All this talk recently of Schwinns reminds me of a Schwinn I see a lot in East Cambridge. The old paint has a gleam to it that I don't see on new bikes. A bike store employee told me the shimmer is a property of old enamel paint. At any rate, I just love the color of this old bike.
I once saw the girl riding this bike. I ran to catch her but she was too fast for me. I'd love to hear the story of her bike.
1 comment:
I was pointed to a comment a reader here made on another blog. For those interested, I think he makes a number of good points:
OK, Dutch bikes're maybe nice and certainly it's maybe neat to buy something new (here) and trendy.
I submit though that old Schwinns are a much better fit for the American commuting and city-bike scene.
1) They're ubiquitous and cheap. Every thrift store in every metro gets maybe 50 of them per year. Here in the Iowa/Illinois Quad Cities' 7 thrift stores they are priced between $5.38 (don't ask me - that 38-cents thing is unique to Goodwill nationwide apparently) and on up to, but never higher than, around $25.
2) With a disassembly, cleanup, lubing, and new rubber/cabling/chain, they'll likely be good for another 28-44 years. Those are the ages of the youngest and the oldest of the twenty-some Schwinns that I refurbed this past year.
3) They are city-riding-comfortable. Fenders, upright handlebars, and really comfy old mattress seats are on every Schwinn I put out, even the ones that originally came set up as roadies. I mostly prefer the 3-spd internal Sturmey Archer hub bikes altho I have put out a few 5-spd derailler bikes, two 10-spds, and converted four 10-spds to different gearing/drive set ups.
4) They can be _very_ chic. Please look at here to see some photos and a narrative about one such Schwinn I recently finished.
So anyway, it's my opinion that the ideal bikes for putting Americans back onto bikes for urban riding are here, right under our noses and we're perhaps too snobbish to see them.
Post a Comment