'88 Schwinn Cruiser

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sandmountainslim

sandmountainslim

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This is my first attempt at salvaging an old bike and the first bike I have owned since I was a kid.
Found it at a thrift last week and removed the rusty fenders, replaced the seat and chain and got everything oiled up.
It's a 1988 mfg Schwinn Cruiser and best I can tell it was made by China Bicycles in the dark days before the Schwinn Bankruptcy.
I would like to find an American made Schwinn or possibly even a Pre-War frame to build next because in my book the older the cooler but this will do for now and I really like it alot. It's just a step or so above a Wal-Mart Schwinn but still has gotten a lot of attention when I ride it and it is comfortable. All in all not bad for fifty bucks :)


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I sanded primed and painted the rusted chrome fenders black and now....they look more like a cast iron skillet than anything! Not smooth at all. I would probably be best to roll fenderless until I can grab a good set of chrome.
 
Looks great with the bell, cool seat and knobby tires 8) ....nice job!
 
sleepy said:
Looks great with the bell, cool seat and knobby tires 8) ....nice job!
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Thank you :) I am unsure if an '88 is vintage or Rat Material but intend to clean it up some more and keep it on the road. Wish it was an older frame but at least it's pre-bankruptcy and not made by Pacific :)
 
Picked up some vintage style handlegrips. More fitting to a cruiser than the hard plastics that were on it.
Next on the agenda is to get the wheels cleaned up.

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hour and a half of scrubbing I think this is as clean as these wheels will get. Love the profile of the new handlebars though.

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Looks good..........I only own one bike larger than a 20" and I would cruise around on that. Maybe I should look for one like yours. :)

Also like it without the fenders. 8)
 
80sbikedude said:
Looks good..........I only own one bike larger than a 20" and I would cruise around on that. Maybe I should look for one like yours. :)

Also like it without the fenders. 8)
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Thanks :) I thought fenderless it looked to mountainbikeish. I have a vintage bar mounted headlight and an old schwinn feather chainguard on the way. I want to eventually add a rear rack and maybe some type bag to it.
 
With the old time headlight mounted and so is the 1950 Columbia rear rack.

The Schwinn "Feather" chainguard arrived today and I will mount it when I get it cleaned up.

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strange, saw a dude riding one yesterday..
could tell by a glance it was alittle older then the new schwinns out but not as good as the 60-70s ones.. :/
was mostly og other then the back tire.. :p
 
iven said:
strange, saw a dude riding one yesterday..
could tell by a glance it was alittle older then the new schwinns out but not as good as the 60-70s ones.. :/
was mostly og other then the back tire.. :p
Click to expand...
They are at a strange spot in Schwinn history. Made after production went offshore but before the bankruptcy back when Richard Schwinn still ran the company. I like mine. It seems far better made with cleaner welds than the new Wal-Mart variety.
 

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