Classic & Vintage - 70-71 Super Sport?

Hi friends, I wa able to aquire this today. The SS is all original down to the tires which were completely dry-rotted, so I took them off. Let me know whay you think! Thank you as always?

http://s912.photobucket.com/albums/ac321/colnago70/Schwinn%20Super%20Sport/

http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/ac321/colnago70/Schwinn%20Super%20Sport/022.jpg


Flash

At the very least I think you should get a BB conversion thingy and convert it to a 3 piece crank.

I'm thinking "Good for you"!!!
Yet another Super Sport with a lot of potential. So many wonderful SS builds on the forum, you won't have any problems getting ideas ;)

Cheers,
Chris

It looks to be a '71 in Sierra Brown, with a 24" frame. The serial number on the head tube will confirm the frame manufacturing date (http://www.angelfire.com/rant/allday101/SchwinnCodes4.html), and both hubs should be date stamped as well. If originality matters, the rear derailleur and freewheel are not original, and it is missing the chrome pie plate rear spoke protector (this bike would use the larger wide-range model), chrome chain guard on the crank, brake safety levers, and Sierra Brown handlebar tape. The missing items were fairly standard weight saving take-offs back in the day, and most are fortunately fairly easy to find if you want them. It might be harder to find an original 14-32 wide-range freewheel, and the long cage GT-200/210 rear derailleur is hard to find even though the only difference between that and the GT-100 on the bike now is the actual cage itself. The longer cage was only used on the Super Sport to accomodate the 32 tooth sprocket on the original wide range freewheel.

Here's a link to the original Schwinn catalog page for that bike: http://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/SLDB/Consumer/1971/71ccpg12.htm

The paint looks to be in pretty good shape considering the age, so overall I'd say that bike should clean up very nicely!

The changes made (pie plate & suicide brake deletions, smaller freewheel, etc.) are all enhancements.

I've got basically the same bike in bright yellow sitting in my basement with dry rotted tires. The bike is all original and probably ridable with very little work. I delivered newspapers on it when I was a kid. I am new here and could not get pictures attached to the post. If someone wold be kind enough to help me out posting pics, I'll post up a couple. I've been thinking about putting this bike back on the road, and maybe this forum will give me the inspiration to get the project started. Oh, and Hi!

Hi Otg, welcome to the forums. Thanks for sharing about your SS. We would definitely love to see some pictures. Below are the instructions to paste photos to your thread or to add them to a response on a thread. I just learned this about a week ago from another member. :-)

1. Open account on photobucket.com
2. Create an album
3. Upload pictures
4. Once uploaded, click on the pic that you want to upload
5. Put cursor on the IMG code box (found to the right of your picture)
6. left click and copy
7. Right click on post and paste
8. post your reply, and the picture should now appear.

Thanks!

Flash!

Here's my first attempt at pictures.
http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/th_008.jpg (http://s482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/?action=view&current=008.jpg)http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/th_011.jpg (http://s482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/?action=view&current=011.jpg)http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/th_007.jpg (http://s482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/?action=view&current=007.jpg)http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/th_006.jpg (http://s482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/?action=view&current=006.jpg)

I think it worked, thanks Flash! I put air in the tires last night and took her out for a quick ride. It shifts a little rough and the back wheel does not spin as freely as the front. The brakes are a little weak, but it sure felt good to ride it again. I started riding my old Trek this summer and got the bug. Between dieting and riding the bike, I've lost a little over 40 lbs, with about 20 to go. I have been tempted to sell this Super Sport many times over the years, but I just couldn't bring myself to let it go. It probably is one of, if not the, oldest possesion I have. My dad bought me that bike when I was about 14. I am going to go through it and get it back to riding like new. It will never look like new and I don't plan on painting it, just getting it as clean and shiny as possible. Maybe I'll takeoff the old decals and replace them, they are in pretty bad shape. I haven't been able to locate the serial number yet, maybe I need to get a magnifying glass. Anyway, there she is. Thanks for looking.
Dave

http://i482.photobucket.com/albums/rr182/oldtacomaguy/006.jpg

If you look near the bottom of the head tube in this picture, just behind the brake straddle cable, you will find the serial number.

As far as restoring the paint. Use Scratch X after cleaning the paint with mild soap or Simple Green, followed by polish and wax. Schwinn Yellow cleans up nicely. :)

Yeah, before;
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll299/sailorbenjamin/IMG_1006.jpg
after;
http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll299/sailorbenjamin/IMG_3035.jpg
Scrub, scrub. It'll reward your effort.

Good looking bike, love the color!

The changes made (pie plate & suicide brake deletions, smaller freewheel, etc.) are all enhancements.

The wide-range freewheel means you can actually ride that thing up some fairly steep hills and would be considered an *asset*, not a drawback.

As for the missing parts, the chain guard (7.0 oz), spoke protector (6.9 oz), and safety levers (2.8 oz) are all part of the "classic" look (and feel) of that bike, and removing them to save a whopping 1lb total on a classic bike that weighs 35 lbs. to begin with is not what I would call an "enhancement".

To me that is like saying that you would "enhance" a '57 Chevy Bel Air (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57_Chevy) by removing the massive front and rear chrome bumpers. Anybody who believes that might not understand the true meaning of "Classic & Vintage"... :)

...As for the missing parts, the chain guard (7.0 oz), spoke protector (6.9 oz), and safety levers (2.8 oz) are all part of the "classic" look (and feel) of that bike, and removing them to save a whopping 1lb total on a classic bike that weighs 35 lbs. to begin with is not what I would call an "enhancement".

To me that is like saying that you would "enhance" a '57 Chevy Bel Air (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57_Chevy) by removing the massive front and rear chrome bumpers. Anybody who believes that might not understand the true meaning of "Classic & Vintage"... :)

I've rarely seen a chain guard on Super Sport. Schwinn did not offer them as an option. Are you referring to the chrome pie plate ring on the crank as a "chain guard?"

I did mount a chain guard on my wife's '68 Super Sport, which received an extreme makeover from yours truly. :D

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Super%20Sports/Mrs%20Sporty/MsSportyrearside.jpg

Here's where I disagree with you: It depends on the bike. If it is rare, and there are very few examples of a particular model and year, yes, do your best to keep it as original as possible. Below is an example of a Super Sport which should be treated this way. But there are 1000s of examples of nearly showroom quality Kool Lemon Super Sports.

1965 Coppertone Super Sport

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Super%20Sports/65%20Coppertone/P7010141.jpg

On the other hand, many late 1960s and 1970s Super Sports were "ridden hard and put up wet" :innocent: by their teenage riders. They sometimes come to us in horrible, nearly scrap metal like, conditions. They deserve resurrection, and the more creative, the better. My wife's Super Sport was like that. My 1972 was as well.

Before: :eek:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Super%20Sports/SSframeforkcrankside.jpg

After: :thumb:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Super%20Sports/Sporty%202011-12%20Makeover/P9210093.jpg
1972 Super Sport, "Sporty"

Are you referring to the chrome pie plate ring on the crank as a "chain guard?"
Yes, at least that is what Schwinn calls it. The one in question here is Schwinn p/n 56 118 (Schwinn Chainguard for double chainwheel) and was used on the Varsity, Continental, Super Sport and others from 1969 through 1982 (a slightly different one was used on some '68 and prior models):

221533

I'm definitely *not* saying that original is the only way to go, but the OP was touting the originality of his bike, and I was trying to put into context that removing 1lb. of cool looking period chrome from a 35lb. bike would have more of an effect on the form than the function. :) In other words, dropping the weight from 35 lbs. to 34 lbs. by removing those items won't be that noticeable from a performance point of view, but it will definitely change how the bike looks. If that look is what you are after, then I say go for it!

On the other hand, one could shave a much more substantial 10lbs (more or less) by stripping the bike to the frame and building it up using modern components, but that would require significantly more effort and cost. Your bikes are perfect examples of that, your wife's bike is incredibly functional, and I especially like "Sporty". Both are retro-modern classics!