Classic & Vintage - Can anyone help me ID my Schwinn road bike.

It was Chicago built-says SA309490 on the left rear fork- 863A under the bottom bracket and 0235 or Q235 on the front insignia. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, a serial number with two initial letters ia a Chicagoism, but the initial "S" does not fit the pattern of A-H,J-M for the first letter (month designator). What components does it have? Does the frame have visible external lugwork? Also, Chicago Schwinns had two-initial-letter S/Ns stamped on the bottom bracket or the head tube, not the rear dropout.

The insigna stamp 0235 means 23rd day of 19x5, where x = 7 or 8. Again, please tell us more about the equipment and appearance of your bike.

I made it into a singlespeed many moons ago and replaced the brakes,and don't have the derailers anymore or the original wheels either.The crank is a sugino-other than that it's black with no markings-that's really all I can tell you.

Hey, I'm sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I might be able to help if you're still around, and I need to ID a bike of my own as well!

The bottom bracket is stamped the same - 863A
The serial number is similar and was also on the dropout - SE308781

To answer John E's question, mine has Shimano Altus brake levers (w/ extender things, don't know what they're called), stem shifters, and derailleurs; and a Sugino 52 crankset.

To tell you the truth, this is my first road bike so I'm not really sure about anything else. All I know is that it's a fairly tall bike, significantly taller than my 26" MTBs, and that the handlebars are very skinny, even for other road bikes that I've seen.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Look very closely at the head badge for four small, lightly stamped digits. That is the assembly date code. The first three digits are the day of the year (001 - 365) and the fourth digit is the last digit of the year. The decade is determined by the graphics (decals) and the components.

If you can post a photo, that would be a big help.

Here is the badge, and the number on it is 1453

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/2990/schwinn001uz2.jpg

More pics:

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/8610/schwinn002dl6.jpg

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/9717/schwinn003ni6.jpg

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8900/schwinn004mm6.jpg

Sorry about the quality of the pics, I was in a rush to take them with my sister's camera before she got home from work D:

Slightly off topic, I've tried to lower the angle of the handlebars, but the bolt is stripped. Anyone know how I could remove the bolt now?

It's a 1983 model year bike, and probably a Le Tour Luxe (http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1980_1990/1983Ltwt09.html). It's the right color (dark blue) and has the right components.

As far as the stripped bolt is concerned, the only thing I could suggest is using an Easy Out (http://www.toolprice.com/category/.screwextractors/).

It's a 1983 model year bike, and probably a Le Tour Luxe (http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1980_1990/1983Ltwt09.html). It's the right color (dark blue) and has the right components.


+1. It's definitely an '83 le tour luxe, I have one I've owned since it was almost new.

Thanks a bunch everyone. I always wanted a road bike and this seemed like a steal to me at $25 so I just bought it without really knowing anything about it once I saw that it was in practically perfect condition.

Thanks a bunch everyone. I always wanted a road bike and this seemed like a steal to me at $25 so I just bought it without really knowing anything about it once I saw that it was in practically perfect condition.

'83 was a good year for Schwinn le tours in my opinion, it was the first year that they came with full 4130 chromoly frames. These bikes were U.S. built, built at the Greenville, Mississippi plant.

I talked to a lady the other day who worked at the Greenville plant, she was telling me it was just about the hardest job she ever had. I was on my '83 le tour luxe, and when I told her how much that old Schwinn means to me, and that it was built in Greenville, she really brightened, it was like she was thinking "wow, maybe some good things came out of that job after all." It was pretty cool.