As we’ve often maintained: ALL bikes are great, and the best bike in the world is very often the one you’re riding right now. Never underestimate that connection with the bike that just makes you want to leave the house and head out on a ride, whatever that bike and wherever that ride takes you.
This article first appeared in Singletrack World Magazine issue 131
- Price: It was a present
- From: My boyfriend’s garage
This is my 1964 Schwinn Traveler, given to me as a rather special 40th birthday present from my partner. I did protest that he shouldn’t give it to me, as it’s too nice, and I’m not worthy and I’ll probably break it, but he didn’t listen. So I brought it back from the USA (where it was and he still is) on my last trip over there. By the time it left the airport in Manchester it had acquired a broken spoke and a wonky mudguard. Some delicate repairs later, and it has become my ‘pootling around on sunny days’ bike.
My concerns that I’ll trash it are not unfounded. As well as being older than me, it has spent its life living in the dry climate of Utah. This is about as different from West Yorkshire as you could get. Here, laundry takes days to dry, even on a radiator. There, you barely need to show your washing to the line and it’s dried. While my Schwinn might have mudguards, I’ve no intention of putting them to any practical use – I’m doing everything I can to keep the bike dry and rust-free. Plus, getting parts to repair anything is likely to be something of a challenge, so I’m trying to steer clear of any gritty grinding of components or rims on wet rides.
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The Schwinn, then, is a great choice for the fine weather of lockdown. With gnar off the menu, I can downgrade to happy pootling without feeling like I ought to be doing some more serious riding. While I’m not going to get fit riding it, it does wonders for the brain. Moving off the sofa and getting fresh air on a bike that makes me smile is important soul food, and I’m only sad there’s no option for stopping for an ice cream in the park, or crisp pint in the sun. But those times will come again.
For now, I’m grateful to have a choice of quiet routes and scenic views to take in on my daily exercise.
The Bike
Schwinn is one of the oldest names in the bicycle industry, and its Traveler model first appeared in 1950. Over the coming years, juvenile and women’s models were added. Billed as a lightweight bike for touring, utility or sport, they came with practical features such as mudguards, lights and saddlebags. In 1959, the first models with the Bendix two-speed coaster hub were introduced and this is probably the most interesting aspect of my build. This coppertone colour was introduced in 1964, and by 1965 the coaster brake had fallen out of the line-up.
The Bendix 2 speed hub is ‘automatic’ rather than cable operated. A slight back pedal changes between the two gears, whereas holding backwards pressure activates the coaster brake. The model here has a red banded hub, only made from 1960 to 1964, with later editions having blue or yellow bands. Gearing is 1:0.67 for hill climbing, and 1:1 for everywhere else. Inside the hub there are a lot of small parts and ball bearings and the servicing instructions warn that ‘a tiny piece of grit can do a tremendous amount of damage’. Having taken it apart and cleaned it, there’s an extensive list of 14 different points to check, before actually doing anything to it and getting it working again. There’s even an enthusiast on the internet who will send you a sew-on patch if you’ve actually managed to do all that and then put it back together and get it working again. Once again: this is my bike for dry and sunny days of pootling.
In an act of some sacrilege but practicality, I’m in the process of adding a front brake. Where I live is very hilly, and it’s quite tricky to stop at a road junction on a downwards slope and dismount while keeping backwards pressure on the coaster brake. Plus, if that coaster should fail through overheating and burning up the grease (like they used to do in the original mountain biking Repack races), then I currently have no alternative means of stopping. I live halfway up a rather steep and long hill, so the fear is real.
The other key element of interest is the frame, which was made by electro-forging. At the time this bike was built, it was state of the art and gave Schwinn a huge advantage through cheap and fast production of what were then lightweight frames. The process allowed Schwinn to buy steel strip, and from there it formed all the tubing and frame shapes by moulding the strip into shapes or halves that were then joined by passing an electric current through them. The edges became molten and would be forced together, then cooled to create a join. By the early ’70s, European and Japanese brands had eaten into the Schwinn market share, using newer and lighter materials and manufacturing techniques, spelling the end of the golden age of Schwinn and the death of the electro-forging process.
The Ride
My first ride on the Schwinn Traveler was taken having just landed from a transatlantic flight. Barely a couple of hours after clearing the airport, I found myself cruising alongside a gentle riverside bike path in the warm afternoon sunshine of Salt Lake City. The almost flat terrain was the perfect introduction to riding the bike, giving me plenty of opportunity to adapt to the coaster brake and the ride position.
Initially I was worried that it was too small – pedalling along, my knees feel more bent than usual – however, the coaster brake means you want to be able to get your foot to the ground with your bum in the saddle. It’s quite like when you were a child and first learning to ride. The swept back handlebars take a little bit of getting used to too, especially when turning – the steering is pretty twitchy compared to modern bikes and gave me a bit of a start when I had to steer round a snake. But abandon thoughts of speed and instead cruise along on this, casually pedalling, lazily soaking up the warm sunshine and sparkling water… it’s enough to make you want to grab a picnic blanket, lashings of ginger beer, and go make out in the park to the songs of the Beach Boys.
The short riverside jaunt to a restaurant for a birthday tea turned out to be a 30-mile tour, with the return leg punctuated by dropping in on a party in a bike shop. Despite all that, and the 18-hour flight before it, that first ride primed my brain for happy thoughts every time I reach for it.
As I had feared, its natural habitat is not Calderdale. Descending the steep hill from my house is showing signs of wearing out the hub, and I fear the day it will need that service and I (or, actually, hopefully my partner) can earn that cloth patch. Even having found my way to the flatter ground of the valley floor, the canal path is not often dry, and is interspersed with cobbled spillways over which I must get off and push. I can climb the bike back up the hill to my house, but it feels like a shortcut route to wearing something out, so having proved I can do it, I choose not to.
Getting off and pushing now and then is fine, but the brake/gear combo makes handling a little interesting. Turning at a junction that leads to a climb can result in braking and a change into the 1:1 gear, while stopping at a junction on a slope requires some careful coordination and nifty footwork to keep pressure on the coaster brake until your other foot is on the floor. For me, this means having my dominant foot back on the brake, and my left foot making it to the floor from the front pedal, which is contrary to my usual stopping position.
Who cares though, when the sun is on your face and your handlebar tassels are blowing in the breeze?
Overall
Riding this Schwinn Traveler makes me happy. Any day that is sunny enough and relaxed enough for me to undertake the kind of cruising it’s best at is bound to be a good day, and getting it out of the garage is an act of anticipatory pleasure. Riding it is usually without purpose or goal, I just head out to see where the road takes me and what I might find. I’m looking forward to a return to the days when I can prop it on its kickstand while waiting for an ice cream, then return to it to find it being admired by a passing bike nerd, or just someone who appreciates its vintage aura, or a child who likes the tassels.
My aged Schwinn Traveler is no impatient teenager, and together we can wait for a return to those days. For now, I’ll content myself with solo pottering and happy reminiscing.
This article first appeared in Singletrack World Magazine issue 131
Schwinn Traveler specification
- Frame // Schwinn Traveler electro-forged steel
- Fork // Schwinn electro-forged steel
- Hubs // Rear – Bendix 2-speed automatic red band, original Schwinn
- Rim // Original Schwinn S1 spec
- Tyres // Kenda 26×1 3/8x 1 1/4
- Chainset // Original Schwinn
- Brakes // Bendix rear coaster brake
- Stem // Original Schwinn
- Bars // Original Schwinn
- Grips // Original Schwinn with added tassels
- Seatpost // Original Schwinn
- Saddle // Original Schwinn
- Size // 18.5in
- Weight // 17.75kg / 39.13lbs
While you’re here…
If you think your bike is the bee’s knees, tell us about it and maybe we’ll feature you in our Readers’ Rides series:
