To ride or not to ride an Aerocycle

[Schwinn lover]

I guess I'm lucky that I can ride just about every bike I own.
At 5'6" I may need to adjust the seat & bars like everyone else,, cause every bike is slightly a different geometery size; seat tube , down tube, angle of headtube, length of top bar , etc ect.

My balloners Panthers & Hornets are my favorite to slow cruise at the parks & scenic bike trails away from busy roads & traffic. The other

 

[cyclingday]

Alas....the Phantom spring fork and saddle,
Roadmaster dual spring forks and similar bikes
with springs ... have "spoiled" me so much that although I love the looks of early "bicycles"
very much,
I find myself riding '40s & '50s the most.
They are the most comfortable bikes for me.

If I had to give up all of my bikes, and could only keep one to ride.
It would be the postwar Schwinn B6.

 

[Freqman1]

I'm just as guilty here but it seems like this thread evolved into another ride/don't ride/what do you ride thread! So back to the original intent--yes on riding my Aerocycle. V/r Shawn

 

[cyclingday]

#Me too!
Yes, on riding my Aerocycle.

 

[Autocycleplane]

Everyone that says that vintage bicycles with 26" wheels and an 18" seat tube were made only for children are simply wrong, plain and simple. The bike shop down the street from my office is chock full of modern bikes that frame size or smaller and all are primarily intended for adults. Many of these manufacturers made tall versions of balloon tire models, typically more during the prewar era though. I see tons of vintage photos right here on the Cabe of adults and their balloon tire bicycles. People were shorter in the 30s as well.

Also, I think as the lightweights gained popularity among adults the balloon tire bikes became more youth oriented. Probably not a ton of college kids in the 50s riding Phantoms and the like but I could be wrong.

As has been pointed out, there were longer seat posts of different configurations as well as many handlebar choices to accommodate riders of all sizes. If you want your bike to look like an actual vintage rider then adjust the cockpit accordingly. If you want your bike to look just like the catalog shot then it probably won't be too comfy to ride as a full grown adult.