Finding a bike that fits is crucial to your child’s safety, especially since both oversized and undersized bikes can prove hazardous. Bikes that are too large can prevent a child’s feet from touching the ground and keep hands from reaching the hand brakes. Bikes that are too small, on the other hand, force a child to pedal awkwardly with substantially bent knees, which can cause knee pain and make a child’s legs tire quickly. When fitting a bike, make sure your child, while seated, can touch the ground easily with both feet when the seat is in its lowest position.
At the same time, Ignaz worked out increasingly fruitful bicycle distribution deals with various department stores and mail order giants like Sears Roebuck, spreading the cult of Schwinn from the big cities to small rural towns. Simply find the bike or gear of your dreams online, and we’ll have it ready for you when you arrive. We’ll ensure a perfect fit for your riding needs and answer any questions you may have. This is a big contrast to the old bikes from the Schwinn brand which were reliable enough to sit for decades in your shed with no use and still be able to ride whenever you needed it.
A growing number of US teens and young adults were purchasing imported European sport racing or sport touring bicycles, many fitted with multiple derailleur-shifted gears. Schwinn decided to meet the challenge by developing two lines of sport or road ‘racer’ bicycles. One was already in the catalog — the limited production Paramount series. The Paramount series had limited production numbers, making vintage examples quite rare today. The 1960 Varsity was introduced as an 8-speed bike, but in mid-1961 was upgraded to 10 speeds.
As we said, Schwinn bikes are not what they used to be before they got acquired by other companies after going bankrupt in 1992. Starting in 2005, Schwinn also marketed Motorscooters under the Schwinn Motorsports brand. Direct Focus, Inc., huffy mountain bike a marketing company for fitness and healthy lifestyle products, acquired the assets of Schwinn/GT’s fitness equipment division. By 1965, a host of American and foreign manufacturers were offering their own version of the Sting-Ray.
The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn (1860–1948) in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manufacturer of American bicycles through most of the 20th century. After declaring bankruptcy in 1992, Schwinn has since been a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Dorel Industries.
Imports of foreign-made “English racers”, sports roadsters, and recreational bicycles steadily increased through the early 1950s. Schwinn first responded to the new challenge by producing its own middleweight version of the “English racer”. The middleweight incorporated most of the features of the English racer, but had wider tires and wheels.
The Captain himself was enlisted to regularly hawk Schwinn-brand bicycles to the show’s audience, typically six years old and under. As these children matured, it was believed they would ask for Schwinn bicycles from their parents. By 1971, United States government councils had objected to Schwinn’s marketing practices. The Captain no longer insisted that viewers buy a Schwinn, but instead made regular on-air consultations of a new character, “Mr. Schwinn Dealer”.