Schwinn American - May 2, 1958

[Adamtinkerer]

I don't recall if these first run Americans shared the checkerboard decal with the Tiger. Could be a Tiger w/a long ago swapped guard.

 

[chopperMil]

Oh geez! That would be a wrinkle for sure!

 

[GTs58]

I don't recall if these first run Americans shared the checkerboard decal with the Tiger. Could be a Tiger w/a long ago swapped guard.

The American always had a checkerboard seat tube decal from day one. It was the tiger that had the seat tube change in decals.

 

[westwildcats]

Nice find, the two-speed manual can be a very pleasant hub to go cruising with. Might have been a left-handers bike. Don't know that I've seen more than one or two with the shifter on the left hand side. The other thing I might add is if you need to swap out the shifter cable, make sure the one you're getting is long enough. Believe the cable set-up for the girls bikes was shorter.

 

[KevinBrick]

Good catch on the shift lever being on the left side.. may want to switch that back to the right and move the brake lever back to the left.. Shift cable may just need to be adjusted properly.. guy may have messed it up trying to swap it over..

 

[chopperMil]

Nice find, the two-speed manual can be a very pleasant hub to go cruising with. Might have been a left-handers bike. Don't know that I've seen more than one or two with the shifter on the left hand side. The other thing I might add is if you need to swap out the shifter cable, make sure the one you're getting is long enough. Believe the cable set-up for the girls bikes was shorter.

Thanks for this tip! Much appreciated.

 

[chopperMil]

Nice find, the two-speed manual can be a very pleasant hub to go cruising with. Might have been a left-handers bike. Don't know that I've seen more than one or two with the shifter on the left hand side. The other thing I might add is if you need to swap out the shifter cable, make sure the one you're getting is long enough. Believe the cable set-up for the girls bikes was shorter.

Nice find, the two-speed manual can be a very pleasant hub to go cruising with. Might have been a left-handers bike. Don't know that I've seen more than one or two with the shifter on the left hand side. The other thing I might add is if you need to swap out the shifter cable, make sure the one you're getting is long enough. Believe the cable set-up for the girls bikes was shorter.

There does seem to be a lot of slack on the shifter cable so maybe it was moved. Thanks again!

 

[BF2485]

Mine is not an American , its a 58 Flying Star , but 1 of my favorite bikes , i prefer the hand shifted 2 speed over the 2 speed kickback

 

[Aaron65]

I agree with the above statement. I have a '56 (or maybe '57) Corvette with a manually shifted two-speed and a '67 Typhoon with a kickback, and I much prefer the "manual." I had to replace a couple internal parts, but it works wonderfully.

 

[GTs58]

I definitely prefer the manual 2 speed over the whoopsie, what gear am I in now, automatic.

This is the only two speeder I own, 1958 Corvette. All 100% original, except for the Fong brick tread tires. 😜