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My mistake, those were 7005 aluminum (as it says in the link I originally posted *blush* ). 7000-series aluminum is generally not easily-welded by smaller shops not accustomed to working with it; 6061 is much more common.
Omnium was only an assembler. The S-series frames were made in Taiwan. The sticker likely means that was one of the bikes they were allowed to sell directly to dealers after the lawsuit was resolved, but that’s purely a guess on my part.
Calendar years and model years in the bike business don’t match, just as in cars. Buying a bike in 1997 doesn’t mean it’s a 1997 mode.l
One thing I forgot to mention earlier also is that Project Underground bikes were only available to shop employees and sponsored riders.The only Schwinns that had checkered flags in ’98 were Homegrowns. An S-20 is not a Homegrown. Compare the S-20 all-mountain to the Homegrown version:
S-20 with same graphics as yours:
Homegrown from same year:
Other links:
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/10627872/
http://appleton-wi.americanlisted.com/bicycles/1998-schwinn-s20-full-suspension-mountain-bike-17in-225-appleton_17385943.htmlTo sum up, your frame matches the graphics from the 1998 S-series bikes. The color matches the description for that year and model. Every single part I see on that frame matches the specified parts for that year and model. Not sure what else to say. Enjoy the bike, regardless.
It’s a 1998 S-20. All the parts are correct for that model. The larger, hollow pivot on that frame wasn’t introduced until 1996, after the original Project Underground series was complete.
The “Underground Developed” sticker is just like the “Ride Tuned” sticker; Schwinn tried to tie everything back to the high-end product development. I have a Schwinn Panther cruiser with “ride tuned” geometry.
The serial number is actually the F97xxx number stamped in the bottom bracket. The OM-97-xxx is just something from the shop that sold it, likely for tracking for maintenance or theft.
7007 stamped isn’t related to alloy. All of those models, like the Homegrowns (rear triangles), were made of 6061-series aluminum. 6061, 7005, and 7075 are the dominant alloys in the bike business.I hate to burst anyone’s budget but this is almost certainly not a true Project Underground. A few reasons:
- Project Underground was pre-1995 (excluding the thermoplastic frame from ’97). The S-20 didn’t exist until 1997.
- No mention of a FS option by any of the 4 former Schwinn employees I’ve talked with, including the engineering manager, senior project engineer, and product manager for the PU/Homegrown.
- The S-20 was the middle of the range S-series Sweet Spot bikes, which were Taiwanese made versions of the Homegrown Sweet Spots (with beefier rear triangle).
- The 1998 S-20 was orange with a silver rear triangle.
1998 S-20 (sorry, best picture I could find, involuntarily provided by ducrider45):
Regardless, it would be cool to see it and see if we can piece together what it is. *drinks*
Hope made 22mm-compatible brakes as well. I believe the model was the o2. The ones on my Straight 6 have no identifying label but if you look around a bit they’re out there for sale now and then.
Very cool. It’s not a Yeti-made frame but rather a Control Tech frame, for what that’s worth. Here’s a little history on who made what and when.
I’ve thought about a serial number database as a couple people have asked about it. It would be easy enough to do…
I’m intrigued. Tell us more.
EDIT: For some reason, nothing was showing up originally. I love this bike and am really glad you posted it.
It’s definitely a ’95, but could still be a Homegrown. Can’t quite tell if it’s got the asymmetric chainstay that the Homegrown had but the s9.six lacked because of the pedal position. However, the upper shock mount on the OP’s bike looks like it’s got the relief seen on the HG and not the s9.six:
Jeff, I fixed your pictures, if you noticed they were broken. A software update along the way wasn’t properly parsing the “#” in the file names for some reason.
I’ve also got to clear up a couple things posted in this thread. There was only one “Project Colorado.” It was at Schwinn’s headquarters in Madison a couple years ago but I don’t know where it’s gone since Dorel/CSG/etc. All the other bikes with the color scheme you guys have are Project Undergrounds, as Jeff had referred to his. Still very cool and very rare bikes, but lots of people lately are referring to these incorrectly as Project Colorados.
The Homegrowns in 2000 and 2001 had nothing to do with Pacific; they were just as much a Homegrown as the previous years’ bikes that were also made at Anodizing Inc. (now SAPA, who just got out of the frame building business). Pacific Cycles didn’t purchase Schwinn until September 11, 2001, literally just before they cleared the courthouse. By that time, the bikes had long since been designed and manufactured.
Awesome looking bike with a cool story behind it, plus major cool dad points. Out of curiosity, is that a 15″ or 17″ frame?
Glad you like the site.Oddly enough, this is a good time for an update anyway…
I was getting ready to let you guys know that my contact had apparently bailed on me, but he’d apparently been sick and then traveling. He got back in touch with me today so I should have info (good or bad) by end of this week.
Hopefully not too late. I’ve been waiting to hear back on this since shortly after Interbike. Trying to get this going again. Love your bike.
