Touring - 1985 Letour Luxe

I have a chance to buy a 1885 Schwinn Letour Luxe. I want it because of the cantilever brakes and triple crank.

Haven't seen in person, but based upon photo it looks fairly well maintained.

Schwinn marketed it as a day tripper.

Anyone out there own one and care to comment? The price is right, and I am strongly considering it. Thanks!

That year of LeTour Luxe is probably closest to a full bore touring bike as they came. I don't know the geometry specs but I believe it was pretty close to the Voyageur and shared the same Columbus Tenax main tube material. I had a 1984 model without the Columbus tubing and with centerpull brakes. Although I never toured with it I really loved the ride.

I'd say if the price is right and it is in good shape you can't go wrong. Depending on the types of tours you are planning and the topography, the only changes you may need would be slightly lower gearing and rear panniers that allow for enough heel clearance. Those mid 80's Schwinns were excellent bikes and are underappreciated IMHO. They have a wonderfully smooth ride.

I went ahead and bought it. I am very impressed with it. Lightweight for sure and yes it has Columbus Tenax tubing. Nice cantilever brakes. The guy had spd's on it and removed them and offered me some nice lightweight pedals with clips (which I prefer anyway). He also threw in a nice Blackburn rack. Incredible deal.

The only issue is it has the original Schwinn Passage tires on it. It also has a scratched up Laprade seat post, but I can either replace or polish it, we'll see.

Paint is o.k. and only requires a little touch up here and there.

Only major thing is the Suntour Mountech RD. I think it is bent and the upper pulley wheel is quite worn, probably due to the thing being out of alignment and rubbing.

I am pretty stoked and can't wait to start taking it apart and cleaning it.

The Passage replaced it in '86. I have a Passage now, and had an '84 Le Tour Luxe. No complaints.

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1985Ltwt15.JPG


Original specs @ http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1981_1990/1985Ltwt31.html

cycleheimer, thanks for the info. I bought the bright blue, otherwise identical to the bike above. It did not have the original pedals. The guy had taken them off and replaced with SPD's. When I went to look at it, it had the SPD's on it, which I helped him remove. I asked if he would throw in some old pedals and he gave me some pretty nice track-style pedals with clips and straps! He also had the original rear rack, Blackburn allow, so I got that also. It doesn't have any screws though. Any idea where I can find some machine screws to attach it? Home Depot? Only thing is I don't know the bolt size or thread pitch.

I spent a couple of hours touching it up today and it looks awesome.

I just picked up my first Tourer, its a 1989 Schwinn Voyageur, looks very similiar to the LeTour Luxe? Crappy cell phone pics below.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/bikewithbrooks001.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/thanksgiving2010VOfenders037.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/thanksgiving2010VOfenders036.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/bikewithbrooks003.jpg

Nice looking bike! Mine is similar, the color is a bright blue whereas yours looks more blue-green. I kind of like those hammered fenders. Are they the ones Velo Orange sells? Also, is that a 21" frame? The Brooks Pro looks great on there. I'm going to take my B 17 off of my Raleigh and put it on the Schwinn before I do a long ride on it.

Nice looking bike! Mine is similar, the color is a bright blue whereas yours looks more blue-green. I kind of like those hammered fenders. Are they the ones Velo Orange sells? Also, is that a 21" frame? The Brooks Pro looks great on there. I'm going to take my B 17 off of my Raleigh and put it on the Schwinn before I do a long ride on it.

Thanks, it is the green/blue paint and the Brooks is the green Pro. =0) The fenders are indeed the VO hammered fenders, little hard to install on 27 x 1 1/4 wheels, a bit of a pain in the ass actually! Got them to stop rubbing but still working on the tire line. Think I'm going to use Walds next time. (with VO mounting hardware)