Back when the U.S. was a manufacturing powerhouse

Uh oh. This dirty little item popped up at a neighbor's garage sale.

As a prologue, it should be noted that I neither spotted nor purchased the bike that is the subject of this post. That honor goes to my keen-eyed wife, Julie. I merely served as advisor and mechanic. I do have the ability to not buy every bike I see. Really. Now that this important point has been established, on with the story.

A classic 1956 Corvette, not of the Chevrolet, but the Schwinn variety.

Meet the latest addition to our herd, a 1956 Schwinn Corvette middleweight bike. It's the type of bike that was once a staple of school-aged kids in suburban America for decades. The seller said that the bike had belonged to her aunt originally. This bike has apparently been a life-long Denver resident.

After a little googling of the serial number, I discovered that the bike was manufactured on February 2, 1956. I remember this type of bike as being a standard offering at garage sales of my youth, although they don't show up very frequently any more. They certainly aren't often found in the condition of this one, untouched, complete, and rideable. This one had been encased in a sheath of waxy, dried-up oil, grease and dust for decades.

A nearly pristine Denver bicycle license plate from 1959. Rocky and Bullwinkle, one of my all time favorite shows, was new to the airwaves at the time.

As I ordinarily do with old bikes, I started fussing with the Corvette. I adjusted the basket, which had been rubbing on the head badge for decades, inevitably greasing some dry threads along the way. As is typical of me, that lead to noticing that the bearings of the front hub were dry and a bit loose. Of course this meant that I had to rebuild the front hub. After that, things deteriorated into an unplanned and extended session of disassembly, cleaning and reassembly. The internal workings of the bike haven't been seen in 55 years. After a considerable amount of sludge removal and a new slathering of fancy waterproof grease, all the bearing assemblies on the bike are in as-new condition.

The Arnold Schwinn and Company insignia meant you had made a good investment.

I've worked on bikes for most of my life, ranging in manufacture date from the 1930s to the present. However, it's been a few years since I really dove into a Schwinn of this era, and I'd forgotten about how good they were.

At the time, Schwinn was the pinnacle of modestly priced, U.S. manufactured bikes. It's no surprise that they were successful in the market for decades, as the Schwinn name was synonymous with quality. Parts that would likely go unnoticed by typical owners, regardless have a feel and precision to them unmatched in any modern inexpensive equivalent of bicycle components. In a time when very little is currently still made in this country, this is a bit of an astonishing realization.

I enjoy attention to detail such as the stylish and modernist art deco 'New Departure' lettering.

A little difficult to see, but 'New Departure' is stamped into the bearing retainer. That sort of pride of manufacturing detail just doesn't happen at this price point any more. The bearings are silky and feel precise.

Nearly every part of the bike is identified as having been manufactured by Schwinn.

Whether rebuilding bikes, Coleman stoves or other U.S. manufactured mechanical goods from this era, I am consistently impressed from a forensic standpoint. After much comparison, I consider Japanese-built bike parts of the late 1980s, just prior to when the yen to dollar balance began to shift against the yen, to be among the best quality bicycle components ever built. Although many technological advances in bike components occurred between the mid 1950s and the late 1980s, especially in terms of sealed bearings and the use of aluminum alloys, the Schwinn parts are just as well engineered as Shimano parts of 1989, given the materials available, and as importantly, just as well manufactured.

This bottom bracket lock nut exudes precision similar to what I would expect from a modern Chris King part. Whoever made it was a master craftsman.

It is truly staggering to consider all that this country has lost in largely abandoning domestic manufacturing. However well built Schwinns were, they were just one group of products from a broad array of companies that manufactured a huge quantity of other products. It was a time when it wasn't unusual for an individual skilled with manufacturing equipment to make a decent living while making high quality goods.

I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, when U.S. manufacturing quality was in decline for a number of reasons, but also when an intentional dismantling of production capability occurred as corporations shifted factories overseas. I won't get into the whole greed v. quality or shareholders v. unions debates, and from a societal standpoint I certainly don't pine for the good old days that never actually were. I do lament the collective loss within the population of skill, capability, ingenuity and justifiable pride.

The head badge was partially rubbed away because of a poorly adjusted basket. Now it's fixed.

Something else that we've lost is the concept and expectation of durability from the things we buy. I rebuild a lot of inexpensive bikes, mostly for the purpose of giving to kids I know. I won't work on many bikes built for kids from the past 15 or 20 years. My temperament won't allow me to work on bikes below a certain level of original quality, as I can't tolerate equipment that is intended to fail after a short time. It's made me selective about projects, avoiding those with design flaws, such as too many plastic or non-serviceable components.

Ready to roll again. Schwinn Westwind tires, somewhat cracked but in amazingly good condition after 55 years.

Shiny, happy steel beaming with renewed vibrancy.

With the Corvette, all the parts of the bike are made of easily serviceable steel except the tires, tubes, grips and seat cover. After over half a century I gave the bike what was likely to have been its first service and was able to do so using only simple tools. The quality of the parts allowed me to clean and adjust the bike until it was as good as new. I fully expect that this bike is capable of being ridden at least for another half century. I wouldn't say the same for any bike of today in an equivalent price range, or even those that cost much more.

To end on a positive note, although the days of broad manufacturing prowess in the U.S. are probably not to return, some of the best and most creative products of recent decades have come about through cottage industries, many of which are associated with bicycles. It is with these small scale manufacturers that any hope rests of at least some respectable form of a U.S. manufacturing base for everyday goods.

A girl and her new-again bike.