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Re-Cycle.com is
undergoing a major
overhaul. In the
meantime, our databases
are not very stable.
Please understand that
data you save here may
be lost in the near future.
T-Shirts
Vintage/Collectible
Schwinn Parts
Tired Ol' Belts
Hand crafted from
100% reused bicycle
parts.
From waste to waist!
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The 1970s Bicycle Boom
1970s-1975
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Maybe it was the fitness craze of the time. Maybe it was Sting-Ray riders
growing up. Maybe it was the price of gasoline or the growing environmental
movement. Whatever it was, the early 70s was host to an amazing bicycle
boom. Everyone wanted back on the almost 200 year old invention. The
bicycle outsold the car for the first (and last) time in decades. Everyone
did well, including Schwinn. Almost 7 million bikes were sold across the
country in 1970. In 1971 Schwinn sold 1.2 million bicycles by itself. At
the height of the boom in 1973, the industry pumped more than 15 million new
bicycles into America.
The Varsity sold extremely well throughout the 1970s bicycle boom, but what
the masses really wanted were European racing bikes. The Europeans (and the
Japanese) had been making high quality lightweight bicycles for years and
had managed to develop some cache in the states. While the Schwinn
Paramount was still a very high quality ride, it was American made and
nothing American made was given much respect at the time.
George Garner sold 10,000 bikes in 1972. Schwinn was building 6,000 units
every day. To say that Schwinn was stretched was an understatement. Most
of the bikes they were making were already sold. Quality suffered in the
rush to meet demand. And the market opened up to anyone that could get a
bike into a retail shop. Foreign brands poured in-the English Raleigh, the
French Peugeot, the Italian Bianchi-and began winning over the hearts and
minds of the American consumer. Schwinn itself began importing bikes from
Japan in 1972 and slapping the Schwinn name on them. The Le Tour was the
first Schwinn road bike that stood a chance against the European competition
and it sold well enough. But it sent a signal to Schwinn loyalists, if the
Japanese could make a bike good enough for the Schwinn brand, perhaps the
Fuji was a decent bike as well. And maybe these other foreign brands
deserved a second look. The bike boom gave several brands a strong foothold
in Schwinn territory.
At the height of the boom in 1973, 15 million bicycles were sold in the
United States. In 1974, Schwinn sold 1.5 million bikes. In 1975, that
number dropped to 900,000
Schwinn had spent decades building a reputation for quality, and in the
kids' realm, quality meant durability. And durability meant heavy. And
heavy meant slow. The Varsity was up to 40% heavier than its foreign
competition, a huge difference. After all, it had been targeted at 12-14
year olds. As Schwinn kids grew up, they wanted an adult ride. So, while
sales and profits continued to increase because of the industry wide boom,
market share was dropping. At the start of the boom, as many as 30% of the
10-speeds sold in the U.S. were Schwinns. By the end Schwinn's share was
less than 15%.
Construction of the Schwinn factory had begun around the turn of the
century. New buildings had been created out of necessity and as new
technologies were adopted. The result was a patchwork of inefficiencies.
No continuous line of production existed at Schwinn. The result was that
Schwinn could import bikes at lower costs than manufacturing them at home.
The market shift toward road bikes that Schwinn had helped engineer with the
Varsity, left the American company behind. Schwinn was still building a
bike to last while the lighter and faster competition was adopting new
alloys and other modern technologies. Furthermore, Schwinn stuck with its
vibrant red and blue color schemes while the rest of the industry moved on
to more adult themes. The Schwinn brand, king of kids, did not translate
into serious performance. The company had grown fat, complacent, and
unwieldy.
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