Schwinn California Cruiser
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Good question! I have never seen a definitive answer for it however. So I will share what I do know. Made in 1976 only, the common colors for Schwinn cruisers of that era were Sable Black, Cardinal Red (I think) and Sky Blue. The Red and Blue were the same (appearance wise) as the Radiant Red and Blue. Candy over silver undercoat. The other thing that was nice was a gold decal option on the Black frame was available. Those gold decal sets are rare nowadays.And now I think about it,that may not have even been an option on the "California Cruiser" I have only ever seen that Chainguard script in white.Rare bird indeed! :mrgreen:
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Made in 1976 only....
If I remember correctly, a few months literally. The story I was told by a Schwinn dealer was " Dis-continued to avoid a law suit." Having come from CA. and living there during this time, the story is beleivable. Frivolous law suits were all too common during the 70's. The "KLUNKER-5" model met the same fate a year or two later. Sunrise Schwinn in So. San Jose received six of the "California Cruisers" they were sold in a week, he turned away droves of people wanting to buy them, I was one they turned away as well! :wink:
Nice info. I wonder why people haven't tried to replicate them. I'll have to do decals for this bike. I've notice the top tube decals are different and looks like something I can do but can't see to find a good picture from where I can get measurements.
Unless my memory is fuzzy (entirely possible) the only script difference was the chainguard.So the top tube script was the same as all the Cruiser models of that era, which were the same as the Corvette. If you have some pics, please share!
Didn't the cal cruiser have the same style of decals has the spitfire and klunker 5? The top tube decals are in block letters with the same arc or curved as the one I make. There is a klunker 5 post on this forum but the pics are sideways.
Here is some more infomartion including a couple of pics. http://www.nbhaa.com/indexHIB.html
from nbhaa.com
So when the big guys at Schwinn and elsewhere heard what was going on at the beach in Southern California and Recycled Cycles, Schwinn finally–at long last realized they were missing the boat yet one more time–as they had so many times before and later. So? Schwinn finally stirred to life and did a quick & dirty job of what the auto industry calls "badge engineering." They grabbed the cantilever framed Heavy-Duti, deleted the middleweight wheels and tires, shoved a couple of balloon tires on it, left off the fenders... and VOILA! Instant beach cruiser! So? Schwinn had their OWN California Cruiser. And they brazenly, arrogantly decided to name it just that!
from nbhaa.com
So when the big guys at Schwinn and elsewhere heard what was going on at the beach in Southern California and Recycled Cycles, Schwinn finally–at long last realized they were missing the boat yet one more time–as they had so many times before and later. So? Schwinn finally stirred to life and did a quick & dirty job of what the auto industry calls "badge engineering." They grabbed the cantilever framed Heavy-Duti, deleted the middleweight wheels and tires, shoved a couple of balloon tires on it, left off the fenders... and VOILA! Instant beach cruiser! So? Schwinn had their OWN California Cruiser. And they brazenly, arrogantly decided to name it just that!
so, after a lot of digging around i got them done!!
and of course i already have the fork darts and the seat tube decals made
a friend of mine was kind enough to lend me his bike so i could try all of them out, he kept the last one i tried on (klunker)
true is not the right chainguard but it got the job done!!
and of course i already have the fork darts and the seat tube decals made
a friend of mine was kind enough to lend me his bike so i could try all of them out, he kept the last one i tried on (klunker)
true is not the right chainguard but it got the job done!!
