Schwinn Suburban

Yes... they collect dust rather well.

Really, Suburbans/Collegiates/Varsitys aren't worth much nowadays.

[email hidden] wrote in news:1127617316.516926.307300
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Quoted message said:

Yes... they collect dust rather well.

Really, Suburbans/Collegiates/Varsitys aren't worth much nowadays.

Yeah, it is my understanding that with the exception of extreme cases the X-
Mart bikes have killed the used bike market.

--
---
END OF LINE.

Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

Hiya E. Willson!
Sorry to say there's not much collectable value in the Suburban. For
one thing, step-through frames are not what the cycling collector
market is looking for (there's an emphasis on diamond frames there,
possibly because most cycle collectors are guys, I see the same thing
in fountain pens, where one of the most snobbish sneers I've ever seen
was bestowed in the direction of this cute little ring-top Peter Pan,
but I digress). For another, it's not one of the fancy Schwinn
Paramounts. It's an electro-forged commuter bike.

My suggestion would be to put the thing to use -- if it's relatively
close and relatively flat between your residence and the local market,
add some Wald baskets (on the back -- so you can carry 2 grocery bags
without having to worry about a lot of weight shifting around the
handlebars!), a combination lock cable (because no serious bike thief
is going to go after a Suburban, so you just have to keep the honest
people honest), and probably new brake pads. Ride slow in rain or when
rims are damp -- the steel tims take a while to stop when wet.
Otherwise find someone who can put it to use.

The Suburban, even in the step-through frame, works pretty well as a
bike where the terrain is relatively flat, relatively decently paved
(although I'm told the 27 inch wheels roll slightly more smoothly over
cobblestones than 700C wheels, all other things being equal, which they
aren't) and no other bike is available. I'd ridden my Mom's a few times
while vacationing with the parents -- it was actually somewhat fun and
different as I normally ride 700x38 tires on a hybrid.

It may be of some value if you've a "cycling history" sort of
collector, who wants to trace the development of "women's bicycles"
from step-through to mixte to specially-sized diamond frame and compact
frame -- sort like the stamp show exhibit I saw where one guy got a
Vermeil for a five-frame display that simply described the varied
postage rates used on a week's worth of his home junk mail. But
something tells me that sort of bike collecting is quite rare.

Robert Leone [email hidden]

Don't discount the value of a used Varsity/Continental/Suburban, to the older nostalgia riders out there. A well maintained/serviced tuned up bike can bring decent money on the return. Schwinn sold so many in the 70s that these bike in good riding shape can bring good money and flipped quick.