Jive-Bomber submitted a new blog post: Confession: I Love Crust. Continue reading the Original Blog Post
I've got a bike like that. When you can buy new ones in the store that vaguely resemble a restored old one (the average passer-by couldn't tell the difference), it's nice to have some way to prove yours is the real thing. My mom always used to talk about when she was a kid, having something new and store-bought was a big deal, a status symbol. In an age where everyone can have the newest phone or car or whatever else they'll sign you up for payments on, having something old and different and possibly even home-built becomes a bit more special.
I had one of those, back in the day, and I hated it! All my fiends had newer, shinier 3 speeds and I had my older brothers hand me down. He had removed the fenders, chain guard & toolbox/tank and painted it green using house paint and a brush. Gawd, it was ugly! Eventually, I got a new & shiny 10 speed, I was the envy of the neighborhood! I don't remember what happened to it or the 10 speed but I wish I had that old Schwinn back...
Makes me think of "Nicks and scars from fair wear and tear shall not count against" as in animal judging, or Wabisabi, the Japanese art of imperfection. It's better than perfect.
I had to Google search Mike Wolfe, I had no idea who he is, bigger question is why would someone like Dean Lowe know who he is..
Aside from the Schwinn Typhoon I got for my tenth birthday, the rest of my bikes were built from the dump (usually a piece or two at a time) until I was out of school and bought a new mountain bike for myself. I have to admit, I never really shook the habit.... some of my kids bikes were "hand me downs" from our transfer station. A couple years ago someone threw this late 60's Schwinn in the recycling bin, my daughter wanted a cool bike to cruise around Burlington VT so I cleaned it up, put new tires, cables and a Ape hangers on it to make it comfortable for an adult, and she's been riding it to work all summer!
Then you must really like all of us old geezers that hang out here then! Every morning when I look in the mirror I see crust.............it looks much better on old cars and bikes! Your Schwinn Phantom is really cool. Here's my all original 1960 Sears J.C. Higgins Deluxe Flightliner, which surprisingly isn't too crusty for its age. The kid that owned this must have been really anal and never beat it up like I did with my first J.C Higgins bike that I bobbed the back fender on and painted metallic gold. It looked awful and I felt pretty bad for messing that bike up but I felt better when I got a new candy apple purple Schwinn Sting Ray in 1964.
I picked up a 1973ish Schwinn ten speed at a car show/swap. The guy wanted fifteen dollars for it and it had sat there all day. I gladly paid asking. It still has the original green handlebar tape.
I hate to hijack this thread into a "show off your old bicycle" thread but I have this same bike, almost identical, so I can't resist. My crappy pic makes it look pink, it's the same red.
Not quite identical.....you gotcherself a springer front end there Squablow. Funny how much character old junk has compared to new junk....cars, bikes, trucks, boats, everything is just so sterile now....damn I sound like my Dad.....damned Hippies! Thanks for posting fellas, good stuff.
Im not into "Bike-cycles" but on my Cars/ Trucks I love me unrestored/ Rusty Crusty stuff. My DD 55 is as fund pulled from a Pasture, hence the name "Pasture Fresh". I am 30 years old and have a 3 and 5 year old when I want to drive my old junk around I dont want to spend 2 hours every time to wash it and clean it. I also don't want to have to worry about where I park and if it's going to rain, well kinda have to do that anyway since I cant find a wiper motor for this. But anyway I just want to drive it and love the unrestored Look. also pictured is the 1952 AD chevy we finished up for a customer at the beginning of the summer.
I've bought cool old bikes at swap meets for quite a while, but my favorite is a 50's Schwinn I bought from a crazy old man we call Whizzer Dude. He shows up at the swaps with old bike parts (some Whizzer stuff sometimes), and vintage radio stuff. One swap meet he had a nice looking complete bike with a great patina, and didn't need much more than a new owner. Locking springer fork, heart sprocket, skip chain, three coats of old paint with different layers showing through in places. Perfect for me. All I did was wipe some overspray off the chrome with lacquer thinner, and grease it up. It's a nice riding bike!
Got a very similar old red patina ed Schwinn out in the garage myself, no fancy tanks or forks but its got a cool old STP sticker from back in the day, Same deal here about occasionally riding it with the kids
My two "crusty" neighborhood cruisers. 1958 Schwinn Corvette Little Red Corvette by G V Gordon posted May 29, 2016 at 6:50 PM 1939 Colson rear steer tandem 20170808_175002_resized (1) by G V Gordon posted Oct 10, 2017 at 9:39 AM
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