In the 1950s, Schwinn began to aggressively cultivate bicycle retailers, persuading them to sell Schwinns as their predominant, if not exclusive brand. During this period, bicycle sales enjoyed relatively slow growth, with the bulk of sales going to youth models. In 1900, during the height of the first bicycle boom, annual United States sales by all bicycle manufacturers had briefly topped one million. Nevertheless, Schwinn’s share of the market was increasing, and would reach in excess of 1 million bicycles per year by the end of the decade.
During the bicycle boom of the 1970’s customers learned to equate lugged frame construction with higher quality. Richard’s Bicycle Book of 1972, a popular title of the day, states emphatically that, “In better bikes the frame is lugged and brazed…” and does not mention any other quality framebuilding method. Customers preferred lugged construction and equated lugless frames with Varsitys and Continentals or, worse, low-quality department-store bicycles. But what eventually drove Schwinn into the turmoil that led the company to file for Chapter 11 in 1992 was it’s inability to cope with management and quality problems, as well as some unsuccessful investments. Basically, the company had to choose in where to produce bicycles at a more competitive prices.
I find it most uncomfortable when riding for 45 minutes or longer, or during classes when I’m not out of the saddle. Insult upon injury, Schwinn had gradually become a stale brand in the eyes of the youth market during the same period. All seemed rosy, but like the last weeks of a summer holiday, colder breezes were moving in.
Industry insiders say the family’s dogged but ultimately flawed determination to stay American-made contributed to its doom. From California, the bikes fan out mongoose bmx bike to mass merchants such as Wal-Mart. Once there, cashiers making less than $10 an hour ring up the latest Sting Ray at prices much cheaper than the original.
Indoor cycling bikes are designed to replicate what it’s like to ride a bike outdoors, and they’re the ones that have exploded in popularity in recent years. This model is the IC4’s little sibling, with a smaller price and fewer features, but it’s still a good option for streaming workouts from your device. Generally, bikes are designed to ride on specific terrain and will perform best when riding on the appropriate terrain for the bike. For example, a mountain bike is less efficient on a paved road and a road bike won’t get you very far on a dirt trail. The good news is, because of all variations in terrain there are many different styles of bikes to match.
Once America’s preeminent bicycle manufacturer, the Schwinn brand, as with many other bicycle manufacturers, affixed itself to fabrication in China and Taiwan, fueling most of its corporate parent’s growth. In 2010, Dorel launched a major advertising campaign to revive and contemporize the Schwinn brand by associating it with consumer childhood memories of the company, including a reintroduction of the Schwinn Sting-Ray. In late 1997, Questor Partners Fund, led by Jay Alix and Dan Lufkin, purchased Schwinn Bicycles. Questor/Schwinn later purchased GT Bicycles in 1998 for $8 a share in cash, roughly $80 million. The new company produced a series of well-regarded mountain bikes bearing the Schwinn name, called the Homegrown series. In the late 1960s, the Varsity and Continental pioneered the use of auxiliary brake levers, which allowed the rider to rest hands on the straight, horizontal center section of the ram’s horn handlebars, yet still have braking control.
But it’s been a hit among mass merchants, with the Sting Ray expected to top many kids’ Christmas lists this season. “The bikes that we’re putting the Schwinn brand on and selling to Wal-Mart are absolutely the best bikes that Wal-Mart has ever sold,” Hornung said. Today’s model, which projects the rough look of a motorcycle, comes from China, where the average factory worker makes less than a dollar an hour. It is a symbol of a different sort — an illustration of how global economic forces and the sometimes clumsy responses of U.S. companies transformed middle-class jobs into low-wage work both at home and abroad. In the glass atrium that marks the entrance to the Pacific Cycle company, the old and the new of the bicycle business are displayed side by side. Each is called the Schwinn Sting Ray, and each in its time has been a bestseller.