Classic & Vintage - What kind of Schwinn

I just picked up a Schwinn in my sons garage and I was wondering if I should try and restore it or make a touring bike.The decals are worn off,but the numbers on the front emblem are 2559 and on the rear hanger are SH 976742.On the handlebars it has Road Champion on one side and Randnner on the other.Any help would be appreciated,George

http://i14.tinypic.com/2ahwdxk.jpgHeres a picture

My guess is that it's a 1979 Le Tour IV.

What does the decal under the FD clamp say? Schwinn X-tra Lite?

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d7/k4drd/Bicycles/1979LeTourIV-1.jpg

Nice DUI commuter bar set up... I like that they flipped the brake levers over and re-taped the bars. If your son did the flip, I mean no disrespect.:D

The bike has been laying in the garage for years.I really dont think he did anything to it.Anyhow do you think I should make a touring bike out off it.Thanks again George

George, it's not a bad frame although it's made of 1020 carbon steel, and will therefore be a bit heavier than 4130 chrome-moly.

The geometry would be quite suitable for a touring set-up.

I have a Trek FX 7300 and I was going to make that my touring bike and that weighs 30 pounds I wonder if this bike would weigh more after everything is on it.Plus I think the rims are 27".I'd probably have to buy new wheels as well.I really dont want to get in over my head with this. I'm trying to compare the 2 bikes. Put money into the Trek or rebuild the Schwinn. I'm pretty new at this so I dont know what the cost of building a nice bike would be and for that matter what I should put on it.I was looking at all the catalogs and some of that stuff can get pretty expensive.I was kicking around putting new rims on mine for now,but I really dont know what kind of rims I should use.I just started riding about 4 months ago and I dont know to much about the sport,but I know I like it.I'm retired and 66 and I started riding to get in better shape and now I'd like to do more and learn more.Thanks George

If I remember correctly, the '79 and '80 le tours were the only year models le tours were made in Chicago-

If I remember correctly, the '79 and '80 le tours were the only year models le tours were made in Chicago-
You're probably right; the labor problems would have impacted Chicago production in the early eighties until the factory closed.

I think it looks like a Le Tour too. Look at the lugged frame, spindle crank. The shift levers look like they are from a Continental.

If it is a Japanese made Le Tour (which is an excellent bicycle, by the way), all the parts will be made in Japan - crank arms, aluminum handlebars, shifters - everything.

On one side of the handlebars it says Sakae Japan and
near the DR clamp it says Xtra Lite.I also weighed it and it's 30#

Nice DUI commuter bar set up... I like that they flipped the brake levers over and re-taped the bars. If your son did the flip, I mean no disrespect.:D

Ha ha. "DUI commuter bars" - that's funny, but I know exactly what you mean. What is it with the guys riding old 70's bikes with the bars flipped up like that? No offense to the original post, but why do we identify this with "DUI commuters"? Where did that start anyway and why do people do it? Rebels?

George, you're only a couple of years ahead of me; I'm 64 and retired three years ago.

You're going to wind up spending money on the Le Tour, so the question is really "how much?"

If I were you, I'd get rid of the 27" steel rims and replace them with some 700c alloy rims (Mavic Open Pro?), and lace them to the existing hubs using stainless spokes (I used DT Swiss double-butted Competition spokes when I relaced the original tubular rims with Open Pro clincher rims on my Paramount). The slightly smaller diameter 700c rims means you'll have to ensure the existing brakes have a long enough reach to work, but the Weinmanns on my Paramount work well with the 700c rims.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

On one side of the handlebars it says Sakae Japan and
near the DR clamp it says Xtra Lite.I also weighed it and it's 30#
That's all consistent with the '79 Le Tour IV. The frame, BTW, was "..a genuine 'Made-in-the-U.S.A.' torch-brazed lug frame.." according to the catalog, so Well-Biked is right about the frame having been built in the Chicago factory.

The specs state that the handlebar is "SR alloy, Randonneur bend drop style, double sleeve", the crankset is "Sugino Super Maxy alloy cotterless with 39 and 52 tooth chainwheels with chainguard and chrome-moly steel spindle", the RD is "Shimano 400 series", the FD is "Schwinn-Approved GT295 with exclusive two-piece chain cage for jam-free shifting", and the complete bike weighed "30 pounds with kickstand."

Thanks a lot Stan,I guess I'll have to find a place down here where they build wheels if I go that way or do you think I can get some at a bike shop or mail order house.Also would you change the derailleurs and if you did what would you put on.Again I dont have any idea what to do with it so I can use all the help I can get. I'm leaning toward a touring bike.I have one problem,I have Rheumatoid arthritis and I would have to make it as comfortable as possible.I wish I started earlier with this biking but better late than never.Anyhow this being retired is great,George

Thanks a lot Stan,I guess I'll have to find a place down here where they build wheels if I go that way or do you think I can get some at a bike shop or mail order house.Also would you change the derailleurs and if you did what would you put on.Again I dont have any idea what to do with it so I can use all the help I can get. I'm leaning toward a touring bike.I have one problem,I have Rheumatoid arthritis and I would have to make it as comfortable as possible.I wish I started earlier with this biking but better late than never.Anyhow this being retired is great,George
Well, this may sound daunting, but you might consider building the wheels yourself. I built up the wheels on my Paramount and highly recommend it. It was my first attempt at wheelbuilding, and I'm damned glad I did it (I've built up a half dozen wheelsets since). I bought the rims, calculated the spoke lengths using spocalc (http://sheldonbrown.com/rinard/spocalc.htm) and ordered the spokes through my LBS, bought a $40 Spin Doctor Truing Stand (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=15314&subcategory_ID=4221), a $55 TM-1 Tension Meter (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=16496&subcategory_ID=4221), downloaded the $9.00 Wheelbuilding e-book by Musson (http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php), and built up a perfect wheelset on the first attempt (if I can do it, anybody can). There's nothing like the feeling you get riding on a pair of wheels you've built yourself.

As far as gearing goes, if you're going to build a touring bike and have arthritis, you may want to consider replacing the original five cog freewheel with a ten speed cassette to give you a wider gearing range. This will mean cold setting the rear stays and dropouts on the Le Tour frame for wider spacing, replacing the rear hub with one that will accommodate the ten speed cassette, and replacing the rear derailleur with a wider travel ten speed derailleur. If you do all of this with new parts, it can get expensive. If, on the other hand, you are patient and shop around for used parts (swap meets, eBay, craigslist, etc.), you can do it on a budget.

WARNING: Messing around with bicycles can become addictive. :D

Thanks Stan,that should keep me busy for a while,George

What, specifically, don't you like about the Trek 7300? When you say you want to do some touring, do you mean loaded touring for a week long trip, or short day tours that would require only a few items to be carried along?

The Schwinn build is great if you want to spend time refreshing a vintage bike and learning about wrenching. And you would likely come out with a nice bike.

However, sticking with the Trek would seem more sensible, and would cost less money and require less work (again, if you are interested in rejuvenating a vintage bike, by all means do).

If the handlebars on the Trek are uncomfortable, you can always order some barends that will offer you more hand positions. Or you could fit it with drop bars if that is your preference.

If you look at the ad piece Scooper posted, the Schwinn won't be any lighter than your Trek. But it will have older technology. I'm sure I'll be flamed for this, but the specs I found online for the 2004 FX 7300 are very good, better than the Schwinn in my opinion - and indexed shifting is a nice thing to have.

Also, the Trek has two sets of braze-ons for water bottles, while the Schwinn hasn't any (from what I can see). The Schwinn does have eyelets for fenders or racks. I can't tell from the photos I found if the Trek does.

Another question: what is wrong with the current wheelset on the Trek?

If it were my choice, from a practical perspective I would stick with the Trek and modify it to fit my needs.

EDIT: I should add, the Trek has a much more upright riding position, which relieves stress on hands, wrists and arms. For long trips, however, this becomes more taxing on the knees and it puts more weight on the saddle (i.e. more saddle sore).

Hi Junkyardbike,I just thought the Shwinn would give me a better ride,
that's all I was really looking for.I really love this Trek,so far I've only
gone 40 miles on it and when I got home I was still pretty fresh.I thought
about going father but the wind was really kicking up.I do have flat bars with bar ends.
I put Ergon grips on and I rest my elbows on them and lock in with the bar ends.For the most part I would be just doing overnighters or the longest a week.The wheels I have on the bike are WTB speed disk.I dont know if a new set of wheels would help any or not,but I do like the disk brakes.I keep reading that wheels could do wonders for a bike but I haven't been riding to know the difference.

I wish I knew how to make those pictures smaller so it wouldn't screw up this whole post.Have a good day and thanks for all the replys,George

Hi Junkyardbike,I just thought the Shwinn would give me a better ride,
that's all I was really looking for.I really love this Trek,so far I've only
gone 40 miles on it and when I got home I was still pretty fresh.I thought
about going father but the wind was really kicking up.I do have flat bars with bar ends.
I put Ergon grips on and I rest my elbows on them and lock in with the bar ends.For the most part I would be just doing overnighters or the longest a week.The wheels I have on the bike are WTB speed disk.I dont know if a new set of wheels would help any or not,but I do like the disk brakes.I keep reading that wheels could do wonders for a bike but I haven't been riding to know the difference.

I wish I knew how to make those pictures smaller so it wouldn't screw up this whole post.Have a good day and thanks for all the replys,George

If you like the Trek, I'd stick with it. You could rebuild the Schwinn as a project, if you are so inclined, then compare the two.

EDIT: As far as the wheels, I'd stick with them until you encounter problems with them, or decide you really want an upgrade after riding for a while. If you are planning a very long tour, you'll want to make sure they are in top shape (tensioned, trued, hubs greased, maybe new bearings).

Here's a great thread in the Commuting forum by a guy who has put nearly 1000 miles on a WalMart GMC Denali, still with original "cheap" components:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=237231

Warning: It's loooooooooooong. Best posts are his.

You might also find the Touring forum on these boards helpful. I know I've seen some loaded and day tourers that were mountain or hybrid bikes in past lives.

Good luck!

George, as Scooper has already said, the le tour isn't a bad frame, but it's of 1020 steel and is going to be somewhat heavier than a chromoly frame and won't give you the same ride quality either. What I mean by "ride quality" is that with thinner walled tubing, which a chromoly frame will have because it's quite a bit stronger than 1020 steel for its weight, you'll have the benefit of some subtle springiness in the frame, which is what quality steel frames are known for. It varies, of course, depending on the specific frame and tubing, and most of all it's subjective, which means that one person might praise a certain frame for its great ride characteristics, while another might hate the same frame and say it's too flexy or too stiff. So take all of this with a grain of salt. I rode a 1979 Schwinn Traveler for quite a few years (bought it new when I was in high school), and in looking back with fading memories and all that, I consider it to be one of my favorite bikes ever. The Traveler was of 1020 steel, and would be a rough equivalent of your '79 le tour. Long story short, I now regularly ride an '83 le tour luxe that I've had since '84, and within the last couple of years I've put a good deal of money into it to "modernize" the drivetrain, put modern 700c wheels on it, etc. This particular bike has a full chromoly frame, and I absolutely love it for what I use it for (fitness riding, day touring, commuting). The way I have it set up, all I need to do to make it suitable for long tours would be to install the front rack...........With your '79 le tour, the things I think you would really need to change are the steel rims (very dangerous lack of braking performance for touring, especially in wet conditions) and the stock gearing, if you want to make it a tourer. On my le tour luxe, I'm running a nine speed cassette with a triple crank. The gearing is 46-36-24 on the chainrings and 11 x 32 on the cassette. It's not really important to have a bunch of gears in the rear, for touring the idea is to have a wide range. I'm currently building up a tourer that has 48-36-24 up front and a 13 x 32 six speed freewheel. As you can see, I've got roughly the same gear range with the freewheel setup, just not as many cogs. The key is to use a triple crank, I'd recommend something with a 110/74 Bolt Circle Diameter, you can customize your gearing with such a crankset to get the ideal size chainrings for your touring needs. If you go with a new crankset, something like the Sugino XD that Harris Cyclery sells comes to mind, and I'd also recommend a new cartridge bearing bottom bracket while you're at it..............With all this in mind, the real question is whether or not you'd want to sink this much money into a frame that's really not all that great. The truth is, you should be able to find, fairly easily, an inexpensive used bike (maybe a later model le tour, for example) that has some of these elements already in place, particularly the aluminum rims. Freewheels can be found with a gear range that should work for you just fine, so you wouldn't necessarily need a modern freehub, or even 700c rims because there are several good 27" tires still available. The triple crank would likely need to be added, but that's not as bad as a crankset and wheels............Whatever you decide to do, good luck-