I have had my green Superior in the works for a while, but it's stalled while I prepare for the financial hit of a professional paint job (see for yourself:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ohpv/a...57642470085394 ). So I surprised myself a while back with another Schwinn fillet-brazed project, a burgundy Super Sport. It showed up on Craigslist with a sad tale: the owner was moving to China (!) and he had this sitting because someone had stolen the wheels. For his asking price ($80) I couldn't resist.
After consulting with the accountant (my wife) I went and picked itup on my birthday (yay!). For a 45 year old bike, it's not bad. The paint is chipped here and there, but not badly, so I'm going to make it rideable. My plan is to put together some 700C wheels, perhaps with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub, and use it for local shopping/coffee/donut runs. It came with a chrome-plated Schwinn kickstand, perfect for its in-town duties.
Since I can't leave well enough alone (and I have a pile of parts to draw on), I'm gong to take it all apart and build it to suit my taste (or lack thereof). Here's what I have planned:
700C wheels with 3-speed rear hub, large-flange front, with 700 x 35C tires
North Road style handlebars
Wide-ish saddle (not the Schwinn mattress-style that came with it)
Different fenders (still deciding)
My only real decision is whether to replace the one-piece crank and clunky pedals with aluminum cranks and pedals. The one-piece cranks are entirely adequate for the intended use, but I have a half-dozen cranksets to choose from plus I just plain like MKS platform pedals.
In any case, here's a couple pictures. The rest can be seen at
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ohpv/a...57670249022375 .
