Schwinn Bicycles
My interest in the Giant made Hotfoot and variants available in other countries eventually lead me to the Predator range of bicycles made for Schwinn in the early to mid 80s. These bikes are classic Giant and some models are almost identical to the Hotfoots sold here in Australia. Most disappointing though for me is that these bikes seem to be higher spec than ours - look at the 24" full CrMo cruiser the US got compared to our HiTen version..
Please browse through all of the material I have collected:
If you have any Schwinn information or photos, please forward them to me and I will add them to the site. I am especially interested in brochures and advertisements as these are most valuable when restoring bikes back to their original glory.
Hall of Fame
Below are some Schwinn bikes that have taken my fancy. The beautiful thing about these bikes is that they span from factory original - down to the brakes, calipers, seat and other small parts - to a modern build where the only OG part are the frames and fork. That's one of the things I like about the bikes and their builders - anything goes. These aren't rare bikes and no-one is going to get upset that you have chosen non-original parts or colours.
Hall of Fame: Schwinn
The name Schwinn is synonymous with BMX. The Schwinn Stingray and Scramblers are considered by many to be the first BMX pre-dating anything that BMX Products (Mongoose) built. As with most American companies, production moved from the United States to Asia in search of cheaper labour rates.
At the beginning of the 1980s Giant was manufacturing 100,000 bicycles per year for Schwinn. When Schwinn's workforce went on strike in the fall of 1980, Giant shipped Schwinn 80,000 bikes in five months. Production returned to normal after the strike, but Schwinn's aging manufacturing capabilities were not being upgraded. The American company became increasingly reliant on the Taiwanese manufacturer, sharing both manufacturing and design expertise. In the fall of 1982, Giant shipped 130,000 BMX Schwinn Predators, Schwinn's first successful BMX entrant. By the end of the year, Schwinn shifted most of its production to Giant and closed its Chicago plant.
In 1984, Giant produced Schwinn's first chrome-moly mountain bikes, the Sierra and High Sierra. They were an instant success and unit sales triple three years in a row. Giant shipped half a million bikes to Schwinn that year, 2/3 of Schwinn's sales. In 1985, Giant produced 1 million bikes, most of which went to Schwinn. By 1986, Schwinn depended on Giant for 80% of its inventory.
Hall of Fame: Schwinn Predator
The 1982 Schwinn catalogue featured the Sting BMX and the new models known as the Predator. These were initially available in three variants - the Predator CrMo, the Predator MAG and the Predator Z which came equipped with a chrome moly frame, Tuff wheels and ACS Z rims respectively. The MAG and Z models used a heavier, carbon-steel frame but all came equipped with Dia Compe MX-1000 brakes.