In parts of the world where the bicycle is considered a serious form of transportation, it's not uncommon to see 60 or 70 year-old bicycles still being used for everyday transportation. Here in America -- where the automobile reigns supreme -- old bicycles become of the stuff of lawn art, like this guy:
I
saw this little guy outside of a bicycle rental business near Peninsula
State Park in Door County, Wisconsin. It's a Schwinn Cycle Truck, a single-speed cargo delivery bicycle that was produced from 1939 to
1967. It was designed to provide "fast, local, neighborhood delivery
service" (1946 catalog) and could carry up to 150 pounds in a large
font-mounted wire basket. A kickstand mounted to the fork kept the bike
stable when parked.
When Schwinn advertised the bike as "heavy-duty built", it wasn't joking. On any given year, the catalog weight for this model hovered around 70 pounds!
Judging
by the copious mounts of rust all over the formerly chromed parts, this
little guy has spent much of it's life outside. Even still, Chicago-built Schwinns were built with extremely robust and easily-serviceable parts, and I suspect that this bike could be overhauled and put back into service in relatively short order.
What's somewhat peculiar is the bicycle's front wheel and tire: They're both new. It almost looks as if someone attempted to restore this old guy at some point but then gave up.
It's a shame to see such an unusual bicycle left to fade and rust away as a glorified lawn ornament. It might be on the heavy side by modern standards, but weight isn't everything, and I'm sure it could find some use somewhere.
In parts of the world where the bicycle is considered a serious form of transportation, it's not uncommon to see 60 or 70 year-old bicycles still being used for everyday transportation. Here in America -- where the automobile reigns supreme -- old bicycles become of the stuff of lawn art, like this guy:
I
saw this little guy outside of a bicycle rental business near Peninsula
State Park in Door County, Wisconsin. It's a Schwinn Cycle Truck, a single-speed cargo delivery bicycle that was produced from 1939 to
1967. It was designed to provide "fast, local, neighborhood delivery
service" (1946 catalog) and could carry up to 150 pounds in a large
font-mounted wire basket. A kickstand mounted to the fork kept the bike
stable when parked.
When Schwinn advertised the bike as "heavy-duty built", it wasn't joking. On any given year, the catalog weight for this model hovered around 70 pounds!
Judging
by the copious mounts of rust all over the formerly chromed parts, this
little guy has spent much of it's life outside. Even still, Chicago-built Schwinns were built with extremely robust and easily-serviceable parts, and I suspect that this bike could be overhauled and put back into service in relatively short order.
What's somewhat peculiar is the bicycle's front wheel and tire: They're both new. It almost looks as if someone attempted to restore this old guy at some point but then gave up.
It's a shame to see such an unusual bicycle left to fade and rust away as a glorified lawn ornament. It might be on the heavy side by modern standards, but weight isn't everything, and I'm sure it could find some use somewhere.
A few days ago I picked up a new project: A 1973 Raleigh Super Course. I intend to overhaul this bicycle and tour on it this summer.
In it's day, the Super Course was an entry-level racing or touring bike aimed at the serious cyclist on a budget. It was the least expensive model in Raleigh's bike boom lineup to feature an aluminum alloy wheelset, and the main triangle of the frame is constructed of straight-gauge Reynolds 531 steel. Adjusted for inflation, the bike sold for about $850 when new.
Determining the age of my Super Course was not quite as simple as referencing a serial number/production year list. As it happens, the serial on my bicycle's rear dropout does not follow with the numbering convention supposedly used by Raleigh in the 1970s.
However, thanks to Kurt Kramer's excellent site, I learned that the italicized "Raleigh" logo on my bike's downtube was first introduced in 1973. Further, vintage Raleigh sales catalogs indicate that 1973 was the last year the Super Course sported a cottered crankset and the only year So there we have it.
As with just about any older bike, I can expect to run into some compatibility issues should I ever try to replace or upgrade the bike's major components. Fortunately, however, my bike appears to be in pretty good shape except for the expected paint wear/chipping and some surface rust on the chromed steel parts.
In fact, the bike was ridden so little that it even came with its original handlebar wrap. This will be removed and replaced with shellacked cloth bar tape.
The bike also came with its original Brooks Champion Narrow B17 saddle. The saddle is, for the time being, hard as a rock, but there is absolutely no cracking. Not too shabby for a 39-year-old piece of leather!
So there we have it; I can't wait until my first ride!
Go to Part 2
