# Rare Schwinn Single Speed



## Steeljaws (May 2, 2010)

If memory serves me, I recall in 2001 or 2002 an all black Scwinn single speed mountain bike that I believe had a flat bar. I can't for the life of me remember the model name, and for whatever reasons, it was short manufacturing cycle. There were several write ups on this bike in the MTB mags, and after doing an exhaustive search on the web for a detailed history of Schwinn bikes, I still can't find it. Does anyone remember this bike?


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## Steeljaws (May 2, 2010)

I found it, it was called the Schwinn Panther; it was stealth black, had a curved flat bar; 1 1/8th threadless headset, etc....anyone ever have one, and did you strip off the crappy parts and do a nicer build? This bike weighed 23.5 lbs with all the junk parts. Anybody have a picture?


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## muddybuddy (Jan 31, 2007)

Since that's technically not vintage, retro or classic.....

You might have better luck over in the single speed forum.


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## Steeljaws (May 2, 2010)

That depends....classic maybe, since it's not made anymore....









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## 1 cog frog (Dec 21, 2004)

*Search function...*

from the singlespeed forum:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=520130&highlight=panther

Search results for "panther":
http://forums.mtbr.com/search.php?searchid=9311128

frog


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## muddybuddy (Jan 31, 2007)

I stand corrected. That is retro.


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## mtb143 (Aug 26, 2007)

I have a Panther that I bought in 2000. This bike changed the way that I look at bicycling.

I got it because I thought it looked both fun and utilitarianish, but when I threw a leg over it and started pedaling, I was instantly transported to being six years old, with the pure, simple pleasure of just _riding _- no constant little calculations going on in the back of the head, unconsciously choosing gears, shifting, evaluating suspension performance and settings. I didn't realize how much of this goes on, even though it's automatic, until it was all taken away by a Schwinn Panther. Pedal to go, brake to stop.

And while this thing was beautiful and looked like something my dad or dad's dad would have ridden decades ago, the one in my hands was light and fast. This was obviously a pet project of someone over at Schwinn, produced in the final days when Schwinn was still Schwinn, before it got bought up by Pacific Cycles. It's geared to just rocket on the flats, and came stock with flipflop pedals, flats on one side and SPD on the other. That was a clue that this wasn't a simple grocery getter.

Back then I read a story about a Schwinn employee who entered a local race on a Panther, and won! I thought why not? It's definitely fast on the flats, so just for the fun of it I raced mine in a triathlon. It was so worth it just to see the looks on peoples faces as they'd roll up next to me, pause, stare, make some comment, and then slowly pull ahead of me.

What a fun bike. I still have it, but sadly it gets a lot less time out of doors these days as my daily commute is through the woods and trails. I remember reading that the Panther was built with "mountain bike geometry", so I at times considered throwing knobbies on it, but never did and it's still stock except for a different stem. It did inspire me to get a dedicated single speed mountain bike though, geared more appropriately for hills.


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## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

I thought they made a Homegrown singlespeed as well. I recall seeing an article in an industry magazine some time ago about a Homegrown with horizontal dropouts. Maybe I am mistaken.


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## Steeljaws (May 2, 2010)

mtb143 said:


> I have a Panther that I bought in 2000. This bike changed the way that I look at bicycling.
> 
> I got it because I thought it looked both fun and utilitarianish, but when I threw a leg over it and started pedaling, I was instantly transported to being six years old, with the pure, simple pleasure of just _riding _- no constant little calculations going on in the back of the head, unconsciously choosing gears, shifting, evaluating suspension performance and settings. I didn't realize how much of this goes on, even though it's automatic, until it was all taken away by a Schwinn Panther. Pedal to go, brake to stop.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the thoughtfull and intelligent response mtb; I have been looking for one of these since mine was stolen from my daughter 7 years ago. There were several true stories of this bike winning races against many on "gourmet flavor of the day" 4 figure bikes.

As for Schwinn going under, there is only one word to explain it, *UNIONS!*


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## GrumpyOne (Jan 7, 2004)

That was a symptom, not the cause. A good source of info is: "No Hands: The Rise and Fall of the Schwinn Bicycle Company, an American Institution" by Judith Crown and Glenn Coleman. It's a good read.

jw



Steeljaws said:


> As for Schwinn going under, there is only one word to explain it, *UNIONS!*


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## Steeljaws (May 2, 2010)

GrumpyOne said:


> That was a symptom, not the cause. A good source of info is: "No Hands: The Rise and Fall of the Schwinn Bicycle Company, an American Institution" by Judith Crown and Glenn Coleman. It's a good read.
> 
> jw


I have the book; yes, unions were one of many symptoms, but as my uncle, who worked for Schwinn for over 30 years and was one of several players involved in getting Giant to manufacture framesets for Schwinn would say, in every famously successfull American company that for whatever reasons, goes tits up, one will see the cancer called unions lurking in the background. It's interesting to note that there are many companies that were successful for decades, and were so, sans unions, and when unions got their claws in these companies, they eventually failed, or just moved out of the country.

Yes, the book is a great read, and one of several interpretations of why Schwinn failed.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Steeljaws said:


> in every famously successfull American company that for whatever reasons, goes tits up, one will see the cancer called unions lurking in the background.


I may regret getting into this, and I'll agree, that unions, much like lawyers, are an oozing pus wad for this country, but I don't feel that all unions are all bad, with nothing but designs on doing as little as possible, for as much pay as they can scam.

Any great American company that got to where it is, without unions, needs to be looked at from the workers perspective as well. Far too many of these companies are *great* because they are huge, and perform well for the stock market. All the while using temp labor to avoid paying benefits, positioning themselves in areas where they can get cheap labor, and hold them over a barrel due to lack of other employment options.

It's a rare company that is successful, and still pays it's employees what they are worth, treats them as the human beings they are, and does what they promise, over the long haul.

That's when unions come in. And kinda like the aforementioned lawyers, they are a necessary evil.....


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## ae111black (Dec 27, 2008)

*WAY OT*
I was gonna just read this thread until I read about the whole "union" thing! For one in Hawaii unions SUCK! Ether they are weak or way too strong for their own good! My brother who has been a heavy equipment operator for 15 years got into the Union thing really late in the game (worked for a non union company) was lured to the dark side by "Davis Bacon"pay 35$+per hr depends on what your operating. Well here's the short version. He's low on the totem pole and in this economy there's no or little jobs so he gets nothing!


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## mechagouki (Nov 30, 2007)

seeing as mtb143 has already given the OP some good info about the Panther I feel safe enough about throwing in my 2 cents on unions.

Unions are a product of a bygone era when skilled workers were exploited by ruthless employers who knew there was a huge line up of willing replacements for anyone who spoke out of turn about safety, pay, etc. They allowed these workers to put the employer in a position where he would realise that for his business to continue to flourish the value of the goodwill of his workforce was not to be taken lightly. 

As society has evolved and become progressively more democratic the need for unions has greatly diminished, governments will legislate higher standards for skilled workers because they are the foundation of a stable economy.

Unions, like Communism fail simply because their basic tenets cannot work in a modern, educated and informed human society. They become corrupt and self serving.


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## Steeljaws (May 2, 2010)

mechagouki said:


> seeing as mtb143 has already given the OP some good info about the Panther I feel safe enough about throwing in my 2 cents on unions.
> 
> Unions are a product of a bygone era when skilled workers were exploited by ruthless employers who knew there was a huge line up of willing replacements for anyone who spoke out of turn about safety, pay, etc. They allowed these workers to put the employer in a position where he would realise that for his business to continue to flourish the value of the goodwill of his workforce was not to be taken lightly.
> 
> ...


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## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

Respectfully,

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source...cs+unions+forums&gs_rfai=&fp=ca804df6b427d280

close to 10 million hits....

This place has enough issues without bringing in everyones political views....


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## da'HOOV (Jan 3, 2009)

Aemmer said:


> Respectfully,
> 
> http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source...cs+unions+forums&gs_rfai=&fp=ca804df6b427d280
> 
> ...


+100 on this one...thanx Tim


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## mechagouki (Nov 30, 2007)

Sorry.

I still blame the unions for Pontiac getting its balls cut off.

But you're right, not the place for it.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

Steeljaws said:


> As society has evolved and become progressively more democratic the need for unions has greatly diminished, *governments will legislate higher standards for skilled workers *because they are the foundation of a stable economy.
> 
> *Unions, like Communism fail simply because their basic tenets cannot work in a modern, educated and informed human society. They become corrupt and self serving.[/*QUOTE]
> 
> Excellent observation!


One more and I'll stop. This confuses me, and I'd love to understand how it's possible to have such opposing points of view, and use them to make ones point. Bear in mind PLEASE, I don't like big, powerful anything (besides a good 352 V8), and I really just want folks to do the right, honest helpful thing, cause it what we should all do in the first place.

*Most* folks who dislike unions tend to lean towards the right/conservative end of the spectrum. This group dislikes big govt, or, much govt at all, generally. Yet, "governments will legislate higher standards for skilled workers " sounds like you would like the govt to help you, and be in your life, which is counter to the keep out of my back yard mentality.

Then we have education, which the right is constantly trying to undermine, underfund, and get around having use for. The more educated the populace, the more readily they think for themselves, and ask questions, and won't just accept being told what to do. All of which is counterproductive to rights way of thinking with regards to business theory, or governance.

We're human, and one the basic tenets of being human includes greed. Give someone a business, allow them to run it as they wish, without regulation, and you eventually end up with what we have right now in the banking system. Had we a truly, highly educated populace, who asked questions earlier, and taken appropriate actions (such as, "you're kidding, I can't possibly afford a 300K mortage on 35K a year"...) we wouldn't be bailing out the "don't worry, we know how to run this, and don't you dare try to regulate us" banking big wigs. Ask yourself this as well, why is it that the state with the highest portion of the populace referring to themselves as conservative, have the lowest high school graduation rates, and the lowest median income? Because the free market was so helpful to them?

And on that, I think we can all agree, we got screwed by capitalism and the free, unfettered market the right told us we all needed. And with that, I'll drop this ball, walk off the field, and go ride my bike.


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## Steeljaws (May 2, 2010)

If one wishes to politicize the truth, then you can go off on a rant on how this forum is not a place for discussion of unions; if the truth and reality is what one is after, then a well educated and highly informed person will see through the smoke screen and realize that an American icon is no more because of some very ugly truths, and yes, unions were one of those many "uglies." Perhaps it would be best if one would start off and say that he is pro-union, THEN, whine about how this is not the place for the inclusion of unions being one of the causes for the demise of such a once great cycling company. BTW, the thread has to do with the Schwinn Panther, so do you have anything to contribute along those lines Aemmer?


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## Steeljaws (May 2, 2010)

I abhore big government and defend state's rights to legislate as they see fit. Some things just simply need the force of law, of which labor protections is one example. As far as education is concerned, AGAIN, unions play a role....just look at NYC with the hundreds of pervert teachers who can never again step into a classroom, but union protection allows them to report daily to the Board of Ed rubber room, play pinochle and collect their 6 figure salaries. As far as the "right" trying to undermine education, well, that's just another way of saying it's Bush' fault.


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## mechagouki (Nov 30, 2007)

MendonCycleSmith said:


> One more and I'll stop. This confuses me, and I'd love to understand how it's possible to have such opposing points of view, and use them to make ones point.


I don't think they are opposing points of view, a strong, democratically elected government is important for stability. As society progresses one must hope that people will be drawn to a career in politics through a desire to improve the lot of every voter, not just preserve a status quo for the already privileged. This is a slow process obviously, but in North America we are lucky to be a lot further down that road than many countries aound the world.



MendonCycleSmith said:


> *Most* folks who dislike unions tend to lean towards the right/conservative end of the spectrum. This group dislikes big govt, or, much govt at all, generally. Yet, "governments will legislate higher standards for skilled workers " sounds like you would like the govt to help you, and be in your life, which is counter to the keep out of my back yard mentality.


Well, I do consider myself a conservative in many ways, and it kind of bothers me that that classification has developed negative connotations, I just think it is important to 'conserve' the positive, healthy aspects of western society whilst looking to build a better future for everyone. I certainly don't have a problem with a strong smart government. I do have a problem with grade school kids wearing make-up and spending recess talking on their cell phones. I don't care if same sex couples want to get married, but it boils my blood when the gay/lesbian/transgender flag wavers complain about how society doesn't show them proper respect - they should try being Mexican or Filipino for a week.



MendonCycleSmith said:


> And with that, I'll drop this ball, walk off the field, and go ride my bike.


That's the smartest thing anyone's said in this thread thus far.:thumbsup:


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