Hey, thats pretty cool! I didn't know that bit of history, thanks for sharing Theres an 80's ski jacket in my closet that matches it, and I would get to say "NiceSASS" to annoy people
And if you owned a Bianchi SASS you could really get some props. Make sure to run it 32:16 not 34:19 like me.
I actually switched to 32:18 awhile back. I was only running a 34 since my first singlespeed could run a 34:17 as a “magic gear”. After I broke that frame, I switched to 29” wheels and ran a 34:19 and after those gears wore out I switched to 32:18. Currently my single now has a 32:19 gear (Blackspire 32t - White Industries ENO 19t) cause I am weak sauce.
I think that buell schwinn would be a cool display piece other than the price. It got a lot of people looking at the design when the rider seeded 52nd took 3rd. It definitely helped develop mtb technology.
Being a fellow pedal biker, the one big flaw I could see with that design is that the shock is fully exposed in probably the most banged up portion of a mountain bike.
If your front wheel goes over a log but don't completely clear it, next thing that hits would be the shock. Plus it's in the direct path of all the mud and stones kicked up from the front wheel.
That's probably one of many reasons the shocks on all modern mtn bikes are shielded behind the downtube or seattube (aside from suspension design constraints).
That purple frame just screams early '90s cool though
Actually just about every manufacturer did. MTB full suspension design was in its infancy back then (early 90’s) and it was like the Wild West, with more bad designs coming that seemed like a great idea in the moment.
I had heard of the Buell/Schwinn bike, but never seen one. For some reason, i always thought it had a Lawwill rear end. This is just a high single pivot with a linkage driven shock, however flipped around. It almost seems like the design was based around the shock as if it was the primary feature. Pull shocks on MTB’s were a thing back then, but I can’t remember who used them?? GT? AMP Research? K2?
I can imagine this bike was also the impetus for the Schwinn Homegrown (go Tomato!) series of bikes. I always liked the hardtail models myself. If you ever saw the old TV show Pacific Blue, they would occasionally have a Homegrown full suspension bike such as a 4 banger, or Straight Six. I forget the exact timeline. Waterford on the seat stays is a nod to Waterford Cycles which is an offshoot of Schwinn owned by another family member, which I think is still in operation. Schwinn also bought and sold Yeti (who was using Lawwill suspension) around this time and eventually went bankrupt and is now owned by the parent company who owns Cannondale and GT. That’s a quick and dirty version of the story.
The Bianchi comment earlier was referring the the Bianchi SASS (shiny ass single speed) another truly notable bike. Bianchi made a whole slew of them with similar names such as the DISS, SISS, and PUSS (yes, it was pink, you dirty bird).