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Schwinn built B.F. Goodrich
- Thread starter marching_out
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bobcycles
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
40 frame is actually a larger gap than yours to accommodate the earlier tank.
GTs58
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
Ooh, I must have assumed you were talking about lower rear fender brace. So you were referring to the truss tube between the top and down tubes?
Just Jeff
Wore out three sets of tires already!
Does that mean they built 2 different ladies frames in 1941 then? Because I’ve got a 1941 Hollywood frame and it’s not the same shape and design as the op frame. I’ve also owned a 1939 and a 1940 deluxe girls bike which both had the same frame as the op frame. Not trying to cause trouble here, just trying to learn.
I’m borrowing pictures from others here as I don’t have access to my girls bikes right now. But my 1941 Girls frame looks like this prewar BFG frame. Note the 2 support bars as opposed to the op bike which only has one support between the front frame tubes.
I’m borrowing pictures from others here as I don’t have access to my girls bikes right now. But my 1941 Girls frame looks like this prewar BFG frame. Note the 2 support bars as opposed to the op bike which only has one support between the front frame tubes.
cyclingday
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
You’re getting conflicting information.
Listen to Bobcycles.
He knows what he’s talking about, when it comes to Schwinn built bicycles.
That’s a cool bike!
It’s a 1942 Defense model.
Listen to Bobcycles.
He knows what he’s talking about, when it comes to Schwinn built bicycles.
That’s a cool bike!
It’s a 1942 Defense model.
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GTs58
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
Something that might make a little difference here. Schwinn stamped the serials on the bottom bracket shells before it was used to build a frame so these early I serials could have been stamped sometime in late 1941 and it's anyone's guess if the frame or bike was built in 41 or 42. If you go thru the later serial lists you'll see that a new Letter series sometimes starts at the end of the year in the last month or two. The I series numbers definitely had a transition in the manufacturing process of the bottom bracket shell along with other parts of the frame. From documented bikes I'd guess that around the 30000 mark the BB shells were electro-forged.
This one is a few (3) numbers off from the OP's bike. Not EF and most likely built before any government restrictions.
Electro-forged BB shell, earliest one recorded so far. The later J serial bikes had more electo-forged parts i.e. head tubes, seat post, top and down tubes.
This one is the earliest so far to show up with almost a full blown black out. I55102
This one is a few (3) numbers off from the OP's bike. Not EF and most likely built before any government restrictions.
Electro-forged BB shell, earliest one recorded so far. The later J serial bikes had more electo-forged parts i.e. head tubes, seat post, top and down tubes.
This one is the earliest so far to show up with almost a full blown black out. I55102
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ricobike
Wore out three sets of tires already!
I agree, that's what makes this interesting. If this was a Mead Ranger badged bike it would maybe make more sense since bikes made for Mead had some weird combinations. It could be possible that bikes made for BF Goodrich had some of the same idiosyncrasies. Maybe this frame was from a bunch of leftovers that was stamped in '42 and sent out for BF Goodrich because of shortages? I don't think we'll ever know the answer but it is clear that this frame is an earlier model frame as @marching_out pointed out.
cyclingday
I'm the Wiz, and nobody beats me!
I don’t think that any of these frames were actually made during the War years, ie 1942.
So the serial number shouldn’t be given much concern.
It’s the Livery that tells you what years these bikes were assembled in, and this bike was clearly built in 1942.
No chrome plate, no rack or tank.
Deluxe trim like the big guard and fenderlight could be supplied until supplies ran out.
They even stated, that a Torrington U bar would be supplied once the SweptBack bar supplies were exhausted.
Schwinn never used a U bar on any of there models, except those surplus bikes they built in 1942/43.
So, just to clarify.
These parts were all created sometime during the last production run of 1941, but the bike was built for delivery in 1942.
So it fell under the defense restrictions and was built omitting the materials that were being reserved for defense purposes.
So the serial number shouldn’t be given much concern.
It’s the Livery that tells you what years these bikes were assembled in, and this bike was clearly built in 1942.
No chrome plate, no rack or tank.
Deluxe trim like the big guard and fenderlight could be supplied until supplies ran out.
They even stated, that a Torrington U bar would be supplied once the SweptBack bar supplies were exhausted.
Schwinn never used a U bar on any of there models, except those surplus bikes they built in 1942/43.
So, just to clarify.
These parts were all created sometime during the last production run of 1941, but the bike was built for delivery in 1942.
So it fell under the defense restrictions and was built omitting the materials that were being reserved for defense purposes.
Alan Brase
Finally riding a big boys bike
I'm still learning, but my New World (J99657) is similar time period, about a year later, but my New world had a big badge on it, so possible BFG also. Does the half inch pitch chainwheel with the extra small holes come from a narrow time period, in other words, does that help date it?
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