I talked to Tom Miller last night and he told me that Schiwnn is back in the
unicycle business again. They have 20" and 24" models of the same general design
as the 80’s Schwinns. Here are some details:
Country of manufacture: Taiwan Seat: The bumper seat of the 80’s with steel
base… Cranks: Cotterless Post: 9" Chrome. 14" post available as an extra. 36
spokes. Single wall steel rim. The pedals have steel exteriors, so you can’t use
them in the gym. Axle width: 7-1/4" White wall tire.
The price should be about $155-$170 for the 20", and $170-$185 for the 24". I
went to our local huge Schwinn shop to look at it, but all they had was Cycle
Designs. BTW, the salesman had tried it without success, and was excited to see
someone able to ride. I hopped on and rode down the aisle in the store, then he
realized that I wasn’t allowed to ride in the store, so I had to get off.
Tom also mentioned that the 24" Miyata Deluxes for sale in the latest OOW have
not sold out. If you are interested, call Frank at (616) 962-9978 M-F, 8-5.
BTW, the unicycle model database at the home page works again. I’m still taking
information on models if anyone can provide it.
Beirne
–
Beirne “Bern” Konarski | Unicycling Web Page: bkonarsk@mcs.kent.edu | http://www.unicycling.org Kent State University | “Untouched by Scandal” |
The Schwinn dealers in my are just got their Christmas Unicycle shipments in.
The new model is SWEET. Extra Hi-gloss chrome, Great saddle and upgraded
bearings over the original design.
In a message dated 95-12-13 09:03:59 EST, you write:
>What are the original Schwinn 20 and 24 with pinned crank from the 60’s selling >for? Mine are in excellent condition.
Generally, they go for whatever the market will bear. Since the average seller
doesn’t have access to other unicyclists (the poor slobs who never learned to
ride) they get sold at garage sales for as little as $10. Among a large group of
unicyclists (such as ourselves) you should be able to ask an receive up to $75
for yours.
Don’t forget to describe its condition in detail; especially the seat, and
please don’t make the mistake 90% of the people posting with localized questions
do, and tell us where you are!
>I also have a Japanese one from Schwinn with a cotterless steel crank.
How about going down to your local Schwinn store and giving them some flyers for
your local unicycling club? They could hand one out to anybody that gets one of
the new Schwinn unis. If they sell any of these for Christmas the new owners
might appreciate some help in learning to ride. If they had info about the local
unicycle club they would have someplace to go for help. I hate to think of young
kids getting a unicycle for Christmas and giving up on it because they can’t
learn to ride it.
We don’t have a unicycle club in town and I think we only have one Schwinn
dealer. But I would like to take them some flyers for our juggling club since we
do some unicycling also.
In a message dated 95-12-03 01:15:48 EST, Beirne Konarski wrote about the
new Schwinns:
>Country of manufacture: Taiwan Seat: The bumper seat of the 80’s with steel >base… Cranks: Cotterless Post: 9" Chrome. 14" post available as an extra. 36 >spokes. Single wall steel rim. The pedals have steel exteriors, so you can’t >use them in the gym. Axle width: 7-1/4" White wall tire.
I saw a 24" one at a local bike shop in the Sacramento area and I’ll add my own
observations. The seat is the same as the previous Schwinns, except the Schwinn
name is silk screened into the side, and there is a vinyl/fabric cover glued
over the foam. The one I saw felt very hard! The cotterless cranks appear to be
5 1/2", same as always. The cranks, axle and fork had very heavy looking chrome
plating, and all looked quite strong (what can you tell from looking?). The
steel rim was a disappointment. What happened to the Araya alloy rims they were
using on their (cheaper) previous models? The price was $169.95, before
Christmas. The sticker was very similar to the old Schwinn stickers; a chrome
rectangle with black, oval Schwinn logo. At the bottom it says “Boulder,
Colorado” which is where Schwinn is now based. There was a generic sticker that
warned you to read the owners manual before riding this “bicycle.” I asked the
people at the store, and they were fairly certain that the unicycle came with no
booklet. Old Schwinns came with a small booklet that contained useful
information for beginning riders.
It’s nice to have the Schwinns back. Even though they are expensive, they will
probably appear in a great many (American) bike shops that have had no unicycles
at all for the past few years.
If we want to see better (and cheaper) unicycles out there, all we have to do is
get lots and lots more people riding, driving up sales, and getting the unicycle
makers to actually compete with each other.
In a message dated 95-12-28 18:09:06 EST, Dan Whalen wrote:
>It’s too bad that someone from the USA or IUF doesn’t contact Schwinn and offer >to provide a booklet to accompany each unicycle sold. I don’t know if it’s a >feasible idea, but I believe it would give either organization quite a bit of >much-needed exposure
This is indeed a good idea. A better way to phrase it would have been “Maybe the
USA or IUF should look into . . .”
Schwinn moves in mysterious ways. Back in the 80’s we were able to get them to
include the copy from the USA Membership Prospectus at the back of their
unicycle manual. It told all about the USA, what we do, who Bill Jenack was,
etc. The only thing they left out was an address or phone number for the USA.
Needless to say, this did little to increase membership.
In either case, it was a nice thing for Schwinn to do, and it may be possible to
interest them in doing it again. The first thing to do would probably be to get
them to include the unicycle manual again, if they aren’t. Because this will
cost them money, it will be the big hurdle. If they are indeed interested in
doing that, we can then suggest improvements to the book.
I don’t have an address for Schwinn in Colorado, or else I would share it with
all here, and ask you to write them. Anybody know it?
For a little Daniel Whalen trivia, he’s the guy that won the “Name the
Newsletter Contest” back in 1982/83. Before the contest, the USA’s publication
was called “Newsletter.” He won a copy of the (original) UNICYCLE BOOK.
What are the original Schwinn 20 and 24 with pinned crank from the 60’s selling
for? Mine are in excellent condition. I also have a Japanese one from Schwinn
with a cotterless steel crank.
It’s too bad that someone from the USA or IUF doesn’t contact Schwinn and offer
to provide a booklet to accompany each unicycle sold. I don’t know if it’s a
feasible idea, but I believe it would give either organization quite a bit of
much-needed exposure
> bottom it says “Boulder, Colorado” which is where Schwinn is now based. There > was a generic sticker that warned you to read the owners manual before riding > this “bicycle.” I asked the people at the store, and they were fairly certain > that the unicycle came with no booklet. Old Schwinns came with a small booklet > that contained useful information for beginning riders.
When the local bicycle Schwinn dealer got some of these unicycles we all took a
field trip to the store. After playing with it for awhile we decided that the
best feature is the nice chrome job. There should be another warning on the
unicycle that states that if lifting the unicycle use both hands. The thing is a
tank (as was the old Schwinn unicycles). But there was a booklet that come with
the unicycle. The booklet looked like a good tool to teach unicycling but was
filled with numerous warnings (too many in my opionion).
In the next On One Wheel there will be a article on the Schwinn Unicycle as well
as a picture.
> It’s too bad that someone from the USA or IUF doesn’t contact Schwinn and > offer to provide a booklet to accompany each unicycle sold. I don’t know if > it’s a feasible idea, but I believe it would give either organization quite a > bit of much-needed exposure
USA does has contacted people within the Schwinn organization. The intent is to
do exactly what you are mentioning.
> > What are the original Schwinn 20 and 24 with pinned crank from the 60’s > selling for? Mine are in excellent condition. I also have a Japanese one from > Schwinn with a cotterless steel crank. >
I bought one two years ago for $40.
Beirne
–
Beirne “Bern” Konarski | Unicycling Web Page: bkonarsk@mcs.kent.edu | http://www.unicycling.org Kent State University | “Untouched by Scandal” |