RE: ebay upidstay
> Ebay.com seems to be a great site to pick up unicycles, but the editorial
> comments that some of the sellers make drive me nuts: "joining the circus?
> Check this out!" or, “I’m too old (or uncoordinated) to try this”, or they try
> and pass something from the sixties off as an antique…and then you have the
> ones that (usually jewelery) confuse a Penny Farthing (big wheel) bike with a
> unicycle. There is even one ad running this week for a uni where the seller
> describes the original Schwinn wheels and says that he will remove the
> pedals and handlebar for shipping. DUH!
Ebay is great entertainment for me. Also it seems to be an excellent
resource for picking up used Schwinns at a good price, plus lots of other
unicycle crap, and the occasional gem. The stuff for sale is hardly ever as
old as the seller thinks. This just goes to show how little knowledge there
is out there about unicycles. My favorite, from reading the list yesterday,
was the piece of jewelry listed as “old-old-old!” I can almost guarantee you
it’s from the 70’s…
A short chronology of the history of Schwinns (accuracy not guaranteed): 1967 -
Introduction of Schwinn unicycle, 20" and 24". I don’t think any Schwinns are
older than 32 years at this point. Previously there was the Loyd unicycle, very
similar but with a square seat. Schwinn bought the design. I don’t know if
Schwinn started with their own seat design in '67 or not. The rims are S-7
Tubular, which fit the proprietary 1 3/4" tires, but not 1.75" (it’s a bike
industry thing). Tires are beautiful whitewalls that say “Unicycle”, and are
rated for 60 lbs. pressure. Pedals have 1/2" threads, also fairly non-standard.
The tread is long lasting but not suited for indoors, where you can write your
name on a gym floor with them. 1977 - Introduction of the Schwinn Giraffe. None
are older than 22 years at this point. The early Giraffes had a screw-on bottom
sprocket, ala track bikes. This was a safety hazard because we unicyclists
stress the drivetrain in both directions. 1967-1980 - Little or no change to the
basic Schwinn standard design. 1980 or 81 - Schwinn goes cotterless! Rest of
unicycle about the same. 1980 - Giraffe gets a bolted-on lower sprocket. This
one doesn’t unscrew, big improvement. 1981 - Schwinn switches from cool Giraffe
sticker with a giraffe on it, to a boring “Schwinn” sticker. Toys ‘R’ Us pointed
out to them how similar their giraffe was to their Geoffrey giraffe. I don’t
think there was any legal action, but Schwinn stopped making the cool sticker (I
hoarded one and still have it!) 1983 - Schwinn goes Chapter 11, or nearly so.
They stop making unicycles. Bummer. Late 1984 - Schwinn contacts the IUF (in
Westbury, NY) and Tom Miller, asking for advice on changes for improvements to
make as they prepared to re-introduce their unicycles. I made up a bunch of
drawings of an “improved” seat design, which eventually became the Viscount (or
new-style Schwinn) seat as we know it today. Tom gave them a laundry list of
suggestions for improved materials and offering both standard and deluxe
versions. They followed much of his advice: 1986 - Schwinn re-introduces their
standard unicycles, 20" and 24". Sorry, no more Giraffes. This was probably a
combination financial and liability decision. But it’s a new era for the
standard models. The new 20" has a big black Schwinn sticker all the way up the
side, now 36 spokes instead of 28 (I think), a steel rim and an all-black tire.
The seat is a black one, with the plastic bumpers they still use. The 24" is
more “deluxe”, with a big blue sticker, blue alloy Araya rim (same as Miyata),
36 spokes, and a blue & white Panaracer tire. The seat is blue with white
bumpers. Both unicycles now use standard tires (1.75") so there are more choices
for replacement tires. Both new Schwinns now also have indoor-style pedals with
plastic ends to protect floors, 9/16" threads. These unicycles are not made in
USA. Seats are from Taiwan but I don’t know about the rest. 1993 - Schwinn stops
unicycle production again, due to more financial problems. 1995 or 96? - The
unicycles are back, with a retro look. Taking a technological step back, the
alloy rims and colored parts are gone. This may have been a combination of cost
cutting and return to the retro look, which Schwinn is doing with several models
of cool old classic bikes. Everything’s black or chrome, and the sticker is the
same as or similar to the original. Pedals are back to the old fashioned,
slippery block pedals, but I think they’re still 9/16" now. The cycle is very
solid and long-lasting, but still weighs a ton due to its thick, pressed-steel
structure.
Stay on top,
John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone http://www.unicycling.com