Schwinn items collected

[Xlobsterman]

When I worked at the Schwinn shop in the 70’s we were Required to sell everyone a lock set and if possible a generator.
Chuck , the owner , would yell at you if you didn’t.

I didn't do much on the sales floor when I worked at the shop, the owner did most of the sales. I don't remember him being overly aggressive with his upsales back in the day. I never remember the guy yelling at me either, since I did my job, and did it well. At the time, he was my father's best friend.

 

[1817cent]

Two more tanks for the collection. Thanks Cabe!

 

[cyclingday]

Another bike box.
Unfortunately, this one wasn’t very well preserved.
But, still a cool glimpse into how your bike was delivered.

 

[rustystone2112]

Anything from Delta Electric Company
Bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, marine, military, civilian, anything !

 

[Schwinn Sales West]

View attachment 1974326
Another bike box.
Unfortunately, this one wasn’t very well preserved.
But, still a cool glimpse into how your bike was delivered.

A little information about your bike box. That box was laying on it's side in the factory with the side showing in your photo "not yet installed". The bicycles were not loaded into the boxes from the top, but from the side. The bicycle came off of the assembly line and was laid on its side into the box. The front wheel would have been placed to the left end, and the rear fender to the right end of the box, the end "marked this end up". The bicycles were loaded into railroad cars for distant delivery, or trucks and trailers for delivery in the Midwest after they were boxed. They placed an accessory parts box under the crank which held the handlebar, seat, pedals, and grips. This small box also served to protect the box from being crushed during transit. They also placed a cardboard around the seatpost and usually had a couple of more pieces clipped on to the tires. After the protective pieces were added, the side of the box was installed and off it went. The accessory boxes were bike "color specific" for saddles and grips. In the rail car the bicycles were stacked with the box "marked this side up" which meant the bicycle weight all the other bicycles stacked on top of it were resting on the fork and front wheel. Surprisingly the shipping damage was minimal. One problem was if the rail car volume was larger than the number of bicycles in the order the bicycles were all packed into the car with both wheels on the railcar floor. This usually resulted in shipping damage to the fork crown or the rear fender when they banged the railcars together assembling the train.

That style of bicycle shipping box died when they closed the Chicago factory. The long boxes contained bicycles "with front wheels installed". The Schwinn dealers in the 1970's greatly preferred the Imported Schwinn models shipped directly from the Schwinn Distribution Cenders because they were shipped in "short pack" boxes which made it lots easier to handle and store the bicycles in their dealerships.

John

 

[SJ_BIKER]

.

 

[sarmisluters]

View attachment 1974326
Another bike box.
Unfortunately, this one wasn’t very well preserved.
But, still a cool glimpse into how your bike was delivered.

From The Mattei Archives

 

[cyclingday]

This Schwinn/Webb Brake, demonstrator turned up in a pick last year, and was made available to me.
I knew I had to have as soon as I laid eyes on it.
Right away, I could tell that it needed to have some kind of a sign board to hang it on, but I still wanted it to retain its hands on, salesman sampler quality.
So, I envisioned it to have some clips to hold it on, so that it could be removed and installed with ease.
Similar to the Schwinn Quality Features signs that we all remember hanging in our local bike shops.
So, with the help of some very talented artisans, here it is!

The Schwinn/Webb, Ten Spot Brake, demonstrator.
Thanks, guys!
It definitely took some collective talent to bring this one into fruition.