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Tutorial Prewar Schwinn rack reflectors

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i think the guy is trying to bust your 'ball bearings!'
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I have owed tons of racks and some original unmolested bikes and have never had one of those chrome bezel reflectors on them.

I did and do to buy them single here and there from eBay because everyone wants them $$$ Shinny sells.

A few racks, in my opinion the black rack has the reflector Arnold Frank and Juan Schwinn picked. 🤪

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did you ever stop to think that the correct and expensive (not because they are shiny) reflectors have been removed before they sold the racks to you? most of the racks you show have a wild assortment of post war crap on them-maybe as place holders! "...never had one of those chrome bezel reflectors on them'....hummm....i know you do have a deluxe rack with the correct reflector i can verify!!!! an interesting rack in your line-up shows a maroon rack(painted) with the marble reflector aluminum trim in very typical original condition-smashed/marble missing. had quite a few like that. but thanks for sharing!
 
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And Cheers to that Santi!

ok...here's some straight forward info that might help new collectors wondering about prewar 6 hole reflectors

36' came the 'cat eye' reflector from the company that made RR sign and street sign reflectors in a variety of colors..Schwinn opted for red
it went on the only 36' chrome 6 hole carrier...that debuted on the 1st year autocycle.
Pot metal bezel "cat eye" reflector continued to be used up through 1941 on all Autocycle 6 hole chrome racks and often on Motorbike and others.
At some point...a faceted jewel was an option as well...maybe showing up in 37' or 38' through 40 on Motorbikes and others.
In 1940 The "owl eye" red marble became the common sight on Standard Autocycles and most Straightbar 40's I have
seen, occasionally also Cantilever bikes 1940 and 41.
The only time you will see a chrome bezel 36 style "cat eye" on a bike is when a collector adds it for 'bling' factor
or they just think it looks cool. The post erroneously stated that the chrome bezel reflector was factory installed.
I'm out....last post on this.....no personal attacks....just clarifying muddy water
 
And Cheers to that Santi!

ok...here's some straight forward info that might help new collectors wondering about prewar 6 hole reflectors

36' came the 'cat eye' reflector from the company that made RR sign and street sign reflectors in a variety of colors..Schwinn opted for red
it went on the only 36' chrome 6 hole carrier...that debuted on the 1st year autocycle.
Pot metal bezel "cat eye" reflector continued to be used up through 1941 on all Autocycle 6 hole chrome racks and often on Motorbike and others.
At some point...a faceted jewel was an option as well...maybe showing up in 37' or 38' through 40 on Motorbikes and others.
In 1940 The "owl eye" red marble became the common sight on Standard Autocycles and most Straightbar 40's I have
seen, occasionally also Cantilever bikes 1940 and 41.
The only time you will see a chrome bezel 36 style "cat eye" on a bike is when a collector adds it for 'bling' factor
or they just think it looks cool. The post erroneously stated that the chrome bezel reflector was factory installed.
I'm out....last post on this.....no personal attacks....just clarifying muddy water

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thanks for sharing guys! i want to make a small correction to a comment i made about bob only being in the hobby for just so many years. I BELIEVE I MET BOB LATER after he had really got into the hobby very heavily-(maybe in the mid/late 1980's)after he had sold his original collection and decided to come back in and go full bore-as he is still doing. anyway just wanted to amend/clarify that comment!
 
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Aaaaaaannnddd this is why I'm not a schwinn guy. All this hubbub over a reflector? News flash. These reflectors originated on cars. I have a 1934 Cadillac in my shop right now that I'm restoring for a customer.... low and behold, it has these reflectors on the taillight housings. Same exact ones. Two on each bracket. As far as correct on a bike rack? None of us were there or worked for the actual company, so in my opinion, it doesn't really matter. How many people have swapped something out on. Anything they've bought in the first ten minutes of ownership? Especially bikes and cars. So I'd guarantee, it's been screwed with. Especially if it's a schwinn. Every one I've seen has been collectorized. Deluxed, parts added to increase the value of a base model bike. But I'll end with this, at the ride, nobody will even notice. They just see a kool old bike being ridden, not hidden.
 
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