Well, I never heard of Chicago Bicycle Company before last night. My friends said they picked up two new cruiser bikes. They've been bugging me to find something like a 3-speed internal-hub mountain bike for them. I have said, well, no such thing really exists but we can build something (for about 2 years now).
Fast forward to earlier this month, they're in an antique store in the town where I live and they find these two bikes. They called me when they brought them home and what they told me about them didn't make sense. Mens and ladies cruiser frames, white walls, internal coaster-seven-speed Sachs hubs, drum brake fronts, 1990's build dates, and Made in USA? Come again? Who ? What?
So we did some research. Here's what Wikipedia says about the Chicago Bicycle Company. 200+/- bikes made, 50 prototypes and 50 by the legendary Waterford Cycles? As in Richard Schwinn, as in the home of the REAL Schwinn Paramounts? They folded before they really got going... a shame... put out of business by the downward spiral of Chinese bikes and fabrication technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bicycle_Company
So how crazy is it that two of them show up here? A matched set, internal 7-speeds, the top of the line model, drum brake front brakes, whitewalls, and virtually zero miles on them? Still had the mold lines down the middle of the tires!!!
Lovely bikes, steel frames with VERY nice quality welds, nice paint work, modern components and performance. 7+coaster rear hubs are a nice treat, seem to work flawlessly.
Anyone know anything more about them?
--Rob
Fast forward to earlier this month, they're in an antique store in the town where I live and they find these two bikes. They called me when they brought them home and what they told me about them didn't make sense. Mens and ladies cruiser frames, white walls, internal coaster-seven-speed Sachs hubs, drum brake fronts, 1990's build dates, and Made in USA? Come again? Who ? What?
So we did some research. Here's what Wikipedia says about the Chicago Bicycle Company. 200+/- bikes made, 50 prototypes and 50 by the legendary Waterford Cycles? As in Richard Schwinn, as in the home of the REAL Schwinn Paramounts? They folded before they really got going... a shame... put out of business by the downward spiral of Chinese bikes and fabrication technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Bicycle_Company
So how crazy is it that two of them show up here? A matched set, internal 7-speeds, the top of the line model, drum brake front brakes, whitewalls, and virtually zero miles on them? Still had the mold lines down the middle of the tires!!!
Lovely bikes, steel frames with VERY nice quality welds, nice paint work, modern components and performance. 7+coaster rear hubs are a nice treat, seem to work flawlessly.
Anyone know anything more about them?
--Rob