1936 Schwinn "C Model"

[dougfisk]

OH NO! ... not another one...

1936 Schwinn #C97 - I bought this on RRB a while ago, absent wheels and seat; but complete with a bent frame and bent fork and cruddy spray bomb repaint(?)... I scrubbed the cruddy primer/repaint off with steel wool and lacquer thinner revealing a pretty nice original finish for 78 years old... Then I straightened and trued up the frame and fork as I do on all my projects (- no pics of that process this time... as you must be tired of them. )

 

[Bicycle808]

Very nice.

I think the "C"s have the best lines out of any Schwinns, ever. Of course, there might be ones I like more, but just assume they're "C" frames, when they are in fact something else. Ha.

Yours looks great, Doug. Any "before" pics? I'm just curious as to how tweaked the frame/fork was prior to your straightening efforts. From the pics, looks pretty close to perfect, now.

 

[dougfisk]

I had these rims that are more recent drop centers; we think perhaps 80's vintage Murray sourced?





The rear hub is another of my many English '50's manufactured Perrys... which is a licensed copy of the German F&S Torpedo design dating back to 1903 or so.





The front hub is a German manufactured Union brand probably from late '50's. The spokes are new Sapim stainless double butted Race model.

 

[dougfisk]

Very nice.

I think the "C"s have the best lines out of any Schwinns, ever....

They have a steeper head tube angle than the upmarket Schwinn straightbars, and steeper than any other ballooner that I have ever handled. This combined with the flatter curve and closer spacing of the topbar gives them a racier look.

 

[Bicycle808]

They have a steeper head tube angle than the upmarket Schwinn straightbars, and steeper than any other ballooner that I have ever handled. This combined with the flatter curve and closer spacing of the topbar gives them a racier look.

I agree re: the steeper head angle and race vibes... They also seem to have a higher BB. All of those factors, combined with the straight downtube, just gives the bike a B.A. stance; reminds me of some of the3bar BMX cruisers from the late 70s...Only 30+ years older, which makes it even more impressive.

 

[dougfisk]

The drivetrain is a NOS "Crown" 52T chainwheel as there are no commonly available 1inch cogs for this hub, The rear cog is 20 tooth. Most of the Perry hubs use the European sized 34mm screw on cogs, and I don't have an 18T, so for now we use the OEM 20T. The crank is the original "36" marked piece.



The chain is a real heavy duty BMX style.



This bike has more paint remaining intact than most of it's age:

 

[dougfisk]

I used the ringed grips as that is how this model is pictured in the 36 catalog. These bikes came with a down stem like the earlier motobikes. But with the high bottom bracket we need a riser stem to have any knee clearance.



The seat is one of my bulletproof late 40's Troxels. They seem to be always servicable, reliable and comfortable.



I always wanted to test out some Electra Retrorunner tires. I had a hard time deciding which "direction" to install them; and I don't really know if I got it "right".

 

[dougfisk]

And for any obsessive complete-ists out there... extra parts!

 

[Scribble]

pre war Schwinn vary nice

 

[41DX]

Pretty. How do you determine the year of a prewar C frame?

 

[illMATTic]

Mine looked just like that. Well as far as I could tell under three layers of paint. I couldnt save my original color.