A bicycle manufacturer since the 1890's Schwinn started making motorcycles in the 20's and began making bicycles for the teenage market in the early 30's with tanks to make them look like motorcycles. The tank, of course, was not for gasoline, but had a horn inside. These heavy duty "balloon tire" bicycles are considered by many the precursor to today's mountain bikes. They are called balloon tire bikes because of the wide 2.125 inch round tires. They later also became known as "heavyweights" when in the early 50's Schwinn introduced a "middleweight" bike due to competition from lighter bikes from European manufacturers.
The middleweights had a slightly lighter frame but the main difference was the tire size. The balloon tires were gone in favour of a thinner 1.75 inch tire. Both styles of bike were manufactured throughout the 50's and eventually the "heavyweights" were discontinued in the early 60's.
My Tiger is a middleweight bike and came with 1.75 inch tires. The "middleweight" bicycle frames cannot fit a 2.125 inch balloon tire but can fit a 2 inch tire. The two inch tire will require a change of rims and that will be one of the changes that I will be making.
