Classic & Vintage - Looking for Some Info on Vintage Bikes

I recently found 2 bikes lying on the side of a bike trail that were abandoned. I took them home, and now they've gotten me interested in vintage bikes! I'd like to know basically everything about them, and also their value, because I might be selling them!
Here's the 2 bikes I found:
Schwinn Caliente- Pink. It has some paint scratches, as well as a worn tire that needs to be replaced, and a broken brake that I'll need to fix.
Schwinn Super Sport-Yellow. The only problem with this one is scratches to the paint, but I works perfectly. We are probably keeping this one, because my mom like it, and needs a racing bike anyway.
So, I'd pretty much just like to know anything and everything about these bikes!

Bob Hufford or Scooper could likely tell you quite a bit. I think the Super Sport is more coveted, but that's about as much as I think I know.

My daughter has a pink Caliente with 24" wheels. It was made in 1988 in Taiwan. You can look for a date code stamped into the head badge, sometimes very lightly. The first three digits are the day, last digit is the year; i.e. 1038 is the 103rd day of 1988. I put on flat bars and thumb shifters for her. The only tires we could find were 24x1 3/8, so it was like a hybrid. She rode the bike for 3 years, then she out grew it, so I fixed up a Raliegh Record girl's bike for her. The bike is kind of heavy, but it's still lighter than a mountain bike. The only aluminum on the bike is the brakes and levers. The frame is lugged steel, steel cotterles crank, steel rims, steel deraileurs, steel stem and bars. 29lbs. on the bathroom scale.

Super Sports from the early seventies had hand brazed 4130 Chrome-Moly frames, while Calientes of the same period had 1010 electro-forged frames. The Super Sports generally had higher end components.

Later Super Sports (~'85) were lugged, and used Columbus Tenax Chrome-Moly double-butted main tubes.

Zorro's right; Super Sports have been toward the high end of the Schwinn product line, while the Calientes have been toward the lower end.

It would help to know roughly when these bikes were made. Any way to post photos so we can see what you've got?

I had a '72 Super Sport that I bought new and rode thousands of miles until it got stolen in 1980. :( Great bike.

Pictures...must...see...pictures... :)

Thanks for all the help! I'll go get some picures later today. :)

Pics!
Super Sport:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/mollie148/ssright.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/mollie148/ssleft.jpg
Caliente:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/mollie148/caliright.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/mollie148/calileft.jpg

The Super Sport is an early 70s (probably '72) fillet brazed chrome moly model. Color: Kool Lemon.

The Caliente is a late eighties (probably '89) lug frame model. Color: Tea Rose

I bet I can guess which side they were laying on. ;)

You can get a replacement for that Super Sport crank from any thrift store Varsity or Continental for very little money (unless you want to upgrade it anyway).

The Super Sport is a nice bike, but doesn't seem to bring much money in the ladies format. Typically less than $75. It's a good thing your Mom wants to keep it.

The Caliente, being a lower end Schwinn and from the '80s would not usually bring much more than $50, but pink is back baby!!

Find the serial number on the Super Sport (on the head tube of the frame where the front fork enters), go here and find out the year:

http://www.geocities.com/sldatabook/serial.html

Then go here and pick the model to find more detailed info:

http://www.geocities.com/sldatabook/models.html

I'm afraid I can't help you with details on the Caliente -- I'm living way in the past.

Have fun,

Bob Hufford
Springfield, MO

On the Super Sport, the Shimano rear derailleur is a very nice upgrade over the original Schwinn Approved Huret.

You might try rubbing some wet aluminum foil on that crank before giving up on it. (Or just ride the bike; the rust is superficial and harmful only to the bike's otherwise fairly nice aesthetics.)

... I'm afraid I can't help you with details on the Caliente -- I'm living way in the past.
...
With bicycles, that's the place to be, Bob! :)

The Caliente is identical to my daughter's bike. Check your seatpost insertion. On hers, the seatpost was pretty short and did not have a minimum insertion line. I found it last summer when I tried to adjust it for a growth spurt and there was less than an inch of post left in the frame. The whole post is only about 6 inches, so in your picture, it looks like you are near the end.

I don't mean to be alarmist, and I'm probably over reacting, but the circumstances in which you found the bikes seems slightly suspicious to me. Not YOU suspicious, just where they were 'abandoned'. You could do a public service by putting upa couple of notices near entrances to the bike trail about the bikes you found, and/or contact the police about it.

or they could have been left there so someone would fix um up

Don't worry, we left a note with our phone number so that if the owner came back to look for them, they would know to call us. :)

Wow, that SS has quick-release wheels. That is an upgrade on those 70s Schwinns. Specialized makes a tire called the "Tri-Sport" that will fit those wheels -- 27x1 1/4". They have a puncture resistant lining and a nice ride quality. The tires will take 100psi but the rims will only take 80 so don't overfill!

Not much could kill either of those bikes. Ride `em into the ground!