More info on schwinn

I sent this out yesterday but I don't think it went out:

So far about 4 people have shown interest in the 24 inch schwinns.

I called and they said they have 5 unis left. No quantity discount as they are
already discounted. I asked about the seat and it is the black vinyl (no hard
white plastic bumpers)

If you're still interested you can call (513) 821-0387 and ask if they ship.

You may be able to get a small discount if you don't have them assemble it.

--
-- Dirk Iwema Cincinnati, Ohio USA Internet: iwema_dirk@ae.ge.com

[color=blue]>So far about 4 people have shown interest in the 24 inch schwinns.[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]>I called and they said they have 5 unis left. No quantity discount as they are[/color]
[color=blue]>already discounted. I asked about the seat and it is the black vinyl (no hard[/color]
[color=blue]>white plastic bumpers)[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
[color=blue]>If you're still interested you can call (513) 821-0387 and ask if they ship.[/color]

If these are 24" Schwinns with non-bumpered seats, it means they were made in
1983 or earlier. This means that their tires and tubes are very old, and may not
be very good any more. As far as I can remember, the highest retail price for
the "old style" Schwinns was $139, but it may actually have been as high as
$159. In any case, that bike shop should be very happy to be getting rid of such
old inventory. However, if they won't go down in price, it means they know what
they have. It's not like you can come back next year and they will finally have
decided to get rid of them! Schwinns made in 1986 and later have a plastic
bumpered seat (which I helped design). It's blue on the 24" models, and black on
the 20" models. There was no Giraffe after 1983. Any Schwinn in a bike shop,
especially one that's already more than 10 years old, can be considered a
collector's item of sorts. I collect unicycles, and if more other people did,
they might actually increase in value!

For tires, watch your sizes. Old style Schwinns have Schwinn-specific
rims, and only accept 24 x 1 3/4" (or 20 x 1 3/4") tires, NOT 1.75".
This was how Schwinn used to get you to buy only their tires. The later
Schwinns, with bumpered seats, use standard size tires, which can be
purchased anywhere.

Tire pressure. The old Schwinn "Unicycle" tires were rated to 60psi.
They were also made of hard rubber which made them last longer, but were
very bad for any indoor riding, as they marked the floor. Colored tires,
and the new-style black Schewinn tires, are non-marking. With any but
the most low-budget tire, you should be able to pump it to at least 90
psi without a problem, AS LONG AS THE TIRE IS PROPERLY SEATED. It's
important at the time of installation to make sure there are no kinks in
the tube, and that the tire fits evenly all the way around the rim. Pump
a small amount of air in, and then examine the fit before pumping the
rest of the way. Some rim-tire combinations fit more easily than others.

I have a racing unicycle with a 24 x 1 1/4" rim & tire. As it turns out,
the nice old whitewall tires I was using with it were very old, and not
very good quality; they just looked nice. I had just insatalled a new
tire earlier this year, pumped it up to very high pressure (for low
friction), and taken off for a training ride on Long Island's Jones
Beach Bike Path. After about 1 1/2 miles, I noticed a bump in my wheel.
Before I could stop and let some air out of the tire, BOOM!sssssssssss.
I had to walk back. This happened because my tire (unknown to me) was
over 10 years old, of cheap quality to begin with, and perhaps not
properly seated. This combined with the high pressure (90-100) created
the problem (which is less likely with wider tires and lower pressures).

Ride on,

John Foss, President International Unicycling Federation unifoss@cerfnet.com