YOU ALSO HAVE FOLKS WHO CHERISH AND ENJOY THE PARAMOUNT models THROUGH THE YEARS, but there are not the numbers as with the coaster-brake single speed balloon bike freaks. They simply use the girls bikes as parts-sources to provide better looking(improved condition) parts which are the same as seen on the boys model. You also have certain folks that really dig the ancient coaster brake Schwinns with all the tanks and bogus trash that is added to the front fork, which does essentially nothing useful, and they go nuts over what they deem as an original boys bike that came all blinged-out like that from Chicago from circa the late 1930's through about the early sixties. It isn't that anyone particularly is concerned with the changes so much except those that go nuts about the '62 Corvette 5 speeds, and those kids' Stingray & Krate models of 1963 to about 1974. The sixties and seventies probably are easier to determine many of the color changes and mechanical changes, and pedals, seat, and handlebar, etc and offered accessory changes. It gets really nearly impossible to know exactly in how things changed year to year on such things, especially when for example you are looking at really ancient early post war, late 1940's year models and such. It is probably the best first resource when you are trying to learn what Schwinn was doing in any particular era or a few consecutive years that any bike you might be interested in was produced.Īs with all year model catalogs, as with Automobile year catalogs of the past, NOT EVERYTHING IS EXACT, BECAUSE OF THE LAG-TIME BETWEEN PHOTOGRAPHING, EDITING, PRINTING THE CATALOG & BROCHURES versus When The NEW YEAR's MODELS ACTUALLY COME OFF THE PRODUCTION LINES AND HIT THE SALES SHOWROOMS, so you might have pictures there that might have something that might have changed, colors offered are More or perhaps some particular colors were deleted or replaced with another totally different color in the line-up. There you can simply wander and scroll through and see how the models and names and colors offered changed/differed through the years. Google something like 1961 Schwinn Catalog, -or- Google something like 1971 Schwinn Catalog.AND YOU SHOULD HAVE LINKS FROM THE waterford SITE WHICH APPEAR.waterford HOSTS ALL OF THE SCHWINN CATALOGS GOING BACK ABOUT 80 YEARS. You CAN google exactly how to read Schwinn serial numbers through the decades by just googling Schwinn serial numbers, determining what year.age. YOU CAN google exactly how to decipher this code of the very tiny numbers stamped within the oval Schwinn badge.badges before 1976 will not have a stamped code! I think this began in 1976 but I just don't remember when, might have been '75 but I think it was 1976. I think that some time during the 1976 model year that SCHWINN began stamping a production date code into the white oval Schwinn badge. This is why I segregated the mid-sixties to 1970 from the 1971 onward in the column above, that reasoning and to more highlight that Schwinn skipped the letters "eye' and "oh". Many 1970 SCHWINN bicycles will have the "two-letter" serial number on the right side of the headtube, below the badge & just above the front fork. I may be mistaken but I think you may come across some 1970 Schwinns that have the "two letter" serial number on the rear dropout as was done from mid sixties thru 1969. ******Schwinn DID NOT USE the LETTERS "oh" AND "eye" BECAUSE THE LOOK TOO MUCH LIKE "one" AND "zero".************* the FIRST LETTER tells you the MONTH.(B) = February.The SECOND LETTER tells you the YEAR.(G)=1971 SCHWINN BEGAN EMPLOYING THE "two-letter" SERIAL NUMBER SYSTEM DURING THE MID-SIXTIES.Įssentially what you have is "two-letters" followed by numbers. Prior to 1970, going back some years to at least the early sixties, the serial number was near the rear dropout. directly above the front fork, at some time during 1970.
SCHWINN began placing the serial number on the HEADTUBE beneath the oval headbadge, on the right side of the head.