1995 Schwinn Red Phantom (M)

In celebration of Schwinn’s 100th anniversary in 1995, the company re-issued a limited edition of 5,000 Black and Red Phantoms. The first Phantoms were released during Christmas in 1949. The model was never definitively blueprinted by Schwinn, but rather a culmination of features the company had been developing since 1933. The Phantom went through several undocumented changes through the model years, so the original 1949 version was used as the definitive model for reissue. These are collector-quality recreations using the same manufacturing processes, and in many cases, the original tools and equipment as the first 1949 Phantoms. Schwinn spent over seven million dollars re-creating exact replicas, right down to their packaging. The cost was much more than the limited edition cycles would return in sales. Every bit of manufacturing was done in the U.S. except the double walled rims, which were made with Schwinn’s original S2 rim mills that had been sold to a factory in Hungary. Schwinn also tracked down their original masking tools for painting. The brakes have more stopping power to meet current CPSC standards, but have the same look as the originals, and the spokes are now stainless steel rather than cadmium-plated, which is now considered hazardous. Other than this, the bicycle is exactly as it would have been in 1949 under a lucky child’s Christmas tree. 1995 Made in the U.S.A.