Vintage Schwinn Bicycle Tools

[RHJO51]

Hey there, I stumbled on a very interesting yard sale a few weeks ago and purchased amongst a bunch of stuff, a lot of old bicycle tools. Some of them are labeled Schwinn. I can see the 4 3/8 ratchets are snap-on, but any ideas on who made these thin wrenches? Some metric and some standard. Are there folks who collect these? They worth anything? Thanks - Jim

 

[PelicanPines]

I have a Schwinn chain link tool somewhere... I looked for it for a picture... then realized I loaned it to a friend...

As I remember it was high quality. I had a Schwinn Le Tour 1974... I upgraded it... with a bunch of French stuff and dropped the weight... was fast as hell. Back in the day, I used to ride 100+ miles every weekend...

Back to the tools:... AWESOME find. I would have jumped on that purchase in a heart beat. I love those thin wrenches. I have a set myself but made by Park Tools.

 

[4xdog]

Very cool tools. I've not seen those before. My vintage bike tools (mainly Campagnolo) get used all the time.

I'd say these are collectible fershure!

 

[mtnwkr]

Nice find! If I had to guess, I'd say Schwinn made those wrenches themselves. I'd post them up on the "Classic and Vintage" section on Bikeforums.com. Those guys are really helpful and very knowledgeable.

 

[Craptain]

I have a Schwinn chain link tool somewhere... I looked for it for a picture... then realized I loaned it to a friend...

As I remember it was high quality. I had a Schwinn Le Tour 1974... I upgraded it... with a bunch of French stuff and dropped the weight... was fast as hell. Back in the day, I used to ride 100+ miles every weekend...

Back to the tools:... AWESOME find. I would have jumped on that purchase in a heart beat. I love those thin wrenches. I have a set myself but made by Park Tools.

I have a Schwinn Le Tour now. I don't ride it very far, 10 to 20 miles max but I do ride it often.
Don't have any dedicated Schwinn tools though.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[RHJO51]

Thanks guys! I also got a toolbox full of other weird bicycle wrenches. I think these will go on the local CL. - Jim

 

[mtnwkr]

If any of those have brand names on them I'd say they may be quite valuable. Anything Campagnolo, Park, etc. is sought after.

 

[lbgradwell]

Awesome score on the Schwinn stuff, Jim. And I'd look over that pile of other stuuf too; there could be some gems hiding amongst the dreck.

 

[3baygarage]

Cool find.The Schwinn tools are made by Snap On. I'm interested in them if you want to sell them.

 

[bonneyman]

I second the opinion of keeping classic bike tools. They never go out of style. Being able to adjust/service bicycles is a valuable skill.

 

[4xdog]

Many of them look like they're made by VAR, a French company still in business making excellent quality bike tools. Not Campagnolo quality or collectibility, but at least as good as today's Park tools (and probably better).

The thin open-end wrenches are called "cone wrenches", and are used for adjusting bearing cones and locknuts on hubs. They're really useful from time to time as a thin open end wrench in other applications, too.

 

[Maui]

Yep, I've used them in non-bicycle wrenching applications where a standard box end wrench just was too thick to fit into the available space. I'd keep them.

Maui

 

[fowldarr]

I know a couple of guys that would love to have those. Nice find, I agree with sorting through the pile to see what you have as well.

 

[rlitman]

Cool find.The Schwinn tools are made by Snap On. I'm interested in them if you want to sell them.

Those ratchets certainly appear to be made by Snap On.

I'm not 100% on the pedal wrench (that's the wrench with the lobster claw ends). One side of that is marked 9/16". I'm betting the other side is 15mm, but I didn't see that marking in the pictures.
I've got some Williams and Snap On narrow wrenches that look similar. I need to take a closer look at both to remember who made yours.

The cone wrenches look a lot like Park cone wrenches, except that they're color coded. But since they're just stamped from sheet steel, they could be made by anyone.

 

[hemifalcon]

Thanks guys! I also got a toolbox full of other weird bicycle wrenches. I think these will go on the local CL. - Jim

Check your PM's in the event you're interested in selling the LOT? I'm always tinkering with old bikes--proper tools are always great to have!

 

[theoldwizard1]

To the right collector, those are probably worth a lot.

Schwinn in one of those sad American manufacturing stories. The just could not compete on price against the Chinese and they never really had a foot hold in the high end market.

 

[Cope]

The thin tools look exactly like Park Tools. Park is a huge manufacturer of bicycle tools.

 

[ttpete]

To the right collector, those are probably worth a lot.

Schwinn in one of those sad American manufacturing stories. The just could not compete on price against the Chinese and they never really had a foothold in the high-end market.

Schwinn made a line of top quality bikes. The frames were hand built and brazed using butted tubes in Chicago by skilled craftsmen and the mechanicals came from firms like Campagnolo. They were the equal of the best European bikes of the time. They were branded as Schwinn Paramount. They're collector's items today.

 

[Derek420]

I want 1 of the 3/8 ratchets since you have 4 if you want to sell, I'd at least like to get one of those since others have asked if you'd sell first but no need to get greedy fellas I need one to go with my 1/2 pretty bad.

 

[RHJO51]

Hey Guys, seems like there is a lot of interest in these tools. Darn, there were a bunch more bicycle tools and parts at this estate sale - wish I took more! I took some time to poke through them and thought I'd post some more pics. Any info is appreciated.

 

[RHJO51]

Some more. Also found these campagnolo tools.

 

[BajaScout]

Not mine. Didn't know Schwinn branded some tools.

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bop/d/carlsbad-original-schwinn-wrenches/6934118780.html

 

[3baygarage]

Not mine. Didn't know Schwinn branded some tools.

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bop/d/carlsbad-original-schwinn-wrenches/6934118780.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00c0c_cIIN5OIWZ3O_1200x900.jpg

That’s a nice collection.

 

[y'sguy]

I worked a lot in a bike shop all thru college during the 70's. I used all those tools and put together many hundreds of bikes with them. We carried Schwinn and I custom ordered a P-13 Paramount. In 1972-3 it was $300, All campy equipped including brakes.
It came with it's own toolkit which included most of those Campy tools that are picture. Those would be of the most value, but can't say as to how much. Those were the days.
We could not keep enough bikes in stock at the time. The owners got rich!

 

[PFSard]

Not mine. Didn't know Schwinn branded some tools.

https://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/bop/d/carlsbad-original-schwinn-wrenches/6934118780.html

Pics before the ad is pulled >>>>>

 

[snapmom]

A 1/4 dr Schwinn rat made by Snap on. 1967 date code. model N8230. I would think all the Schwinn approv. tools with model Nxxxx would be Snap on.

 

[bonneyman]

The tool on the right in that last photo has Huret on it. A big time French maker of bicycle components through the mid 1980's. They got absorbed by Sachs (a German company) which was later acquired by SRAM (which subsequently dropped all of the old great parts).

http://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/Sachs-Huret_derailleurs.html

http://lecycleur.com/parts/history-of-sachs-new-success/


I still have a few of the old Huret deraillers. If you're not married to that tool let me know. I'd like to buy it.

Here's an English-made, Schwinn-approved tire pressure gauge, with valve core remover hidden in the handle.

 

[2oolhound]

The one on the right is a spoke wrench at the weird end.

Great score!

 

[rlitman]

The one on the right is a spoke wrench at the weird end.

Great score!

That's not a spoke wrench. It is actually meant to twist steel brake calipers near the pad to adjust for pad toe-in (to stop squeaking). It pre-dates pads with spherical (matched set of concave/convex) washers, which became a necessity on aluminum side and center pull brakes. Look up Park Tool BT3.

The use is explained in step 5 here:
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/sidepull-brake-service

Those are really nice cone wrenches BTW.

 

[grounded-b]

Or, since it's labeled "Hurst", it could be for "tweaking" derailleur hangers, for proper alignment.

 

[rlitman]

Or, since it's labeled "Hurst", it could be for "tweaking" derailleur hangers, for proper alignment.

I'm not sure how that could work. Derailleur hangers are much too thick for that. Plus their alignment tools thread into them just like a derailleur would. Look at this example:
https://www.parktool.com/product/derailleur-hanger-alignment-gauge-dag-2-2

 

[bonneyman]

Not the derailler dropout - the jockey pulley cage. Sometimes they need tweaking to get the angle right, or straighten out damage from a strike. More so on MTB deraillers. I'm sure the tool says "Huret" not "Hurst".

And I'd like to get that Park brake caliper tool, too!

 

[CarBikeGuy70]

Those thin wrenches are for adjusting hubs. They were (and still are) made by Park Tool. Inventors were involved in Park Schwinn( a bike shop) many years ago. Just a note that the Park name came from the name of the shop, not the people who developed the tools. Other tools are mainly Eldi and Var (still in business) with some others. Some of the rather different looking wrenches were made by the various drivetrain component manufactures that were around years ago but have long since closed. An interesting collection- have been in the bike biz long enough to remember most of the tools shown. Most of the ratchets were rebranded from a manufacturer involved in the general marketplace- not a bicycle company.

Let me know if you need more info.

 

[rlitman]

I could see that. Cages can get bent. Mtb jockey pulley cages are both more abused, and are generally longer, which makes them more easily bent and more exposed. I can't think of many I've fixed though. The few I've encountered that had been crashed were far beyond bending back into shape, particularly because Shimano likes to use bushings on the jockey pulleys (and the upper one has to float too), so they bind up at even the slightest deflection. More gentle bends come from kids who drop their bikes.

While I don't use my BT3, I'm really not looking to sell it. Sorry.
The $100 or so I see them on eBay for now is just plain nuts, but the completed items history implies that you could get one to your door for around $20 if you have patience. It still seems nuts to me, as it's not a very useful tool, and an adjustable wrench or even a Pliers Wrench could do as good a job. IIRC, mine came with a Park pedal wrench (which IS a useful tool) at a garage sale.

edit: FWIW, my most used Park tool is their BBQ-1:
https://www.parktool.com/product/barbeque-spatula-bbq-1

It's a really nice spatula!

 

[CarBikeGuy70]

There are some older Campagnolo items as well. Most are still around but I haven't seen many in recent times. Yes Snap On did some Schwinn approved tools but not all the Schwinn items were by them. Side pull and center pull brake calipers were produced with thin gauge steel arms for many years and often needed toe in adj. to work. Thus the toe in tool.

 

[bonneyman]

I could see that. Cages can get bent. Mtb jockey pulley cages are both more abused, and are generally longer, which makes them more easily bent and more exposed. I can't think of many I've fixed though. The few I've encountered that had been crashed were far beyond bending back into shape, particularly because Shimano likes to use bushings on the jockey pulleys (and the upper one has to float too), so they bind up at even the slightest deflection. More gentle bends come from kids who drop their bikes.

While I don't use my BT3, I'm really not looking to sell it. Sorry.
The $100 or so I see them on eBay for now is just plain nuts, but the completed items history implies that you could get one to your door for around $20 if you have patience. It still seems nuts to me, as it's not a very useful tool, and an adjustable wrench or even a Pliers Wrench could do as good a job. IIRC, mine came with a Park pedal wrench (which IS a useful tool) at a garage sale.

edit: FWIW, my most used Park tool is their BBQ-1:
https://www.parktool.com/product/barbeque-spatula-bbq-1

It's a really nice spatula!

I currently use an adjustable wrench, too. Have managed to grab alot of old classic bike tools, and when i saw that one about a year ago, I've been a huntin'

My most commonly used tools are freewheel removers, spoke tighteners, and chain riveters. have done a fair bit of tune-ups for friends and such.