Jul
17
I bought two bikes recently. WOndering how old they are
World Tourist
serial #- 352 416
long fenders
Says Schwinn Chicago, but also says made in Taiwan (I'm guessing outsource to Giant?)
What year is it from?
Also got a traveller III
serial- 78 04 08783
no fenders
made in Japan (outsourced to nishiki?)
If you have any other interesting facts about the bikes, let me know
US $1,200.00
Some of this info is pretty old and as such may have picked up some lint on the back shelf of my brain.
Well, they were made after 1982. Look on the headbadge.. there may be a number stamped lightly in the white area. If so, the date of manufacture is staring you in the face… numerically. For example, 3587 would be March 5 1987.
To my knowledge Schwinn never outsourced from Giant. During their transition from Chicago to Asia, some of their frames were made by Maxway in Taiwan who remains a premier builder of production steel frames.
I am also pretty sure that the Japanese imports were made by Mitutoyo (? don’t remember the exact name) who also made brands such as Soma, Shogun, and Takara. As far as I know Nishiki was just a brand name and never owned their own factory.
Click on the link and see if that helps.
http://www.oldroads.com/master_query.asp
Some of the Schwinn models can be dated by the serial number. There are lists on line that can help.