Classic Schwinn Cruiser Fixie, I Covet Thee

I spotted this fixed-gear coaster hub Schwinn in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood during the Fremont Fair and fell instantly in love. (Thanks to a sharp eyed reader for spotting the coaster hub. I was too taken with the swooping frame to notice it).

Now, the impending fixed gear apocalypse makes me as nervous as the next run-of-the-mill Seattle bike commuter. I may not be out there in a Lynyrd Skynyrd spandex jersey, but I’m rocking 21 gears and I’ll stick with having brakes as I come down Yesler every evening, thanks just the same.

Still, if I ever decide to get/make/steal a fixie, this is the one for me. I’ve always thought the half-circle double-tube swoop of that classic cruiser-style frame was one of the most elegant bike designs ever made, and the ironic touches – bullhorn bars, battered patina, and sensible seat – make this a sweet urban post-millennial ride. The solid front chainwheel is an idiosyncratic touch I can’t argue with.

Somehow stripping away those high cruiser handlebars, the wide fenders, and the giant back rack that came standard on a lot of these bikes, and even stripping off the color, has foregrounded the elegant sculptural quality of the frame’s form, emphasizing the perfect unbroken arc of the seat stays arching forward.

Stumbling around the internet in a covetous haze, I came across a boatload of classic Schwinn cruisers on Ebay and Craigslist. Not cheap. It’s nice to know these bikes are still out there to be had, though the days of just happening across one at a garage sale (in Seattle at least) are probably over.