In about September of 1949 Schwinn introduced the Phantom. Essentially the Phantom was a dressed up B6 with chrome plated fenders, a chrome tank with painted inserts, and fully optioned. The Phantom is perhaps the most iconic balloon tire bicycle ever built and was reproduced on the 100^th Anniversary of Schwinn’s founding (1995). The original Phantoms were produced until 1959 during which time the model
underwent minor changes.

The very early bikes differed from later offerings in several ways. The seat used did not have rivets on the side and some early bikes still used the Mesinger B1 saddle instead of the “Phantom style” saddle. Also the early bikes did not have “Black Phantom” or “Phantom” on the chain guard. On a few of the early bikes such as this one a Wald rear reflector was used instead of the more common deluxe Schwinn reflector.

After the war import lightweights from England became popular and the balloon tire bicycles that had dominated the American market for about 20 years started to fall out of favor. The Phantom was offered in black, green, and red. In 1955 a girls model was introduced and lasted only one year. The girls bikes were offered in the standard colors as well as blue. A 24” juvenile model was also available in 1953-4. Owner: Shawn Sweeney