Schwinn Town & Country Tri-Wheeler summary

rickpaulos · Nov 17, 2024, 02:52 PM

A catalog review of the classic 3 wheeler and beyond.

Before the Town and Country Tri-wheeler, some Schwinn dealers would sell the Ret-Bar kit installed on 24" Schwinn girls bicycles. There was enough demand that Schwinn licensed or bought the kit and introduced the bike in 1967. There were no mods made to the standard 24" girls bike. It was all bolt on.

The first model was 1 wheel drive via a short chain at the end of the axle. Later on Schwinn introduced a differential version for 2 wheel drive. The differential unit was poorly made and did not hold up well. The gears were stamped sheet metal with the ends bent over some 45 degrees to mesh. The bell housing was also stamped sheet metal. It was riveted closed. The big advantage was a shorter wheel base and a bit more stability.

Schwinn used 5.5" cranks on their 24" bikes and they stuck with that size on the adult oriented Tri-Wheeler. That made getting started rather hard. The high rise bars also added to the very wobbly feel. Installing longer cranks is not a problem as the trike doesn't lean in corners where pedals would hit the ground on a regular bike.
6.5" cranks are a good upgrade for the T&C. Note that Schwinn 1-piece cranks and bb parts are 28 threads per inch vs 24 tpi for the rest of the industry. 24 & 28 can not be mixed and matched but the entire crank and bb can be changed.

Just a note on abuse. No adult trikes were designed for stunts, riding off curbs, jumps, etc. Expect damage if teens are allowed to ride them.

2011
updated 2024

Schwinn Town and Country Tri-Wheeler history:

4 general models of Schwinn 3 wheelers

: Chicago built classics based on a girls 24" frame from 1968 to 1982.
: Japan built by Bridgestone with 20" wheels, years unknown.
: China built from 2007 to present
: Asian build aluminum frame Meridian

Classic years extracted from Bob Hufford's Catalog scans, now hosted at Waterford.

FYI, there have been many Schwinns sold that don't match catalog specs. Mid season drops or introductions, carried over old stock frames, dealer mods to suit customers preferences, etc. Some years were in turmoil as production shifted locations. The 1980s saw the catalog split in to Lightweights, BMX etc.

Schwinn sold the Town & Country tandem long ago which confounds www searches.
The catalog seems to be rather inconsistent on the name over the years.

1968 to 1982 models have 24" wheels.

All 3 speed models are 3 speed with built in coaster brake hubs and a front hand brake.
All 2 speed models are Bendix Automatic (often called kickback)

NEW FROM SCHWINN FOR 1968
page 17
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1961_1970/1968_17.html
AT1-6 coaster brake (Bendix) $136.95
AT1-8 Auto 2 speed (Bendix) $144.95
Campus Green, Sky Blue

1969
page 42
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1961_1970/1969_42.html
AT1-6 Coaster brake $142.95
AT1-2 Auto. 2-Speed $149.95
AT1-8 3-speed with coaster brake (Sturmey Archer) $153.95
Campus Green, Sky Blue

1970
page 26
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1961_1970/1970_26.html
AT1-6 coaster $144.95
AT1-2 2 speed $151.95
Campus Green, Sierra Brown

1971
page 23
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1971_23.html
AT1-6 coaster brake $149.95
AT1-8 3-speed coaster brake hub $161.95
Campus Green, Sierra Brown

1972
page 25
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1972_25.html
AT1-6 Coaster brake Town and Country $149.95
AT1-8 3-speed Town and Country $161.95
Sierra Brown, Campus Green

1973
page 27
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1973_27.html
AT1-6 Coaster Brake Town and Country $166.95
AT1-8 3-Speed Town and Country $179.95
Kool Lemon, Campus Green

1974
page 27
NEW DIFFERENTIAL STYLE DRIVE
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1974_27.html
AT2-6 Coaster Brake 3-Wheeler
AT2-8 3-Speed 3-Wheeler
No prices in catalog
Kool Lemon, Opaque Blue

1975
page 38
Portrait orientation catalog scanned 2 pages a time. Page 38 was scanned as page 20.
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1975_20.html
AT2-6 Town and Country - coaster brake $196.95
AT2-8 Town and Country 3-speed (Shimano) $209.95
Yellow, Sky blue

1976
page 36
pages scanned 2 at a time. page 36 scanned as page 19
no prices in catalog
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1976_19.html
AT2-6 Town And Country - coaster brake
AT2-8 Town And Country - 3-speed Shimano hub
Yellow, Sky blue

A note here about catalogs. Some years saw mid-season reprints with some changes.
1977 t&c price increase and page change.

1977
page 54
scanned as page 25
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1977_25.html
AT2-6 Town and Country Single Speed Coaster brake $209.95
AT2-8 Town and Country 3-speed coaster brake $224.95
Flamingo (only year for this color), Sky Blue
single speed coaster brake, 3-speeed coaster brake (Shimano in photo).

1977
page 48
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1977_25.html
AT2-6 Town and Country Single Speed Coaster brake $211.95
AT2-8 Town and Country 3-speed coaster brake $226.95
Flamingo (only year for this color), Sky Blue

1978
page 47
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1978_47.html
AT2-9 3-speed $234.95
AT2-6 single speed $219.95
Yellow, Sky Blue

1979
page 46
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1979_46.html
AT2-8 $249.95
Sky Blue
3 speed hub (Shimano)
(the Single Speed model is dropped)
(note the brake lever is incorrectly on the right side in the photo)

1980
page 43
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1980_43.html
AT2-8 $289.95
Sky Blue
3 speed hub (Shimano)
(note the lever is incorrectly on the left side in photo)

1981
page 44
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1981_1990/1981_44.html
AT2-8 Town and Country Tri-Wheeler $296.95
Sky Blue
3 speed with coaster brake.

1982
page 44
https://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1981_1990/1982_44.html
AT2-8 Town and Country Tri-Wheeler $352.95
Sky Blue
3-speed coaster brake.

Chicago factory closed in 1983 - end of electro forged Town & Country Tri-wheeler.

*************************************

There was another Schwinn branded 3 wheeler with 20" wheels. Kinda like a runabout with 3 wheels.
Maybe made in Japan by Bridgestone.
right not I can't even find a picture of it.

***************************************

Is that the end? Nope, Pacific/Dorel/Schwinn revived the adult 3 wheeler later on.

2007
Available exclusively at Schwinn Signature independent bike shops.
http://www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/bike-archive/2007/town-country-11322
color N/A
no images available
no specs

2008
http://www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/bike-archive/2008/town-country-11387
Blue
no images available
Frame: CP Brass (

)
26" wheels
Sturmey Archer 3 speed twist.

2009
http://www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/bike-archive/2009/town-and-country-12347
Dark Grey
no images available

2010
not found (

)

2011
http://www.schwinnbikes.com/bikes/cruisers/town-country
Navy Blue
Aluminum Frame

2011
(Wal*Mart model)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-S4002/12016722
Schwinn Meridian Adult Trike
Dark Cherry, Blue, Silver
26" wheel.
3 speed.
aluminum Frame
(less than half the price of Schwinn Signature models above)

***************************************
recently the Meridian 3 wheeler has been on the market.
Asian made, Aluminum frame.
Very poor axle to wheel interface that easily strips out.
Lightweight rims that are easily bent.
These bikes can't take any abuse.

***************************************

Okay, now is that it?
Yes, for Schwinn but there were scores of other companies selling adult three wheelers and some continue today.

rickpaulos · Nov 17, 2024, 03:01 PM

The catalog pages in order. I found 2 different catalogs for one year so I included both.

I think the female model was the same for most of the years. You can see her changes in hair style and her male companions. Kinda fun to see. Anyone know who she is/was? Probably lived in socal. A professional model or a Schwinn dealers wife or photographers girl friend?

I'm using links instead of downsizing the images and loading just 4 at time.

1971.p23

1973.p27

1974.p27

1975_20

1975.p38

1976.p36

1977.p48

1977.p54