General Cycling Discussion - Just Schwinn Baby!!!

OK. I drove by the local homeless shelter today. THey were having a garage sale. I saw a bunch of bikes and figured what the heck? I spent $15 on this Schwinn World. It is in good shape although i think a bit small for me. I think it is around 58 cm as near as i can tell.

I picked up the bike at noon and brought it home. Put a different saddle on her (pictured), raised the saddle and handlebar height, aired up the tires and rode it to work. The weird thing is I am almost more excited about this $15 bike than I am about the ones I have spent hundreds on. :p

My only problem is that one of the plastic attachments where the seat rails attach in the back is broken. As stated, i switched out the saddle but the only saddles I have are a couple of Trek's that are so soft it is painful. I run Brooks on my other bikes and like a harder saddle. The OEM saddle is harder and fairly comfortable although it is broken.

Can anyone recommend a cheap, harder saddle that would work well with a $15 grocery getter bike? I would love to find another Brooks but won't put one on this bike. I only bought the bike to play with and maybe run an errand or two. I will use my better bikes for my daily rides.

Also can anyone give some background on the Schwinn World? How old etc.?

I have a cannondale from the local bike shop that cost $12. Its a pretty comfy, hard saddle.

One hell of a deal bud.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/bik/33297425.html

Schwinn has a forum dedicated to restoration and heritage. You might ask over there for detailed information.

http://www.schwinnbike.com/heritage/forums.php

55/Rad

Why not put a Brooks on the bike anyway? It's the same butt regardless of the bike.

i ride a schwinn world sport, whihc i'm guessing is pretty much the same as yours. it's currently my only bike. i converted to fixed gear, and so far i can't complain about it. strong bike. i've probably got 2+ thousand miles on it and i've had it since december. heck of a deal for 7 dollars. for what it's worth, a sticker on my bikc says 1984.

dan

Me too. Ive got the exact 'world' in your picture paint and all though mine I found in a barn all beat up. It was a fixie for awhile and now it's going geared again. The seat on mine came off of an old Puegot and is actually very comfy...

I've had luck in a couple of LBS ... ask them what old seats they have around that they've pulled off of bikes ... some are OE that someone didn't want. They'll give them or sell for $10 usually. There's a basic Velo racer seat that seems to be ubiquitous on entry road bikes that is padded but not much. Also Performance has a housebrand seat that is racer hard ... but that is $40 or more I think.

Good Luck!
Cool Bike!

How can i figure out the "exact" frame size? I measured it as a 58 cm to the top of seat tube from center of crank? IS that the right way for a frame like this?

How can i figure out the "exact" frame size? I measured it as a 58 cm to the top of seat tube from center of crank? IS that the right way for a frame like this?
Thats one way of measuring it. The other is center to center so who knows? Mine is also 58 center to top so I call it a 58.

Great bike! And such sweet memories. That was my college and law school bike: rode to class, did errands, took it out on the hills to clear my head. Did my first triathlon on it and finished 3d in my age group.

I'll give you $16 for it.

Hi Folks,
My neighbor just gave me this neat old "Schwinn World Sport" bicycle. It seems pretty high quality to me and all the components on it look like high end to me. But what do I know, I'm used to looking at Huffy beach or mountain bikes. This Schwinn though looks sweet. It has alum. wheels, alum. cranks (sakae sa)?, Suntour derailer and it says chromoly on a sticker for the tubes. I've always wanted to get into road bicycling. IS this a decent start? The bike's in excellent condition, no rust, just a few little scratches. It needed tires and tubes. With whitewalled reflector strip tires, they match the strips on the tubing. It's a sweet bike if you ask me. It seems so light I can pick it up with one hand and throw it over my shoulder like a backpack.

I figure G1084 under the crank bearings means it was made in Oct. 84 right? I think I"m keeping this and getting into long distance road biking.

My Schwinn, Surburban Sport......

http://tsa.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/p1653472dt.jpg

IS this a decent start?

Sure it is a decent start but that is a relative question. If you are going to get into "serious long distance road riding" their are many, many, many better options out there. I don't think you will find many of them for free however.

Since i also have that bike, i can tell you that it is decent, but the components are not "high end." It was basically and entry level LBS 10-speed back in it's day. That makes it a lot better than any HUffy, or modern day Schwinn, mind you.

MOney is the biggest question. If you have a $1000 to spend you can make a much better entry into the sport. If you have $10,000 you can make a better entrance yet. If you don't have any money...........Just Scwhinn Baby!!

Since i also have that bike, i can tell you that it is decent, but the components are not "high end." It was basically and entry level LBS 10-speed back in it's day. That makes it a lot better than any HUffy, or modern day Schwinn, mind you.

Not quite true! It is better than the xmart Schwinns, though.