Schwinn/GT Bicycles Now Under Huffy Control

General Unicycling Discussions
#1

We all know Schwinn used to make unis and started recently to manufacture
them again. Kustom Kruisers, the maker of the famed Dyno Fireball 24 x 3
slick, was long ago sold to GT Bicycles. A Chicago venture capital company
purchased Schwinn in 1997, then purchased GT in 1998. Now the Schwinn/GT
company has filed for bankrupcy, which then prompted the company to
selling Schwinn/GT in 2 parts: the bicycle part and the fitness part.
Huffy has purchased the bicycle part for $60M for brand, trademarks,
inventory, acocunts payable, and other stuff.

This does not mean for sure that Dyno Fireballs will go extinct, but it
definately is possible. This is also true for Schwinn unicycles. We’ll
have to wait and hope that Huffy continues the Kustom Kruiser company as
is and continues to make the Fireball tire as well as Schwinn unis.

http://www.geocities.com/genesbmx/Schwinn-Huffy.html

Don_TaiATyahooDOTcoDOTuk, Toronto, Canada
http://torontounicyclists.tripod.com

#2

> This does not mean for sure that Dyno Fireballs will go extinct, but it
> definately is possible.

It is always sad when a good unicycling tire goes away. I remember an
Odyssey (I think) freestyle tire from the 80s that I used to love. It had
a nice squarish cross-section and it was awesome for freestyle. But then
they were all gone.

> This is also true for Schwinn unicycles.

I would hate for us to lose the Schwinns. Though you don’t see many of
them at conventions, they are one of the few good unicycles you can find
in stores. If they go, people not in-the-know about unicycling will be
back to various versions of Taiwan unicycles only.

Schwinn unicycles have had many ups and downs over the years. In 1983 the
company filed chapter 11 and they stopped making all of their unicycles
including the beloved Giraffe. The 20" and 24" came back in late 1986 with
many improvements. But the giraffe never came back, partly due to costs,
and probably also in part due to liability.

The new Schwinns were a nice improvement. But then in 1993 or so, they
stopped making them again. Boo hoo. When they came back in 1996 or so, the
design had retrograded to the more “classic” look of the older ones. This
time just “boo”. No more alloy rims, indoor-friendly pedals, or colors
other than black.

But Schwinns can still take a beating, and they can be either bought or
ordered at every Schwinn dealer. I hope they can hold on, or that the new
company will be interested in making an improved version! Huffy is a huge
company, and they surely could do it, even if it’s only a low-end model
designed for the mass market. That’s okay with me. If we get riders in the
front door, they can always upgrade…

Stay on top, John Foss President, Unicycling Society of America President,
International Unicycling Federation jfoss@unicycling.com
www.unicycling.com