I don't think Schwinn, Huffy or such are inherently unsafe, but they tend to be assembled by people who have absolutely no clue what they are doing and then get no maintenance. Try that with a car and see what happens.

I'll stick with my old trusty Italian bike, a 1967 Atala. It does have a Guerciotti fork on it, since the steering tube broke on the original fork long ago. Also cantilever brakes. Mafac brakes, in case you're really old-school and have heard of them. Those are to fit around the off-road tubular tires.

I also have a much newer Mercian road bike, but it currently lacks handlebars. It and the Atala are both handmade frames, but the Mercian is from England. Then there's the machine-made Diamond Back which is not nearly as much fun as the Atala off-road, but it is much more stout.