Warning to Schwinn Point Beach riders...

Pongo · #1 10-29-2008, 04:44 PM

Greetings,
Thought I'd post this on the Gen Discussion forum so more people would see it. I'm new to the forum. I built a bike using the Happy Time 2-stroke engine on a Schwinn Point Beach bike back in September. Other than minor hardware issues with the Chinese made bike, things have been going great - including a 150 mile ride from PA to the Chesepeake Bay & back.

Last Sunday, at exactly 455 miles on the odometer, while riding locally with a friend on a similar bike, I turned onto another road, and felt the back end getting squirrelly - like the wheel was coming loose. I was able to pull over & discovered that the frame tube in front of the rear hub had cracked completely through. Upon futher examination, I discovered that other cracks had occurred, or were forming, all adjacent to welds. One completely through at one of the smaller upper tubes near the seat, one forming on the other side, and one on the down tube near the rear brake.

I've not been abusing the bike off road, only riding on paved roads, and even avoiding pot holes & rough areas. I know that there are a lot of Point Beach conversions out there, so let this be a warning. Maybe the guy who built my bike was having a bad day, or maybe the Chinese aluminum frame Schwinns can't handle the added weight & vibration. If this would have happened a mile earlier when I was going down hill at 30mph - I would have had a bad day! In the mean time, I'm looking for a steel-frame bike to swap the components over to, and anxiously awaiting when I can get back in the saddle.
-Pongo

Xcel · #2 10-29-2008, 06:27 PM

No good! sorry to hear that. My girlfriend did an endo when her point beach fender broke and the front end locked up; serious road rash and a near broken neck.

Be careful!

Nomad · #3 10-29-2008, 06:33 PM

Thanks for the info Pongo. I had always thought that the aluminum frames were not up to the task of dealing with the vibration of the 2 strokes, so I wrote them off right at the beginning and only built on steel frames preferrably "butted" steel tubing... Glad to hear you did not suffer a real disaster...

Pongo · #4 10-30-2008, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xcel

No good! sorry to hear that. My girlfriend did an endo when her point beach fender broke and the front end locked up; serious road rash and a near broken neck.

Be careful!

Glad to hear she wasn't hurt worse. That's a scary thing! The fender tabs seem to be a real weak spot. The one on my friend's front fender broke, and I recently lost the one on my rear fender. I noticed it right before the ride where all of the frame cracks showed up.

I'll be picking up a steel-frame bike this weekend to swap parts onto.

Happy Riding!
-Pongo