The story: My original Schwinn Mag Scrambler belonged to my brother's best friend Cary B. As a child I drooled over that bike and wished for one just like it. Cary kept the bike spotless and never mistreated it like other kids did their own bikes in the neighborhood. Back in the very early 80s Cary moved and I thought I would never see the bike again. However, my brother stayed in touch with Cary and I was able to acquire the chrome Schwinn for $50. The Schwinn had seen a couple years sitting outside on an apartment patio and needed some love. I cleaned the bike up and rode it every day.
Flash forward a few months. I and my best friend made a daily pilgrimage to The Wheeler D'Ler, our local bike shop, to gaze at the new GTs, new Diamond Back Silver Streaks, and new Hutches. One day, my best friend couldn't go with me so I made the short trip on my own, taking alleys as we normally did. After hanging at Wheeler D'Ler for an hour or so, I headed home the same way. As I enter one of the alleys, I saw a $20 bill in the grass. "Holy Cow, Sweeet!" I ride a little further and there's another $20...my heart is racing at this point. By the time I reached the end of the alley I had collected $270 and the paper bank envelope the money had spilled from, minus the receipt. I raced home and showed my mom what I had found. My mom was not happy and asked, "Where the h_e_double hockey sticks did you find that?” After taking my mom back to where I found the cash, she believed me, especially after she picked up a $5 bill I had missed!
We then proceeded to knock on every door on the block and when no one said they had lost anything important in the alley, the money was mine. I gave half to my mom and the other half was destined for Wheeler D'Ler. Can you say shopping spree?
Black CW bars, Silver Tuf Neck stem, Silver Tuf Neck Power Disc, Silver Pro Neck Chain ring, Gold Fluted Post, Black Tuf Neck Seat post Clamp, Gold Tange TRX Forks, Nickel Chain, Gold Takagi Cranks, a Black Dyna Viscount Seat, and I was just another broke kid again. In fact, I think I owed my mom some money after that, which she never made me pay back.
Anyhow, this is pretty much the best recreation, given my memory, of what that bike looked like when I sold it to a friend in the 9th or 10th grade. The bike was stolen from his parent's porch a month later.
I owe a big thanks to many people who helped out with parts over the years. You know who you are.
Parts Breakdown:
Chrome Mag Scrambler Frame
Gold Tange TRX Forks
Black Skyway Tuff 1 Mags
Tioga Comp 3 Tires (Big n’ Littles)
Black CW Pro Bars (My originals had chrome CW decals)
Black & Grey ODI Mushroom 2 Grips
Silver Tuf Neck Stem
Chrome Tange Headset
Gold Takagi MX 170 1pc. Cranks
Tioga BB
Gold Fluted Seat Post
Black Dyna Viscount Seat
Black Tuf Neck Seat Post Clamp
Izumi Nickel Chain
Flat Schwinn Pedals (we rode barefoot from March 1 until it got too cold)
Tuff Wheel Prism Decal
Cobra Prism Decal
Enjoy the pics...
