Schwinn is bringing some production bike manufacturing back to the US as they celebrate their 125th anniversary with a limited edition update of the Schwinn Collegiate, US-made by Henry Ford II in Detroit, Michigan. The bike is a modern update to the classically American affordable city commuter bike, so it’s nice to see parent company Pacific Cycle tap Detroit Bikes for production.Advertisements
Affordable city commuter bikes, US-made by Detroit Bikes
Who would have thought that Walmart.com was going to be the place to buy a new made-in-the-USA bike? But Pacific Cycle, who owns the Schwinn brand these days and sells mostly through the retail giant, wanted to celebrate 125 years of the American bike manufacturer in style. So partnering with Detroit Bike’s owner Zak Pashak,
Pashak says Detroit, which produces their own line of affordable US-made commuter bikes, are “essentially the only company in America that can do small (and/or large) runs of affordable custom bikes.” That’s included a New Belgium Brewing commuter fleet in the past, bike building for Dick’s Sporting Goods, and now Schwinn’s 125th.
Schwinn Collegiate 125th anniversary US-made commuter bike
Details are still thin on the 125th anniversary Schwinn Collegiate project. But we do know that just 500 of the limited edition bikes will be built by Detroit entirely in the USA… and they will be available exclusively online from Walmart.com.
Detroit’s master framebuilder Henry Ford II (no relation) will oversee welding of the steel frame & unicrown, straight tapered leg forks, then painted in Campus Green in-house.
The Collegiate will be offered in two step-through sizes 17″ & 19″, and two horizontal toptube sizes 18″ & 20″. It will feature a full coverage fenders, long reach rim brakes a threadless headset, rear rack mounts, and a 1x derailleur-geared drivetrain.
No official word on exact delivery or pricing, but Detroit has sold similarly spec’d bikes for around $900-1250. The limited edition US-made Schwinn Collegiate is expected to fall in between, around $1000 when it becomes available in mid-summer 2020.
SchwinnBikes.com & DetroitBikes.com
