by Shawn P. Sweeney

This article describes the various expander brakes and components used on Schwinn balloon tire bikes from 1937 through the end of the balloon tire era in the late 50’s.

The Schwinn Fore-Wheel Brake (referred to as Fore Brake from here on) was introduced to the model line in 1937. The Fore Brake is an automotive type drum brake with two internal return springs and two brake shoes. The Fore Brake was revised for the 1940 model year and a rear drum brake of the same type was introduced. The brake was available on all 24” and 26” balloon tire models.

This monograph is arranged in the following manner:

Part 1. Brakes

Part 2. Levers

Part 3. Cables and Ends

Part 4. Clevis

Part 5. Clamps and Straps

Brake Chart

Final Notes and Observations

Part 1. Brakes

1937-1939 Original Style Fore Brake

The initial version of the Fore Brake introduced in 1937 was a large brake (Fig 1-1.) that had a low flange configuration (Fig 1-2.) The script on the early hub has “MADE IN U.S.A.” on the outer edge. On the inside it is marked “BY ARNOLD SCHWINN CO. CHICAGO” and “FORE-WHEEL BRAKE”.  The axle is 5/16” (Schwinn calls this out as 8mm) in diameter and uses a cage type clevis. The cable ends were soldered.

There are variations in this brake. The early version had springs the same size (Fig 1-3.) About mid 1937 one spring was made larger (Fig 1-4.) There are other minute variations of this brake but those will not be explored here.

Shown in Fig 1-5. is the Dural rear expander sometimes found on early Motorbikes. This is the lightweight hub introduced in 1938. There are contemporary images showing this hub on ’38 bike but the jury is out on whether this was a factory job or dealer installed.

1940 New Style Brakes

In 1940 Schwinn introduced a new, smaller Fore Brake as well as a rear expander brake for balloon tire bicycles. For the front both a small flange-Part #5889  (Fig 1-6.) and a “Heavy Duty” large flange brake-Part #5890 was introduced (Fig 1-7.) A large flange rear brake-Part #5892 (mens) and 5893 (ladies) was also introduced (Fig 1-8.) I assume the only difference for the ladies was the sprocket but the catalog does not specify the difference. The early versions (1940-41?) had “PAT. PENDING” (Fig. 1-9) on the barrel in addition to the “Schwinn” script (Fig. 1-10) found on all expander brakes. It may be somewhat anecdotal but the early ’40 models with the new Fender-Light had a “PATENT APPL’D FOR” decal on the light. This decal didn’t seem to last long so I think it’s tough to say how far these carried through. These brakes carry through the post war period with the same part numbers until about 1953 when the part number system was changed.  The Fair trade sheets last show the small flange Fore Brake and rear expander brake in 1954. The large flange Fore Brake is last shown in the 1960 Fair Trade sheet.

For comparison Fig 1-11. Shows a small flange, new style (1940-up) brake (R) and the early (1937-39) large brake on the left. Notice that the old style is a two piece hub with rivets whereas the new style is a one piece hub.

In Fig 1-12. notice the adjuster fixtures on each brake as well as the orientation of the actuator lever.

As mentioned, the new style backing plate has been reproduced. The reproductions have two obvious differences. The first is that the end where the adjuster sits is wider on a repo than the original. Second, looking at the back a repo has spot welds whereas the original does not. Fig 1-13. Illustrates the differences between the two. There are other minor differences but these two are the easiest to identify. It should be noted that the adjuster shown on the repo is not correctly installed.

Lastly, I need to point out that there were expander brakes for tandems as well. These brakes are wider than the regular expander brakes. Some parts will interchange but as you can see in the example at right the freewheel on the tandem is wider than the regular freewheel. The axles will also be longer as well as some other differences. What is important here is that these brakes will not fit the dropouts or fork ends of a regular bicycle.

When measuring from outside to outside of the flanges as seen in the example of rear brakes below (Fig 1-14.) the measurements will be as follows:

Front regular 2 7/16”

Front tandem 2 7/8”

Rear regular 2 7/8”

Rear tandem 3 1/8”

Part 2. Levers

Short Pressed Steel Lever

The first lever was a short, pressed lever with chrome handle and cadmium body/clamp (Part # 5559) and is referred to by some collectors as the “Shorty”. The handle measures 3 7/8”.There are two varieties of this lever as well as a reproduction. Fig 2-1 illustrates the differences in the levers. The lever shown on top with the curved leading edge was a mid ’37 design change.

Due to the more pronounced bend the reproduction lever has a slightly different profile as seen in Fig 2-2. These levers command substantial money so potential buyers should be knowledgeable of the difference between a genuine and repo. Some repo levers have been aged so never assume that because a lever has wear, rust, or patina it is the genuine article.

Long (Webb) Pressed Steel Lever The Webb pressed steel lever (Part # 5595) was introduced with the lightweight line in 1938. At some point in late 1938 the rear Dural brake could be had on balloon tire bikes and uses the Webb lever. Whether this was a factory Schwinn option or dealer installed is up for debate but there are contemporary photos showing the Webb brake on balloon tire bikes. The Webb lever is typically seen on 1939/40 bikes and can be found on both the early and new style brakes. Like the short, pressed lever there are also two varieties of this lever as well (Fig 2-3.). The first has a straight lever while the second version has a mildly curved lever. The curved lever is thought to have been used primarily on lightweight applications but was used interchangeably.

Thin Cast Lever (no Schwinn script)

The so-called ‘skinny’ lever was introduced in 1940 with the new brakes (Fig 2-4.). This lever (Part # 7241) was used with both the front and rear brakes. This lever was used post war as well until about 1952/3.

Thin Cast Lever (Schwinn script)

Although the patent drawings for the scripted lever were done in ’39 it doesn’t look like these were introduced until either ’52 or ’53 (Fig 2-5.). Interestingly the same lever is used for both front and rear so when used on the right side (front brake) the script will be facing down or to the inside depending on how the lever is mounted.

Both the non-script and script levers have been reproduced with the script levers having a right-hand lever showing the script facing up (Fig 2-6.). Some of these reproductions are better than others but the one common ‘tell’ on any of the reproduction levers is the rivet holding the handle to the clevis. On the reproductions I’ve seen the head of the rivet is more domed than an original (Fig 2-7.) and the other end is either solid or not as clean as a factory rivet e.g. partially filled in or cracking around the rivet edge. (Fig 2-8.)

Part 3. Cables and Ends

There are many varieties of cables and ends depending on things such as 24” or 26” bicycle, ladies or mens, stem, handlebars, and type of lever used. For this reason, there are many different lengths of these cables as well. The catalog shows many lengths of cable and states that you must measure your existing cable to order the correct replacement. Reproductions of cable (repurposed modern cable) exist but most of this has a plastic type coating. Most will also be thin and sometimes less than 3/16”. There have been some thicker silver cables done but these also have a plastic type of covering with a weave pattern.

1937-late 1938 Early, thick, black cable

The cable housing used with the short, pressed lever was made of a wound steel tube, which was wrapped in a thick, (1/4”) black, coated cloth material (Fig 3-1.). The ends were ball style with soldered ends part #5108 for the lever side and part # 5109 for the adjuster side (Fig 3-2.). The control cable, part #5114, was twisted steel. These cables (front only) ranged in length from 33” to 45 ½”. The Autocycle called for a 39 ½” cable. If a rear Dural brake was used then a thinner (3/16”) silver cable measuring 62 7/8” for a mens bike and 65 7/8” for a ladies bike was used.

Late 1938-1941, thick, silver cable

It appears that sometime in late 1938 the same coated, silver fabric covering used for the Dural brakes was used on the balloon tire bikes (Fig 3-3.). Unlike the thinner (3/16”) cable used on the Dural brakes the balloon tire bikes used the same 1/4” thickness as found on the early Fore Brake (Fig 3-4). The ends used for the new style brakes were part # 5109 for the lever end and part #7209 for the adjuster end (Fig 3-2) and were swaged instead of soldered. A swaged end will protrude from the brake cable end (Fig 3-5.). The front cables for the thin, cast lever ranged in length from 33 1/16” to 45 9/16” long. The rear brake cable for the thin levers was 62 3/16” for mens and 65 3/16” for ladies. While today most of these original cables will appear gold this seems to be due to the coating on these cable aging over time. Schwinn describes these cables as “Continental type waterproof housing, aluminum finish”.

Late 1938 to about 1940 cable for Webb levers

The front cables for use with a Webb lever ranged in length from 33 ¾” to 46 ¼”. The lever end of a Dural brake cable, part # 5138 (Fig 3-6.) is different than any of the other lever ends but the adjuster end is still part #5109. It should be noted that the cables used early on for the Dural rear brake used a thin (3/16”) silver cable before the release of the thicker (1/4”) cables. Also of note is that the control cable used for the Dural brakes was a solid steel wire, part #5148 (front) and part #5156 (rear) and not the twisted strands typically used (Fig 3-7.).

About 1946-1960, thin, black cable

The cable used post war was of the same type as the prewar black cable only thinner (3/16”) Fig 3-8. The post war (about 1947 and later) used part #7209 at the lever side and, due to the use of the new style clevis, none at the adjuster end. Fig 3-9. illustrates the differences between the thickness of the cables.

Part 4. Clevis

Early Clevis (Adjuster side) 1939-1946?

The clevis for the brake handles are unique to the style of brake they are used on i.e. shorty, Webb, or skinny. On the adjuster side there are two styles used. The early style brakes (1937-39) used a clevis with a smaller hole in the cage (Fig 4-1.) than the new style brakes (1940-41) (Fig 4-2.) even though the part number (5014) remains the same. Many collectors believe this clevis was also used on early post war bikes as well.

Late Adjustable Clevis (Adjuster side) 1946?-1960

After the war a new style clevis was used on the adjuster side which alleviated the problem of finding the exact length cable. With this style clevis you could cut the cable and casing to the desired length because the end of the cable passed through a screw that could be tightened to secure the cable (Fig 4-3.). While I’m not aware of any reproductions of the early, caged clevis the late clevis has been reproduced and there are minor differences. The most notable differences are the ‘notch’ is more pronounced on the reproduction than the original and the clevis pin is larger (Figs 4-4 to 4-5.) depict these differences.

Part 5. Clips and Straps

Clips

The catalogs show three different “Brake cable spring clip”. The first of these, part #5117, (Fig 5-1.) is for a truss rod and is seen in the first literature for the Fore Brake along with a strap on the handlebars (Fig 5-2.). This small clip is scarce and a small batch of these were reproduced a few years back. This clip was not carried into the post war catalog.

The next brake clip is one that no one I spoke with has ever seen. Part #5118 (Fig 5-3.) is a clip for an oval fork. Because of the way the cable is routed on a big brake model it runs next to the truss rod making the truss clip the logical choice for either a standard truss or spring fork. This clip is not carried into the post war catalog.

The last clip, part #7190 (Fig 5-4.), is the one most familiar and is shown in the post war catalog as well. This clip is used both on the fork and frame (for rear brake cable).  I will note that I’ve seen plenty of ’38 and up spring fork models that use this clip for the brake cable (Fig 5-5.).

Strap(s)

The reason for the parentheses is that the catalogs only show one part number for a brake strap (Fig 5-6.), but I’ve seen some variety such as width and length. The catalogs do not provide any dimensions so who is to say what was provided. In the 1948 catalog it describes this strap as holding the cable to the fork. The 1940 catalog simply says “Brake cable strap”.

The chart below should be used only as a general reference and not the last word on when these brakes/components were used. There is a fair amount of overlap and some questions on when certain parts began being used and when they were phased out. Obviously, a new style brake or skinny levers on a ’38 Autocycle aren’t factory correct but a lot of potential combinations exist that would be hard to prove one way or the other particularly on the late- 1938 to mid-1940 bikes.

Brake Chart

Final Notes and Observations.

The catalog numbers used above are from both the 1940 and 1948 catalogs. I mention this because for those really wanting to dig into the weeds there are some unanswered questions and other year catalogs may shed some light on these. For example, in the 1940 catalog it lists only one brake clevis, part #5014, yet, as shown, two varieties exist. Another example is the new style brakes introduced and carried through to post war with the same part number even though we know there were minor changes made. The same thing with the ‘skinny’ brake levers. It may be that Schwinn just carried the part number forward for these minor running changes rather than create confusion in inventory.

Regarding cables I have seen many original prewar cables with the later adjustable clevis. I believe this was a matter of economy. As the cable stretched there was only so much adjustment available. Once the adjustable clevis was available it was much easier just to cut the end off and attach the clevis.

Due to overlaps in production of the brake components there are no absolutes when it comes to how these bikes were equipped. Obviously, a new style brake on a 1937 bike would not be correct but the bikes from especially late 1939 to 1941 can exhibit a variety of hubs, levers, and clevis configurations. If equipping a bike (whether a restoration or retrofit) you are probably best off trying to follow the catalog.

Regardless of the care taken to ensure accuracy it is impossible to say exactly how a bicycle was equipped over 80 years ago. Much of this information was taken directly from Schwinn catalogs and literature. Knowledgeable collectors were also consulted along with forum posts from the Classic and Antique Bicycle Exchange (CABE). A special thanks to Eric Butler for providing the initial guidance and key information to get this project started. I also need to acknowledge Marty Colver and Kim Smith for their knowledge and advice and Pete Dieterich for allowing me to photograph parts I didn’t have.

I consider anything written on classic or antique bicycles to be an evolving study. There are constantly new discoveries whether it is original bicycles or obscure literature that surfaces that challenges or changes existing information. For any reader having information contrary to what is presented I welcome any contemporary factory or trade literature that corroborates such information. Enjoy the ride!

Copyright 2024, Shawn P. Sweeney, All rights reserved