1980 Schwinn Typhoon - First classic bike!

[Phiredog]

Been searching for a while for a classic cruiser to modify or play around with and came up with this bike. Paid $110. Has Schwinn approved grips, rat trap pedals, and Mesinger seat. No fenders and a Hollywod chain guard. The front hub is Schwinn approved but the rim has no markings. Its a lot of fun to ride. Apparently the guy I bought it from was the original owner.


photo by Phiredog, on Flickr


photo by Phiredog, on Flickr


photo by Phiredog, on Flickr

 

[CRASH]

Nice! That will clean up great!

 

[Wildcat]

Nice looking Schwinn! There are a couple things that don't look Typhoon, but i'll research when the computer speeds up a little and get back to you. You may have more than a Typhoon. Is the serial number on the lower part of the head tube? Can you post the first 2 letters? Also, a closeup of the seat tube decals?

edit: The Findley Schwinn catalog pages aren't loading up right now, but it looks like you may have a cruiser 5 frame if it is a 1980 model. The other frames all had a standard crossbar on the seatstays where the fender bolts up. Yours is made for the handbrake which was on the Cruiser 5. But the Cruiser 5 had a 4 leaf clover chainring, you have the mag chain wheel like the Typhoon or Heavy Duty would have. Your front wheel may be original if it's a cruiser 5, it used a large flange hub. If it's a typhoon, it would have come with S-7 wheels, different in size fromn the other 26 inch wheels, and restricts you on what kind of tires you can use. It looks like you have standard size wheels, so that's good. And they look to be 2.125 so that's shows the frame has clearance for them.

 

[user 135]

Nice find

 

[CCR]

looks like an 80/81 "schwinn cruiser" from the having the brake mount tab and if the "CR...." serial # on your flickr page is the same bike. The seat tube checkered decal was usually on older bike models so I'm guessing that had been added on.

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981 ... 81_25.html

I'm guessing the original seat got swapped at some point too, sharp heavyweight frame bike

 

[Wildcat]

I checked through a lot of ads and photos. All the cruisers came with the 4 leaf clover sprocket, and had a chrome fork crown. I think the sprocket and forks are from a blue Typhoon, maybe the Typhoon frame had damage and they swapped it out. Either way, it''s a plus for you, you have a slightly bigger frame, at least for putting fatter tires on. And the blue all matches up.

 

[Phiredog]

Hmm, so maybe I have a hybrid bike. Cool, might make it easier to make some changes to it. Oh yeah, here's a photo of the serial number on the steering tube.


photo by Phiredog, on Flickr

The tires are indeed 26 x 2.125. It's been a while since I been on a bike other than Bmx. This bike felt huge when I got on it and I'm 6'1". Thanks for all the replies.

EDIT: here's the page i found that looked a lot like my bike

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1971 ... 80_28.html

 

[CCR]

Is there anything left of the top tube decals ? That would solve the frame model question, are the wheels stamped s-2 or have any knurling on them ? at this point though a guy will usually spend as much or more money trying to track down parts and make a bike " original " as a guy would spend tracking down the original bike he is trying to recreate and just buy the original. You've got one sweet looking mystery Schwinn none the less, solid bikes and yours looks killer as is

 

[Phiredog]

Is there anything left of the top tube decals ? That would solve the frame model question, are the wheels stamped s-2 or have any knurling on them ? at this point though a guy will usually spend as much or more money trying to track down parts and make a bike " original " as a guy would spend tracking down the original bike he is trying to recreate and just buy the original. You've got one sweet looking mystery Schwinn none the less, solid bikes and yours looks killer as is

No, there are no traces of anything on the top tube. I can't find any stamping but both rims have knurling. I'm not interested in restoring this bike to original; I just like knowing what I have. Thanks for the help!

 

[CCR]

If the rims have knurling they're Schwinn and with those tires on it they're S-2 rims (what a cruiser would of had) instead of S-7 (what a typhoon/hollywood would of had - only takes a skinnier tire) I bet someone robbed the hollywood for the fork/seat and guard. Got any better pics of the seat tube decal ?

 

[Wildcat]

Yep, more bike than a Typhoon. It's good to go just like it is.