3 bikes about 1962. 2 were prewar, 1 Schwinn another probably CWC, the 3rd post war Schwinn, likely DX. Of course, How could I have a clue as too pre and post war bikes? I didn't but I know now, duhh. My dad bought the pile in an auction for a few bucks, they were junk, only for head badges you could know the schwinns. I remember then, only because they needed adjusting all the time. But, the least were the two Schwinn's, especially the DX. I was just a tiny guy and could hardly ride any. Albeit Taping wood to the peddles helped. The thing was though, it was those two Schwinns that learned me the differences between crap and solid. The pre war bikes were a pain because, you had to get the pins tightened in right to keep the rear wheels from movin an we were too ignorant to know how too lock em down right. The post war DX though, with forward drop outs was the bike that remained stable. That bike embedded Schwinn quality in me mind. The prob CWC was also a learner because the rear dropouts were weak. They'd been expanded to many times so, even after I figured out how to lock in the pins, hammering back the drop-outs to narrow em down enough to hold the nuts and washers would slip. It was like metals from chna, cheap a..s soft. probably lost its tempering. But that prewar Schwinn drop out would hold those nuts. Well, hold the rim for a short time, until I learned to adjust the pins. It was short lived though because, my disobedient brother burned the garage down, playing wit matches for the um-teeth time. The following year sept 63 we moved into a brand new home. With Christmas coming, guess what I spected Santa to put under me tree?? Yeah duhh, A Stingray! But ya know, new home and all expenses I was hoping there was a real santa as me folks hardly made it through that year. But there were two , brand new bikes anyway. Two POS 3 speed Royce Unions. Another lesson in quality and crap. Disappointed of course, that it wasn't a stingray, or Schwinn as I knew the difference in a good bike and crap. I was very happy to just have a brand new bike, just the same. Yet, Royce Union gives me another lesson in only a few short days ,, My Brother's got stolen xmas day or the very next so I had to share with a knuckle head who abused everything. Those click shifters were crap, cable locks for brakes and shifter crap! the pedal arm pins would slip and nuts strip out. Yet all grown up now, I may have been able to get that crap set right and last longer, or a bike shop back then, if could afford such luxury. Yet, still the peddle pins and cable nuts had soft metal. But for Kids?? . NEXT time get a dam SCHWINN! Because buying crap like that, even way back then, expecting you kids to maintain them?? It's almost no different than the crap at wally world today, providing the dopes assembled em right, , ain't gonna last more than a few months. As fact I don't recall even a month on the 3-speed, having its shifter cable broke then for the peddle arm pins getting striped out.
So, actually, my 1st two wheeler was 3 Junkers. 1 crap, 1 better and lastly, one good solid post war, prob. DX that learned me difference quick. That is, even me older bro, excepting matches, couldn't F up.
My own privet 2 wheeler no sharing wit idiot, you guessed it? Scraped up parts into a danged stingray!