How old is my schwinn bicycle

Certainly by the teens Schwinn was stamping their numbers in line with the crank. The following is a brief synopsis of the prewar numbering system drawn from multiple sources but based largely on work done by Tim Brandt.

For the sake of simplicity in some cases I have generalized the cutoffs. For this reason you may find a bike that bleeds into another year. This information should be used to get you in the ballpark from there you need to really evaluate the bike to date it accurately and in some cases this may not be exactly possible especially if you only have a partial bike or frame.

The early numbers were hand stamped and consisted of numbers only. Beginning in a letter preceded the serial number followed by either four or five digits.

The post war bikes will have the built in kickstand mount and have the ridge indicative of the electro-forged frame Fig. Hopefully this helps making the identification of your Schwinn easier. Enjoy the ride! Fig 1. Schwinn serial number location prior to Fig 2. Schwinn serial number location The first letter still represents the month the bike was produced, and the second letter now represents the year. These bikes were produced between and The serial numbers will have a letter in the second position representing the month it was produced, and a number in the third position representing the year.

Take the date of production gathered from the serial number, the model printed on the bike itself, and the overall visual design and compare it to a Schwinn pricing table like that found at OldRoads. Do a quick search online at sites like eBay. On eBay, look closely at bikes that have a clear number of the serial number so that it will increase the likelihood that you are using an authentic Schwinn as a comparison to the bike you are interested in. Si Kingston has been an online content contributor since , with work appearing on websites such as MadeMan.

She is a professional screenwriter and young-adult novelist and was awarded the Marion-Hood Boesworth Award for Young Fiction in They are a useful tool in helping recover bikes after theft and also to establish the model.

The good news is most bikes have them. A chromoly bike may have a sticker on the seat tube from the tube manufacturer be it Reynolds, Tange or Columbus. Tube shape may also vary on higher end frames my chromoly HT has a triangle top tube and oval down tube. A Hi-Ten frame will mirror the fashion of when the bike was made. Look for the serial number on the lower head tube right above the wheel on the front of the bike for Schwinns produced between and Those produced after these dates will usually have a serial number stamped on the bottom bracket shell the rear axle hanger holding the wheel in place.

Skip to content Contents. Most bicycles have a frame number stamped into the metal under the bottom bracket. Occasionally, the frame number will be on the inside of the chain stay or on the down tube or top tube.

Check the Serial Number. The obvious starting point to find the date a bike was made is the serial number. Serial numbers are stamped onto the bike during the manufacturing process. You can find the bike serial number on the underside of the bicycle frame, near the bottom bracket. Look for a sticker containing a barcode.