Schwinn and Tires

[wheelhorseman]

I dont know much about Schwinns but what little I do I avoid them at all cost. Wont 3ven take free ones because they are such odd ducks from my understanding. Parts from Wally junk wont fit and tires seem to be exclusive.

Explain this. Can you go to the scrappile and get a walmart 26 x 195 tire and mount on a Schwinn 26 inch rim? A 26 inch rim is a 26 inch rim. So what gives with the oddball tires being the only size to fit.?

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk

 

[Bicycle808]

You can use the standard-sized WallyWorld 26x1.95" tire on a 26" Schwinn s2 rim, but not on a 26" Schwinn s7, s6, or s5 rim. FWIW, Most 26"-wheel Schwinns made from the 80s on will take regular 559s (aka s2) tires. And, i've run 26x2" tires on 559 rims in Schwinn frames designed for s7 (571, aka 26x1 3/4") and s5/s6 (597, aka 26x1 3/8") wheels. You just gotta swap the wheels to the regular size in order to run the tires, but usually the frame will accept the "normal" size.

 

[B607]

"I dont know much about Schwinns but what little I do I avoid them at all cost."

Great! That means there's more for me.

"Wont 3ven take free ones because they are such odd ducks from my understanding."

Schwinn is the standard. All the other brands are the odd ducks. Yuk Yuk! Gary

 

[us56456712]

I usually just swap the wheels. They are usually shot anyway. I once rebuilt a 57 Schwinn American for a friend. He wanted it all original. The front hub was Schwinn built and non standard as I had to get a Schwinn specific replacement axle. I re spoked the wheels, which were 4 cross. The rear wheel had a bad flat spot. I used a small hydraulic jack and removed the flat spot. It was his original bike and he wanted it like he remembered it. It would have been cheaper and faster to replace the wheels. I currently have one old Schwinn and thats enough.

 

[Bicycle808]

I've said it before, and i'll say it again: Chicago Schwinns are incredibly rad. They aren't perfect, and the proprietary tires and 28tpi cranks are annoying, but Schwinn took charge of the US Bike industry for so long.... these folks rolled their own tubes from coils of 1010 steel strip. These folks rolled their own rims. They made incredibly strong products, and a lot of the engineering was the result of ways to do it well while also doing it better. Yes, they were heavy, but the Chicago-built electroforged and fillet-brazed frames were almost indestructible, allowing them to offer lifetime frame warranties.

 

[wheelhorseman]

I have only bought and sold 2 original Schwinns. A Hollywood and a Town and Country trike.Both of these (especially the trike) were 2 of the worst riding things I ever saw. That soured me for life with them. As for resale interest ....have sold China Wally stuff quicker and for more money. I actually traded the Hollywood for a China Murray Westport. I got the better deal. To this day I will never touch a Schwinn unless its the Pacific Chinese kind.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk

 

[us56456712]

I've said it before, and i'll say it again: Chicago Schwinns are incredibly rad. They aren't perfect, and the proprietary tires and 28tpi cranks are annoying, but Schwinn took charge of the US Bike industry for so long.... these folks rolled their own tubes from coils of 1010 steel strip. These folks rolled their own rims. They made incredibly strong products, and a lot of the engineering was the result of ways to do it well while also doing it better. Yes, they were heavy, but the Chicago-built electroforged and fillet-brazed frames were almost indestructible, allowing them to offer lifetime frame warranties.

The Schwinn steel wheels I rebuilt were so tough that you didn't have to bother truing them, they stayed straight with just about any amount of spoke tightening. A little exaggeration, but they are way tougher than the steel rims they sell now.

 

[Bicycle808]

The Schwinn steel wheels I rebuilt were so tough that you didn't have to bother truing them, they stayed straight with just about any amount of spoke tightening. A little exaggeration, but they are way tougher than the steel rims they sell now.

Agreed; they're a world apart.

 

[rev106]

Yes, Bicycle808 is right on the money. You have a balloon tire and what they called a middle weight, those are the odd sized tires s6, s7 etc. If is says 26 x 1.75, 2.125 etc then it takes normal tires. If the tire says any fractions like 26 1 3/4 etc that means the Schwinn size. Good news is all the tires for these bikes even though long gone can still be had. Schwinn cruisers make the best BMX cruisers, klunkers, whatever, the frame geometry is the best. I have two I use as mountain bikes over anything new because I love the way they ride. And I'd take my King Sting over a Cook Bros any day for ride quality...I'd say you should take a second look at the venerable brand...

 

[Bicycle808]

King Sting.... should've bought one when they were affordable. Sweet geometry, for sure...

If we're gonna judge Chicago Schwinns, this might be a better example by which to do so, especially compared to a Town and Country or a Hollywood.

 

[wheelhorseman]

The problem I have with Schwinns is parts interchangeability . I like to be able to go to my junk and get a universal part from Walmart trash. I am not gonna have soething that requires going online and hunting. For example the T@C trike.there wasnt a part to be found anywhere. I will however keep my eyes open for a Schwinn 26 in mens cruiser and give it a try. I missed out on a 5.00 Typhoon. Kinda want to try and see what this Schwinn craze is all about. Right now to me it sounds like John Deere or Harley Davidson just a name.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk

 

[Bicycle808]

On a delta-style trike, you're gonna have non-standard parts due to the rear end. On most 2-wheel Schwinns, you got 2 parts that'll be weird in terms of interchangeability. (3, if you count the headset, but most every old bike manufacturer had weird sized headsets.... and Schwinns were about as close as you get to a "standard" as old American bike headsets get. Most cases, some fresh beafrings and you're good; those old Schwinn-approved headsets were hard as can be; they usually just need a cleaning, new grease, and fresh bearings. The cups, cones, and hardware are really tough, and the chrome usually comes up real good with a little bit of elbow grease and magic. Try diet coke and tinfoil....)

Here's the two oddball parts:
-Crank/BB. Schwinn one-piecers ran 28tpi hardware; standard is 24tpi. Sp, the WallyWorld BB won't fit the Schwinn crank, and the WallyWorld crank won't work with the Schwinn BB. So, the trick is, if you have to replace the original Schwinn cranks, just use BOTH the crank and the BB from the WallyWorld donor bike.
-Tires/rims. As discussed above, Schwinn ran some weird sizes, with a lot of the ubiquitous cantilever frames running s7 kit. So, same deal as the crank-- if you gotta swap in new tires or new wheels, just take BOTH the wheelset and the tubes/tires from the WallyWorld donor bike.

The rest of the stuff that doesn't always interchange is normal stuff, not proprietary stuff. Depending on the year, a ChiTown Schwinn might take a 7/8" stem, but more often on 60s, 70s, and early 80s Schwinns, you'll need 21.1mm stems. This is true of most all American bikes from that same time period. The seatpost is 13/16th, which is weird enough, but they're EVERYwhere and usually free. And, to be fair, a lot of other manufacturers ran weird sized seatposts. Seatclamps are kind of tricky, b/c like most bikes of the style/vintage, they take a regular 1" ID clamp but i've found that some 1" clamps that were made for bikes with 7/8" seatposts, you won't be able to tighten'm down enough on a Chicago Schwinn. Usually, primitive-looking clamps are better, and pimp-looking bmx clamps are less likely to have enough "bite" for a Schwinn. Oh, and a lot of Schwinn seats/seatposts are set up for 5/8" guts, but modern guts are 7/8".... this isn't a Schwinn problem, though; it's a general old-bikes problem...

HTH. And really, try out a nice 26" Schwinn. Canti frames are still all over the place for cheap. PErsonally, I think the BB is kind of low for my preferences offroad, but they make incredibly nice-riding around-town cruisers.

 

[Wildcat]

There's nothing like a Chicago made Schwinn.
I just change out the wheels to the standard 26", they will interchange, the difference in diameter is almost unnoticeable. And as for width, I've put 26 x 2.125 tires on a middleweight Schwinn many different times. This Typhoon came with S-7's. If you want to keep the S-7 rims, the S-7 tires are still available.
http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/tires-tubes/tires/26/26-x-1-3-4

 

[wheelhorseman]

Great info 808 and wildcat. I didnt know these things. Makes me see them a little differently. I really would like to find a mens frame cruiser. Will stay on the hunt for one I definitly have to try this Schwinn stuff. Who knows I may like it. BUT beating my old Huffy Good Vibrations is gonna be hard to do.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk

 

[Lil' rat rod]

I grew up on the same principle that my dad taught me, same principle he grew up on in the '60s. If you ain't riding a Schwinn, then you were riding junk. To be fair, he was born in Chicago.

I've lived by that most of my life, experimented with other bikes, but the Schwinns are what I knew. The others were weird. I am now again experimenting with others, we'll see how that goes.

But honestly, having ridden many different bikes, the postwar balloon Schwinns are the best riding bikes ever. I've recently been bit by the prewar bug and haven't had enough time on them to see which rides better for me.

I won't own another middleweight Schwinn for the s7 reason and lack of tire choice. For me if the bike is still wearing it's original parts, it's not for me to take them off.

Jon

 

[bigharley]

I dont know much about Schwinns but what little I do I avoid them at all cost. Wont 3ven take free ones because they are such odd ducks from my understanding. Parts from Wally junk wont fit and tires seem to be exclusive.

Explain this. Can you go to the scrappile and get a walmart 26 x 195 tire and mount on a Schwinn 26 inch rim? A 26 inch rim is a 26 inch rim. So what gives with the oddball tires being the only size to fit.?

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk

Those are the elusive s7 series of tires its a 26x 1 3/4 not to be confused by 26x 1.75. Schwinn didnt want you to use other tires other then theres

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk

 

[Bicycle808]

I won't own another middleweight Schwinn for the s7 reason and lack of tire choice. For me if the bike is still wearing it's original parts, it's not for me to take them off.
Jon

I totally respect that, Jon, but that's why I have a garage. I can yank the s7 wheels, stash'm in the garage, and run 559s until it's time to sell the bike or just return it to oiginal on a whim.

 

[Flying Merlino Brother]

those are the odd sized tires s6, s7 etc. If is says 26 x 1.75, 2.125 etc then it takes normal tires. If the tire says any fractions like 26 1 3/4 etc that means the Schwinn size.

Unless I am still missing something, I found this not to be true for S5 or S6 Rims.

 

[DesmoDog]

From what I see you are showing you put a fractional tire on a Schwinn rim, just like he said (nine years ago).

I'm not sure what you're showing here... seems like you're proving his point?

 

[RustySprockets]

Bike tires are weirdly sized by their overall diameter, tread-to-tread. What you REALLY need is the size of the hole in the middle, in order to make an informed decision. The ISO numbers help eschew this confusion by providing what is called the Bead Seat Diameter (BSD). In your case, you're trying the squeeze a 590mm tire onto a 597mm rim--no bueno. The Schwinn S7 rim is also a strange size--571mm. HOWEVER, common mountain/cruiser 26" tire that are measured in decimal, rather than fractional numbers, will fit the Schwinn S2 rim on balloon tire bikes. These tires have a BSD of 559mm.

The thing to remember here is that these tire are ALL nominally 26" tread-to-tread. Some styles simply have meatier sidewalls.