History and Culture by Bicycle Part 190; History of a Bicycle Part 2: Schwinn American

A few years ago I purchased a Schwinn American from a friend of mine. I think he bought it at a garage sale with the intention of refubishing/restoring it and never got around to it so I bought it from him with the same intention. The first thing I did when I bought it is took it apart, scraped the chain, spokes, crank arms and pedals, these items were either in very bad shape or were missing parts/pieces. The bearings, nuts, bolts and other hardware I put into plastic baggies and labeled them so they can be resued, especially the rear hub, bearings and brake assembly. Then it sat in my basement until recently.

I have pulled it out of the basement and am working on refurbishing it. I have washed the frame, fork, rims, handlebars, fenders, etc. I am now working on cleaning the rust off of everything. The headlamp and rims have a lot of rust on them, the frame, fenders, etc. has a little. I am using CLR and steel wool to clean it off with out scratching the metal and it is working great. After I get everything cleaned of rust I will need to figure out how to protect the bare metal from rusting again. One Option I have is chrome colored paint for the chromed pieces, like the rims and headlamp and the correct color for everything else. Once I have that done I am going to take it to the bike shop to have it rebuilt so it can be ridden. Beyond this I do not know what I will do with the bike. I do not think I will ride it. Sioux City is having a brand new air and transportation museum opening soon, perhaps I will donate it to them with a write up about bicycle transportation in this area, both past and present.

Some of the features on this particular bike are it has a working headlamp, painted fenders which are still is good shape and a basket that is is good condition.

Here is a history of Schwinn:
Schwinn History
Ignaz Schwinn

The Scwhinn American was built during the 1950's and 1960's. It came in both boys and girls frames and a variety of colors as well as offered either painted or chrome fenders.

Here are photo's of the model I have as it looks before I started the refurbishing process: