Warning to Scwinn Point Beach riders!

Pongo

New Member
Local time
9:13 AM
Joined
Oct 28, 2008
Messages
3
Greetings - I'm new to the forum. I built a bike using the Happy Time 2-stroke engine on a Schwinn Point Beach bike back in September. Other than minor hardware issues with the Chinese made bike, things have been going great - including a 150 mile ride from PA to the Chesepeake Bay & back.

Last Sunday, at exactly 455 miles on the odometer, while riding locally with a friend on a similar bike, I turned onto another road, and felt the back end getting squirrelly - like the wheel was coming loose. I was able to pull over & discovered that the frame tube in front of the rear hub had cracked completely through. Upon futher examination, I discovered that other cracks had occurred, or were forming, all adjacent to welds. One completely through at one of the smaller upper tubes near the seat, one forming on the other side, and one on the down tube near the rear brake.

I've not been abusing the bike off road, only riding on paved roads, and even avoiding pot holes & rough areas. I know that there are a lot of Point Beach conversions out there, so let this be a warning. Maybe the guy who built my bike was having a bad day, or maybe the Chinese aluminum frame Schwinns can't handle the added weight & vibration. If this would have happened a mile earlier when I was going down hill at 30mph - I would have had a bad day! In the mean time, I'm looking for a steel-frame bike to swap the components over to, and anxiously awaiting when I can get back in the saddle.
-Pongo
 
Hi Pongo. Welcome to MBc!
Close call. Glad your OK. I notice a lot of people are putting their kits on older solid frame bikes. Your story may a good reason why. Enjoy the group. terrence
 
Welcome to the forum. By joining here and posting I guess you're still in the game and good for you. Better luck with the next bike and I'm sure it will be with the lessons learned.

Thanks for posting the warning, people need to know this stuff. These chinese made bikes are tempting being low cost and pretty cool looking but they are junk.

I bought a Kulana Moondog about a month ago on sale clearance at Wallys for $69 and even for that price I took it back once I had a chance to look it over well. I could probably live with and redo the warped wheels and bad bearings but the welds were horrible and just painted over.
 
Welcome to MBc, Pongo! That was a close call indeed, and I would strongly suggest you look at a classic steel-framed bike as a possible alternative. My two HT-engined bikes are built on "old school" frames; a 1946 Columbia three-star and a 1980 Western Flyer (Murray-built). There are a lot of good "donor frames" out there, and Craigslist, eBay and yard sales are great sources for them.
Saying you rode from PA to the Chesapeake and back, from where in PA do you hail?
 
Glad you made it home OK! There are still lots of Chicago-built Schwinns out there, I've never seen one break from anything less than application of a Sawzall! The old saying is, "steel is real".
 
Schwinn warning...

Welcome to MBc, Pongo! That was a close call indeed, and I would strongly suggest you look at a classic steel-framed bike as a possible alternative. My two HT-engined bikes are built on "old school" frames; a 1946 Columbia three-star and a 1980 Western Flyer (Murray-built). There are a lot of good "donor frames" out there, and Craigslist, eBay and yard sales are great sources for them.
Saying you rode from PA to the Chesapeake and back, from where in PA do you hail?

Hey Kilroy - I'm in Berks Co, but we rode from Columbia, PA to Elkton, MD area & back. Great couple of days - lots of fun in spite of several on-the-road field repairs. I'm looking at some steel-frame bikes now to do a rebuild on. Hope to be riding again in a couple of weeks.
-Pongo
 
Back
Top