Classic & Vintage - '71 Schwinn Super Sport -- how to proceed

I picked up a decent '71 Super Sport a couple weeks ago, and am trying to decide how to proceed in refurbishing it. It looks like I'll probably have to repaint; it's just too tough to retouch the stock silver basecoat/candy burgundy. Not being any sort of Schwinn expert, my question is this: I know it was one of Schwinn's better models, with the hand-brazed CrMo frame, and forged Huret dropouts, but just how valuable -- or collectible -- is it? Clearly it's no Paramount, but it's no Varsity either. How great a heresy would it be to depart from stock colors, or to upgrade the derailleurs or crankset? As it sits, all the original equipment is intact and retrievable except for the Brooks B-15 saddle, which was MIA.

What would you guys do with it (and no, I'm not leaving it outside your front door)?

I'd leave it intact.To me its one of those "what were they thinking" bikes from schwinn. 35 pound lightweight. I woundn't upgrade it unless I had the parts in hand. I have seen them go for 300 + dollars on ebay. Oddly enough I also saw a SS tourer ( which is basically the same bike but with a european three peice) go for 30 $.

If it's in good original condition, with all its original bits, I'd clean it up and leave it at that. If it is very beat up, I'd rebuild it using modern components.

The SS frames are very strong and relatively light weight, they would make a good commuter or touring bike. That's what I would build it as.

If it still has all of the original components, I'd try to keep it as "original" as possible. Maybe get a Brooks saddle from Rivendell, for the "period" look. Just put some "clear" coat over any scratches or chips in the paint.

Although the "Super Sport" was probably selling a couple thousand bikes a year in that era, I suspect that there are not too many "1970ish" Super Sports still on the road with all the original components. That does not make them "valuable" in the way that a Paramount of that era can be valuable, but they are a unique part of American bike history.

They are one of the "best" American-made bikes of that era that was affordable for the typical young rider. Today, there are NO American-made bikes that a typical high school student could buy with the savings from an after-school job.

I read about a program at Taylor University where groups of teen-agers would tour the USA on bikes. They had been riding on European-made bikes. Schwinn convinced Taylor to try models similar to your "Super Sport". Taylor's tour leaders discovered they could take kid's coast to coast, and only have to patch a few tubes. No breakdowns. No repairs. Good-bye European bikes.

Like cruentus, if it's in decent shape I'd just clean it up and ride it. If it's pretty beat up but has a straight frame, I'd probably strip it, repaint it, and build it back up with modern components. The frame might be a bit heavy by today's standards, but it is bombproof.

Here's a link to the original '71 specs for the Schwinn lightweight models:

http://www.geocities.com/sldatabook/detail7074.html#1971

Just to be a contrarian.....

If you're going to ride it I'd do bolt-on reversible upgrades.

#1 would be the crankset. Why in the world keep spinning that got-awful heavy ashtabula unit? The 3 pc conversion is probably the best single thing you can do.

After that I might look at wheels.

You can always reverse these mods if a collector comes a-looking.


:beer:

We just got a '71 women's frame SS at the bike library. I'm not quite sure what to do with it but the crank is a great place to start... it is really the only thing that brings it down. That astabula unit weighs as much as the frame. The Huret derailleurs are heavy but there is something I like about that long steel lever and the “cha-chunk” feel of the rear derailleur moving down the cluster. The original wheels are alloy. I may end up putting a euro conversion on this and throwing a salvaged alloy crank on. I think it’ll make a great commuter.

It sounds like it would make a great fixie. :p

It sounds like it would make a great fixie. :p

So would your Fuji, you hoser. :fight:

Here it is; I got it screwed back together today with new cables and casings, some fresh bar tape, and a French leather saddle I scored at the thrift store for $8.00. Still need to dial in the derailleurs and true up the back wheel, but it's already clear it's a pretty sweet ride. I know that Ashtabula crank is a pretty crude device in comparison with the rest of the bike, but it does have a couple advantages that never get mentioned; it's a snap to remove it and the BB, and in a mainly level environment it's got flywheel effect -- once you get it spinning it wants to keep spinning. I think it's a lot like a car engine; some benefit from a light crank, some from a heavy one. Depends on how you're gonna use it, I suppose.

But I digress. It's tempting to keep it, but I bought it to resell and I already need a parking attendant. In the third photo you can see the worn area on the toptube where the obviously-too-short former owner used the family jewels as emery paper -- that's the worst spot on the frame. I'm nervous it'll put off potential buyers, but I tend to be Felix Unger about that kind of thing. What do you think? Clean it up and clearcoat it, or repaint?

http://home.comcast.net/~mswantak/wsb/media/1477/site1409.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~mswantak/wsb/media/1477/site1410.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~mswantak/wsb/media/1477/site1411.jpg

Looks nice. I would suspect that it would only devalue it to repaint. I have seen vintage schwinn colors being sold on the schwinn collectors forum ( type in schwinn on google and you'll find it) but even then I don't think the paint would match close enough to not be noticeable. I would leave a total repaint decision to the next buyer.