M.Y. 1983 or 1984 poor visual w no SN- is this a late Chicago built Schwinn?

[GTs58]

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Rusty, check out my all original 84. Big brake bridge and no fender tabs on the fork. Im thinking 1985 was the very first year of china made with the introduction of the fender tabs and small flat brake bridge..

No electro forging on the BB?

 

[hm.]

No electro forging on the BB?

Nope, on this 84 the bottom bracket is smooth like some of the 83 Schmurrys Ive owned. Looking at my Cruisers now and the rest of the 84 frame looks about the same as 80-82. At least to me though. Badge number on this one is 0184.

I believe 85 is when they totally changed to no electro forging. I see them for sale but have never bought one so I dont have any of those to compare to.

 

[SoBayRon]

This one has a BN of 2704. Has the fender tabs on the forks, chain guard mount on seat stay and flat BB. Was likely sold as an 85.

 

[Rusty Klunker]

Nope, on this 84 the bottom bracket is smooth like some of the 83 Schmurrys Ive owned. Looking at my Cruisers now and the rest of the 84 frame looks about the same as 80-82. At least to me though. Badge number on this one is 0184.

I believe 85 is when they totally changed to no electro forging. I see them for sale but have never bought one so I dont have any of those to compare to.

I did say 84ish. Yours being built on the 18th day of 84 frame surely built in 83 is right at the changeover.

My 83 is a JT frame with a HB 0663, has the chain stay and BB welds and the Chicago sticker. The 86 and 87 are smooth welds and the fender brace is a round tube with no arch, welded between the seat stays. These 2 have a different Chicago sticker that includes "made in Taiwan for the Schwinn bicycle company". The 89 I had said made in china.

Sound like there was a lot going on then. Made in Chicago, the schmurrys, made in Taiwan then china. And somewhere in the mix were the Hungarian made bikes.

 

[hm.]

My black and gold 82 out in the riverbed with @mrg and his killer frosty 80!

 

[Xlobsterman]

Hi all,

I thought there was a thread already about the last of the Chicago Schwinns but I could not find it. My apologies for creating a new thread on the topic.

So, I was recently going through some old photos on a USB and came across this bike I bought and sold in 2013. I do not recall the exact SN but when I looked it up it was either a very late 83 or early 84 - slightly before whenever the Chicago plant was said to have closed - I remember that 100%. Can anyone peg this as a Chicago Schwinn by the pics? It appears there had been paintwork and those decals were atrocious but thoughts? I also cannot tell if the rims are stamped S2 or knurled.

Any help would be appreciated to know if I had one of the last Chicago cantilevers.

The bike was pretty cool and rode great but nothing phenomenal. At the time I was living in an upstairs apartment with minimal room so if I didn't LOVE it, I sold it. I bought it as I was passing through to visit family in central Illinois for Thanksgiving 2013. The thing about that trip was the weather. Have any of you been in tornado weather? I mean the distinct feeling before one hits? I have been twice and this was one of those times. I left IL a day earlier than I was going to and sure enough, the next day was the famous Washington, IL tornado which stuck just 30 miles from where I bought this bike. I just KNEW it...

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IMO, that is either a late 82, or a very early 83 model since it has a bendix rear hub, 105ga spokes, and factory tube fork. The mid 83 bikes had .080ga spokes, and different F&R hubs.

 

[Oilit]

IMO, that is either a late 82, or a very early 83 model since it has a bendix rear hub, 105ga spokes, and factory tube fork. The mid 83 bikes had .080ga spokes, and different F&R hubs.

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That makes sense if @sworley's old bike was from just before Chicago shut down. I read somewhere the last Chicago bikes (or at least the frames) have serial numbers from April 1983 (DUxxxxxx), and that matches what I've seen.