A while back I found a NOS Schwinn Superior frame on eBay. It was the frame only, no fork. I really like the smooth, organic look of the fillet brazed Schwinn frames, so I bought it with the idea of building it up with mostly modern components. This will not be a restoration, it'll be modern mechanicals with a 70's bling look.
This is what I've decided so far:
The frame will get some minor modifications. It's going to get water bottle and shifter boss braze-ons. The rear brake bridge will be lowered so I can use modern dual pivot brakes and 700c Wheels.
The components will be a mix of Campy Veloce and Centaur -- all very shiny silver.
I've decided to paint the frame candy orange and use NOS Schwinn decals.
Here is my dilemma:
I have two steel forks lying around that I can use, a DeBernardi and a Tommasini. Both forks are unused. The DeBernardi is 1 inch threaded. The Tommasini is 1 inch threadless. Both are beautifully chromed. The DeBernardi has an internally lugged crown -- it's as smooth as a baby's ass. The Tommasini has a beautiful lugged crown. Have a look. The DeBernardi is on the left, the Tommasini on the right.
The Tommasini crown:
The Debernardi crown:
The original Schwinn Superiors used a lugged fork with a chrome crown cap, and the fork tips were chrome, while the rest of the fork was painted the same color as the frame. I could do something similar with the Tommasini fork. I could leave the crown unpainted, and paint the upper parts of the fork legs and leave the tips exposed. The down side to this is that I have to go threadless, and I despise the look of threadless headsets and stems, especially on a vintage frame.
The DeBernardi fork is smooth, so it goes with the smooth organic look of the frame. I can also use a nice high quality quill stem with this fork. I could paint the entire fork, except for the tips, or I could leave the crown unpainted and mark the transition with some pin stripping.
I could also leave either fork unpainted, since the chrome on both forks is gorgeous.
Oh, what to do?
