the best way to make money. Using the same everything over and over is much better if you want to dominate the market.

THIS IS SCHWINN'S BIGGEST PROBLEM!


That is also the reason why they bankrupt BEFORE Murray or Roadmaster did in the 90s and BEFORE Huffman in 2006. They tried building BMX and mountain bikes with 1940s technology, while other companies tried to find ways to make their bikes lighter (though Huffy, Murray, and others were still quite heavy and most not suited for competition). Other companies frequently changed their frames in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. Yet Schwinn didn't change a damn thing until the Scrambler was built! Schwinn was the General Motors of bicycles, producing heavy bikes nobody wanted and then they finally changed! But by then it was too little too late.

 

[babyjesus]

THIS IS SCHWINN'S BIGGEST PROBLEM!


That is also the reason why they bankrupt BEFORE Murray or Roadmaster did in the 90s and BEFORE Huffman in 2006. They tried building BMX and mountain bikes with 1940s technology, while other companies tried to find ways to make their bikes lighter (though Huffy, Murray, and others were still quite heavy and most not suited for competition). Other companies frequently changed their frames in the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. Yet Schwinn didn't change a damn thing until the Scrambler was built! Schwinn was the General Motors of bicycles, producing heavy bikes nobody wanted and then they finally changed! But by then it was too little too late.

Interesting. You are talking about bikes a little later than I have gotten into. I just picked up a nice looking Schwinn here on cabe - a straight bar tank just post war, and I have a phantom - they are pretty but common as dirt, and I am looking for a DX since they have a curve bar tank, and then I will apparently have every single frame style already. Oh and I have a Krate. Once you have one of each you have them all in some sense. I personally believe they were trying to make a one size fits all line of bikes to sell to the masses and I guess they succeeded. But the greatest thing about these old bikes is the creativity and unending innovation and constant change and variety of designs. It's exciting and represents an era before corporate greed which Schwinn introduced in the summer of 1945. Schwinn was creative and extreme like all the others before the war. They were just as great as the best of them in their own way but after that they were just the best business bicycle corporation I guess, making money out of the same parts painted different colours.

....and then came what you are talking about - I actually didn't know they had failed per se. I'll have to look up what a Scrambler is so I know what you are talking about

 

[Nickinator]

It's not the Schwinn so much as the attitude of so many of the Schwinn guys out there...

Yep, I have run across this attitude too, but with Schwinns I like the fact I can interchange parts easily, I like how Schwinn used good hardware and designs (and the quality of the hardware is evident when you're taking one apart many decades later), and the quality of the paint is superior to many other manufacturers, it can stand up to rubbing compound and chemicals to remove rust, paint etc. some 80 years later, probably why you see so many still around.
Darcie