Do we have any mancunian patrons
I‘d guess it’s from the mid to late 50s. I think Schwinn started putting chrome trim on the top of the fork legs in 1960, but I’m no positive. That trim can be just lifted off when the fork is out so it could have been tossed, making it post 1960. The chainring is original and 1/2 inch pitch so it’s not an early cantilever frame that had inch pitch drive. The seat post clamp isn’t original. The original pedals were most likely German made bow tie pedals, but reasonable facsimiles are available. The one piece Schwinn cranks had a finer thread so replacement parts are not the same as a standard one piece crank. The quill stem is probably smaller in diameter than standard because Schwinn used thicker tubing in their one inch threaded forks. I think it has the original Schwinn rims, which were larger than the standard 559, (Schwinn used 571) because the wheels fit so well in the mudguards. These tires are easily available in the States, but there aren’t as many choices. They have to be ordered, no bike shops carry them. The seats not original. The bars and stem aren’t original. Worth $50 locally so I think it’s a fair price if the wheels aren’t tocoed out. Schwinn may have still been making their own hubs then, kind of a transition period where they were sourcing some parts. If a dust cap is missing on the Schwinn hubs it’s pretty much unobtainable, nothing else fits. Schwinns factory built rims like these were very robust. I’ve removed dents in sidewalls on these heavy duty steel rims. I also took a real bad flat spot out of one Schwinn rim with a homemade jig and a hydraulic Jack. There are old fashioned professional tools to take flat spots out and I used phots from the net to make mine. I used hardwood instead of steel as it was only used once. I fixed a friends childhood Schwinn bicycle and he wanted it all original.
It’s not fillet brazed. Schwinn used a fast industrial method to put the front of their bikes together. A two piece lug like part was fitted, clamped tightly in place and high voltage was applied, turning the whole thing white hot instantly. It’s called electro forging. I’ve been in a factory that made wrenches like this. A huge spool of thick wire fed a wrench length into a clamp, high voltage made it instantly white hot, a stamp came down and smashed the thick wire into a wrench and it was snipped off the wire, a wrench every second. This was shipped to another factory for finishing and plating. If you see a frame like this it was made in Chicago.
The fork is not brazed up from pieces. It’s a one piece forged unit with the steerer tube brazed on.
