I have these 2 mid-school Schwinn frames.
How do you determine if it's a U.S. made frame?
You can see the difference in designs first off mainly the seat stay tube. THe silver has the wishbone style, the black one has the flat triangle/beveled "tube".
The black one is a Pro modified, from what is left of the decals. The headtube badge is a stick on. The serial stamp is on the inside of the left rear dropout and reads 97BXA0132 E. Also, above the 2 is the letter "L" in the same stamp size as the "E". Top tube measures 20.5" from the center of the head tube to the center of the seat tube. Is this a Limited Edition from 1997?
The silver one, not sure of the model, has the headtube badge riveted on. The top tube is one inch longer and has plastic cap on the end of the seat stay tube. The silver one also weighs a little more. The serial stamp, if visible, reads M6J 02298. This tells me February 2nd, 1998. Not sure about the M6J. I recently traded a cromoly Superstock frame and fork for the silver one. The Superstock had the usual serial stamp on the bb shell, evident of most overseas made frames.
They're both made of aluminum, the welds on the silver one look a little nicer/smoother than the black frame. I need to know which one to powdercoat Monday. So, to you Schwinn gurus, Thank You for your input in advance.
Well, I tried to download the photos and apparently they are too big and I'm not sure how to reduce them. So, If you need to see photos, e-mail me and I will send them to you.