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This lovely beach cruiser is apparently based on an original 1955 design by Schwinn, the original and best American ‘balloon tyre’ cruiser bikes. Although the Schwinn brand isn’t particularly well known here in the UK, in America these bikes have achieved cult status and are considered to be the ‘Cadillac’ of bikes over there. Older ones are highly sought-after and collectable.
The Cruiser SS is sold as a reissue although there doesn’t appear to have ever been an exact match to this model in the 1950s range – or any other era come to that. However, paintwork and graphics, the cantilever frame, the whitewall tyres, the cowhorn bars, the chainguard design, and the coaster brake were common features of many models of the era (including the Jaguar, Phantom, Wasp etc) so I think Schwinn have probably taken all the classic design elements from all these bikes and created one superb ‘cruiser’ from the ingredients: this bike is the result. It has a coaster brake on the back wheel (back-pedalling brake) and unlike the originals, the frame is alloy which makes it considerably lighter than the Schwinns of days gone by, some of which weighed in excess of 70lbs!
A single-speed, it’s a simple but fun ride – the sort of bike you could easily just cruise around on all day. Essentially it’s designed for pottering around the neighbourhood or cruising round the park on a Sunday. I’ve taken it for slightly longer rides and although comfortable, it is quite slow with that single-speed and fat balloon tyres – great fun though! The colour scheme is Absolute Blue with Pearl White; both colours are metallic.
THIS SCHWINN BEACH CRUISER IS NOW FOR SALE. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.
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