I was pedalling down the street when one of my neighbors came outside and started talking to me about how she used to unicycle. Then she remembered she had one of her old uni’s in storage and she brought it out and said I could have it!
It needs a new tire and maybe some other things, the seatpost is very thin, and the frame is 2 piece (2 separate pieces of metal, I don’t know the technical term for it.) But it looks like it will be fun for cruising around, the spokes need to be tightened a little and the wheel just wobbles a teeny bit.
You got a great deal! Based on the cotterless cranks your unicycle dates from 1979-83. The “truly” old Schwinns had cottered cranks.
I think the technical term was split frame, but by today’s standards you can call it rugged but stupid. Yes, a single bolt holds the whole thing together, but that part actually works fine. The frame is flexy from side to side, but that mostly isn’t an issue for unicycling. Also that single bolt makes it really easy to change the tire! The downside is only 1" seat height adjustments.
BTW, don’t worry about your “thin” seat post, it’s probably stronger than most of the basic posts on the market today using that same bolt pattern.
TIRE:
Your rim fits only S-7 tires. That’s 1 3/4" width, which is not the same as 1.75". Don’t ask me, my math teacher thought those would be the same size too. It’s called “proprietary standards.” You might be able to find a 24 x 1 3/4" tire if you shop around your local bike shops, or eBay if you don’t find any there. Don’t bother trying to fit a 1.75 tire though. You can replace the rim of course, but I’d only recommend spending that money if you can’t find any tires. You’d need a 28-hole rim.
Enjoy! The old Schwinns were semi-indestructable. That doesn’t count the seat, which was self-destructing on drops, or the hub. Hubs were fine back in the day, but nowadays people do much more abusive stuff to their unicycles!
Most of those who respond here dont know Jack-(shit)
I purchased a 2008 Schwinn 24 inch with the same contruction one bolt.
Its strong and can hamdle any muni riding. Double rim wheels u can’t get a better unicycle in this price range.
Yeah I’m 6’ so the seat is about 2 inches or so too low for my height, but oh well! I was actually able to pump up the tire and I rode it down the street! It was so much faster than my 20" what a difference.
Yup, Dane’s uni has those newfangled cotter-less cranks. Top o’ the line. Will last forever. The seat post is super strong because it’s almost solid. Just tighten that seat post bolt real tight and your frame will be solid as a rock, and about as heavy. I did break a few of those hubs over the course of riding Schwinns for 25 years.
Yeah, and as John says watch out for 24 X 1.75 tires. They’re too small. You need the bigger ones. You know 1 & 3/4. Even the owner of my childhood LBS didn’t realize that.
Just think, you’ll be able to tell your kids “When I was your age my unicycle weighed 45 pounds and the frame was held together with one bolt.” Of course the unicycle will still be around and perfectly functional so they’ll be able to weigh it and bust you on the 45 pounds part. But the one bolt will be a curiosity for them.
I’m told they came out in '67. But maybe it was something like Christmas 1966? Also I think your pedals were replaced. The earliest Schwinns had these strange, almost triangular pedals. They were thick, and tapered to the outside end where there was a big round cap like the pedals you have. Your pedals may have been replaced way back in the 60s, possibly without you even knowing (though the block pedal design didn’t change much until 1983 either). Lastly I’m going to suggest that your frame sticker is not the original one. You either didn’t ride the unicycle that much (which I doubt), or it got replaced at some point. Frame sticker wear is kind of like floormat wear in used cars. You can use it as an indicator of wear & tear. But you could buy those stickers at the bike shop, so that might have gotten replaced too.
Dane M, you can get a longer seat post. Back in the day, they came in 9" and 14", something like that. But today there are lots of post choices for you that will fit. KH uses the Schwinn bolt pattern.
The Schwinn unicycle of today is an odd creature. It keeps the classic split frame design, but with more conventional main-cap bearing holders at the bottom. This defeats one of the underlying purposes of the old frame, which was its ultra-simple manufacturing. Building them involved (something like) a single stamping, then drilling of a small hole at the top and a big one at the bottom (for the bearing). But the frame is still heavy and twisty, and you still can only adjust the seat height to 1" increments.
But John Drummond has told me they sell well, because there’s a whole world out there of people who used to ride Schwinns like that, and go for the brand recognition even though there are more sensible designs out there for less money. I would guess that Florida used to ride a Schwinn many years ago? With 48 spokes, the new Schwinns have much stronger wheels, though it’s still a square-taper (a.k.a. cotterless) axle, which means “any muni riding” could break it pretty fast. But most MUni riding is not so abusive. My old carbon fiber MUni (circa 1997?) still has its original Suzue hub. And the Schwinn is not sold as a MUni so the axle is not weak for what it’s made for. For me, the 1" seat adjustment is an automatic deal-breaker, but it still makes it really easy to change the tire! Also the KH-type seat is a massive improvement over the old Schwinn (or later Viscount) design.
I thought this guy did a pretty cool job of pimpin’ his Schwinn:
X-post from MTBR.
I love the leather seat although he does mention it is not too comfortable.
Imagine branding your own Schwinn logo into the leather.
Wow, that may be the most pimped-out Schwinn I’ve ever seen! I guess the saddle idea is for it to be like an old Brooks-type saddle? I can’t imagine that being comfortable under any circumstances.
I once drilled 1" holes up the sides of a Schwinn frame, and seat-bolt holes all the way up the post, and more holes 90 degrees offset from those. Then had the whole thing re-chromed at a cost of $24 dollars (unfortunately the plater went out of business immediately afterward). Beautiful end result, but even more flexy than an un-drilled Schwinn frame.
Many years later I tried to put a 26" wheel in it and use it for a MUni. First thing to change was the frame, but even a plain one was still too small, and too flexy for riding hills. It was fine on the flats, but would rub like corduroy pants whenever you pedaled hard. Such was my first attempt at a custom MUni, back in 1996.
