The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded in Chicago in 1895 by Ignatz Schwinn, a German immigrant who had come to America with the dream of making a better bicycle. Schwinns were extremely well made, and the turn of the century saw an unprecedented boom in bicycling. With the advent of the automobile, national sales dropped to one-fourth of what they were, and of the 30 bicycle manufacturers in Chicago, only 12 remained. Schwinn used this opportunity to buy out other companies, and continued making quality bicycles.

In 1933 the company debuted the Aerocycle, the first bike with balloon tires, and by the 1950s the company's product was called 'the Cadillac of American bicycles.' The company strictly controlled their retail outlets and maintained their very high standards. In the early '70s, they came out with the Sting-Ray, the first of the 'banana bikes,' and followed that with the earliest 10-speed mountain bikes.

They were in perfect position to meet the huge bicycle boom that was coming, but ran into problems when an anti-trust suit was brought to allow other distributors to sell their product. They began to import bikes from Asia, but fell into bankruptcy in 1992. The company changed hands several times, but the Schwinn name continues.

Today they sell a full range of bicycles. There are mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX bikes, cruisers and hybrids, which claim to offer 'the comfort of a cruiser with the speed of a roadster.' There's even a new version of the iconic Sting-Ray!