Middleweight wheel question

[olevince]

I have owned quite a few Schwinn middleweights in the past and still own a few now. All of them had S-7 rims of some sort. I recently looked at one that the owner claimed was all original as he was the first owner. The bike had unstamped chrome drop center wheels. Did Schwinn ever use them on a middleweight bicycle? Any info is appreciated.

 

[B607]

I think the very first middleweights might have used them. I swear I once owned a Tiger that S-7's would not fit on. Standard drop centers would be a smaller dia. than the S-7's. Others say I'm crazy so might be. Gary

 

[Oilit]

I have owned quite a few Schwinn middleweights in the past and still own a few now. All of them had S-7 rims of some sort. I recently looked at one that the owner claimed was all original as he was the first owner. The bike had unstamped chrome drop center wheels. Did Schwinn ever use them on a middleweight bicycle? Any info is appreciated.

Schwinn started making and using their own rims post-war, when they introduced the S-2 (balloon), S-6 (lightweights) and some others. As far as I know they introduced the S-7's with the first middleweights in 1954, and all the '50's Schwinn rims I've seen are stamped. Owners can't always remember everything that happens to a bike over the years, life gets hectic sometimes. It's possible a dealer might sell it with non-Schwinn rims for some reason, but I can't imagine why.

 

[GTs58]

I'm going with a big NO, Schwinn never used drop centers on any middleweight. Even the very first ones had the new Schwinn Tornado tires that are the same 571 BSD as all the S-7 rim tires.

June/July 1954 Catalog page. Note the color options, same as the 54 Jaguar.