Chicago Schwinn mountain bike?

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July 1983. The serial number chart only goes to 82, but the U could only be 1983.
 
It seems like it's a 10 speed sidewinder, but hard to say, the only 83 catalogs I found are listed with lightweight bikes. The forks and brakes aren't Schwinn from the looks of them, but the brown color matches. Those type of brakes weren't offered back then so I think they were added later, just guessing. It looks like a good bike and a good deal also. Here's the 82 catalog, the closest to yours is the 10 speed sidewinder.
http://schwinncruisers.com/catalogs/1982.html#winder
 
That bike is all-too rad. What are your plans for it?

Looks like a Chicago frame, but they added canti-posts and an import fork. Definitely SideWinderish, but every other sidewinder has center mount brakes and a tubular fork.
 
schwinn boy said:
From what I'm seeing the Chicago factory closed its doors in 1982, but the bike is an 83?
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Here's a link to a ten-year-old article that says it closed in 1983. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29737-2004Dec2_3.html
From what I gather, things got terrible before 1980; once the workers went UAW, and then went on strike, and then only 2/3 of the workers were recalled in '81.... well, it seems to me that things were in a fast'n'steady decline from '80 on. But, from a couple of internet sources (mostly on forums, but I've linked the one reputable news article), it seems that Chicago stayed active until some point in 1983.

Your dad's bike looks to be an '83 Chicago Schwinn, and there's evidence that others exist. IF you look at the '84 catalog, it's got the Sidewinder listed, and the pic looks like it's still a Chicago-made frame....wonder what those serials looked like? On other forums, I saw that the electroforged Sidewinder-style frame with the import lugged-crown fork and cantilever brakes was badged as a "MEsa Runner"; by '84, the Mesa Runner was an imported frame for sure. So... take a careful look at that frame, especially at the headbadge. It looks electroforged to me; how does it look to you? Electroforged Schwinns only came from Chicago, and the chances that your dad's frame is fillet-brazed seems very slim. Obviously not TIG-welded nor lugged. It's gotta be Chicago, the serial suggests '83, I think that's pretty safe to say that your dad has one of the last Chicago Schwinns right there.

Regardless, I think that frameset is about as hot as it gets. Very nice. Loving the stem/bars, too.
 
Its a first year Schwinn Sierra.They were still brazed.What Schwinn did was take a Sidewinder frame and welded canti posts onto it to release theyre first mountain bike the Sierra.Ive got the same one in my garage but my stem says Schwinn instead of ACS.Cool find!The following year Sierra had theyre own frames but tig welded instead of brazed.
 
Yeah, except it's electroforged---aka flash-welded.....most Chi-Town Schwinns were brazed only at the seat-tube/toptube junction in most frames, and with either brazing or traditional welding to attach the seatstays at the seatcluster. Exceptions, of course, include the fillet-brazed Super Sport, Sports Tourer, and Superior, and obviously the lugged Paramounts. Put a Super Sport next to a Varsity to compare; you'll see the difference. Or, read this article: http://sheldonbrown.com/varsity.html

I'm gonna check into the first-year Sierra; other bikes like Schwinn Boy's have been ID'd as early Mesa Runners on the forums, but i've yet to see any decals to verify. Off to google it up now...
 
Such a bummer on mine,one of the canti posts was totally shredded out and couldn't be fixed.Im about to get hit by lightning right now as I say this out loud.I cut them off!!!!Im a idiot and didn't think it all the way through.What kills me is that its the first year frame.I should of had it rewelded by True Torch.I shaved all the cable guides off and turned it into a SS Sidewinder with bmx Sidewinder forks.Its getting turned into a beater rider.
 
LIVE TO RIDE said:
Such a bummer on mine,one of the canti posts was totally shredded out and couldn't be fixed.Im about to get hit by lightning right now as I say this out loud.I cut them off!!!!Im a idiot and didn't think it all the way through.What kills me is that its the first year frame.I should of had it rewelded by True Torch.I shaved all the cable guides off and turned it into a SS Sidewinder with bmx Sidewinder forks.Its getting turned into a beater rider.
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Ha. No worries; it'll make a fine beater. You could prolly still have Johnny or any other framebuilder braze some canti posts on it. I just had some cantiposts brazed onto an old Worksman; think they charged me $45 or something. They did a rockin' good job on it, to.....shout out to Firth and Wilson Transport Cycles in Phila http://transportcycle.com/ But of course you got plenty of ppl local to ya in Cali, I'm sure.

Weird, I never even knew they made a Sidewinder clone with canti posts until Schwinn Boy posted this yesterday; now I want a frameset in the worst way. It's probably going to become my next stupid obsession....until the next one hits.
 
Yeah from what I understand they took a clump of 82 Sidewinders and welded cantis on to the frame and threw a Tange canti fork and viola the Sierra was born.Look at that pic on your link,see how the seatstays triangulate the seatmast at the top?Trippy
 
So the forks and brakes are original! That makes the bike even more valuable. I looked at the teeth on the cluster, there's hardly any wear. I think that bike has a lot of life left in it with the existing components. Did your dad give you the bike?
 
LIVE TO RIDE said:
Yeah from what I understand they took a clump of 82 Sidewinders and welded cantis on to the frame and threw a Tange canti fork and viola the Sierra was born.Look at that pic on your link,see how the seatstays triangulate the seatmast at the top?Trippy
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Yeah, that seems to be exactly what they did....even a lot of the components were the same in 83. Obviously, the fork/brakes are far different, and the Sidewinder gets by on steel rims. The thing about the photo set I linked to is, that's obviously a smaller frame, and if i recall correctly, every sidewinder I've seen is the same size....like, the size of your Sierra & Schwinn Boy's... but maybe I'm wrong about that. Hmmm....it has happened before. But, yeah, I think the seatstays are different on that other photo set compared to your frame and Schwinn Boy's frame b/c the frames are different sizes...

Well, dang, I'm on a mission to find me one of these Chicago Sierras... I got work to do. Schwinn Boy, your dad scored big, and now I gotta pay the price. =P
 

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