A vintage stingray being sold today could get you upwards of $3000 if it’s still in mint condition, however, the less popular models like the Breeze could maybe bring you $250 on a good day. The price of an old Schwinn bicycle depends on how rare the model is and how well preserved it is. For example, a beat-up Schwinn bike that requires extensive restoration can only be worth $50. But a rare model in good condition, such as the 1920 Schwinn Excelsior, can retail for as much as $1,000. Sadly, most Schwinn bikes are no longer suitable for more serious riders because they’re made with entry-level components that limit performance.
Schwinn bought out Arnold’s share of the company, installing himself as the sole master and commander of the business (although he did keep the Arnold, Schwinn & Co. name in use for decades afterward). And so, despite the rough economy and clear warning signs that the bicycle bubble was doomed to burst, Ignaz made his big move. He found himself a business partner—a well connected moneyman from the meat packing industry named Adolph Arnold —and together they launched a new company in 1895 called Arnold, Schwinn & Co.
If I recall, it was what mongoose bicycles called a “cantilever” frame, where the seat stays pass by the seat cluster and continue on in a graceful curve to join the bottom of the head tube. Older Schwinn “cruisers”, such as the Excelsior that was the inspiration of the first mountain bikes, used a straight lower top tube from the bottom of the head tube to the seat tube. In late 1997, Questor Partners Fund, led by Jay Alix and Dan Lufkin, purchased Schwinn Bicycles. Questor/Schwinn later purchased GT Bicycles in 1998 for $8 a share in cash, roughly $80 million. The new company produced a series of well-regarded mountain bikes bearing the Schwinn name, called the Homegrown series. It’s tempting to speculate about upgrades “down the road,” and I usually try to steer clear of making them since the cost of a few decent parts often exceeds the cost of the bike.
She zig-zagged the streets of her new Chicago neighborhood each day, learning the lay of the land on a bike that some of her neighbors might have once had a hand in building. The MTB comes in a steel frame construction with alloy rims to take on any trail. It also features front mongoose bicycles suspension to absorb the hard hits and bumps when cycling off-road. The Sidewinder has a simple steel frame with an easily accessible geometry that makes it beginner-friendly. Furthermore, the crank is easy to maintain, and the brakes and seat post are easily adjustable.
Naturally, the new breed of so-called Schwinns are produced in the same fashion. The once sprawling Kildare Avenue factory was set to be torn down by 1985, but the job was largely handled prematurely by a suspected arsonist’s fire in the empty complex in August of 1984. The vacant lot left in its wake remained an eyesore in Hermosa for 20 years before finally becoming the home of the new North-Grand High School in 2004. Meanwhile, the former Schwinn assembly plant and office building at the neighboring address of 1856 N. Kostner Avenue managed to avoid both the blaze and the wrecking ball, and is still standing today. The company finally abandoned Chicago in 1982, laying off 1,800 workers and relocating to a plant in Greenville, Mississippi.