This Vintage Schwinn Air-dyne has some stories to tell
“She’s got some sort of exercise bike covered in clothes in her spare bedroom”, my mom casually mentioned in reference to an elderly friend that had passed away. I immediately responded “IS IT… AN AIR-DYNE?”. Sure enough, it was. A bright “Harvest Gold” example from the mid-1980’s. Mint condition, as well. Having suffered a back injury recently, this was exactly what I needed to keep up my cardio throughput while not aggravating that injury. The timing of this discovery was so perfect that I have to think this was a last little gift from the previous owner. Thanks, Shirley.
I picked it up from the house as soon as I could. As we wrestled the 77-lb bike through the back door, the bright metallic paint glistened playfully. This was the first time the sun’s rays had struck it in over 30 years. This model has an analog “effort” gauge (which still works) with a little digital LCD timer, a feature that came a few years after the initial introduction (the first ‘dynes had an analog timer, as well). The chrome shone brightly, the paint and decals were flawless, and everything seemed to be in great shape. After a quick clean-up of decades of dust, it was as good as new.
The “Air-Dyne Ergomatic Exerciser” first appeared in Schwinn Catalogs in 1980. The price was a nontrivial $450 which is $1450 in today’s dollars. It was advertised as a: “new and improved type of stationary bicycle exerciser which utilizes the air displacement principle. It provides a wide range of variable but measured work loads, combined with the comfortable and pleasing cooling effect of its wind vane system.” Quite a quaint description considering that we just call it “Satan’s Tricycle” these days.
I never got a chance to ask Shirley about the Air-Dyne, so the reasoning and story behind the purchase will never be truly known. The seat pole of this particular example bears a sticker from the local Schwinn dealer in town that looks like it could have been placed there yesterday. I have wonder who in the family decided to purchase this way back then, and why? That bike shop still exists in town so it’s easy to imagine the bike sitting in the front window with a $450 price tag hanging off the arm. I can picture some massive 1980’s full-frame car from Detroit out front, and our family friend, perhaps with her brother, heaving this beast into the cavernous trunk. What were they saying and thinking at the time? Were they on a health kick? Did they have a health scare of some sort?
The “mileage” meter on the bike shows over 1,100 “miles”, so for at least some period of time the bike had to have been used with some sort of regularity. The battery access door for the little LCD timer on the gauge cluster is worn from multiple battery replacements. The layers of dust tell me that it probably hadn’t been used for the last 20 or so years but it was clearly useful to someone, for some time. Shirley lived to be 89 years old and required no assistance living on her own, so I’d like to think that she logged some of those miles in the 80’s and 90’s. We’ll never know.
There are thousands of Air-Dynes just like this all across the country, all with stories to tell from an analog era of fitness. Covered in dust, tucked into corners of basements and storage units, they are waiting to be re-discovered and put to use. While fitness fads and devices of all sorts have come and gone, this incredibly well-engineered and torturous machine endures. The continual relevance and effectiveness of this device is unwavering and unforgettable.
High-intensity training regimens like Crossfit have generated a new generation of respect for this machine, and after 1 minute all-out on one, you’ll understand why! What stories can your Air-Dyne tell? I’d love to know, so comment below!
