Schwinn Racer

The Schwinn Racer was a lightweight bicycle built by the Schwinn Bicycle Company in Chicago from 1933 to 1971. It normally came with a Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub and 26 by 1 3/8 inch tires, and was sold as a Deluxe Racer or a Standard Racer according to its rim designation. Some early examples carried a Bendix two-speed manual hub, several model years offered a two-speed kickback hub, and as derailleur ten-speed road bikes became fashionable the Racer was also offered as a ten-speed before it was discontinued. Racers built from 1957 to 1963 wore the shark fin front fender, which Schwinn replaced with a traditional lightweight fender for the 1964 model year because of safety concerns. The Racer was virtually identical to the Speedster, except that many Speedsters had camelback frames.