Fat Tire Off-Road Bike East of the Mississippi
Date: 1966
In the spring of 1966, Rodney Rom of Cincinnati, Ohio, widened the rear of a new 10-speed Schwinn Varsity Tourist frame to fit fat tires. He used special-ordered heavy-duty spokes, S-7 rims and imported German Union drum brakes. The frame was then chrome-plated. This bike’s story appeared in the August 2003 issue of Mountain Bike magazine (with a misquoted headline). The bike also traveled to the east coast, Europe and South America as authorized cargo on board the Navy aircraft carrier USS Randolph (CVS-10). Image courtesy of Rodney Rom.
