Classic & Vintage - Borrowing a Vintage Schwinn...I've never seen this one before!

Curtis from Via was kind enough to loan this to me during the next few months of recovery. BIG TIME THANKS! It's especially funny because on a prior thread, a wag asked me if I was using a vintage excercise bike. I am now! Excusre poor photo quality, best I can do indoors right now. Notice the cat checking things out...

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/photo-100.jpg

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/photo-99.jpg

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/photo-101.jpg

Aaron,

A good old XR-8, probably a Chicago built model. We sold them for $379.99 back in '87, and would definitely survive a nuclear attack.

:p

It actually works pretty nicely, and it's easier to dial in than the one at the gym. I might just offer to buy it from him...cool thing to have around.

I think there may be a couple of those in the back room at my LBS, they were a huge Schwinn dealer back in the day.

Aaron :)

The Schwinn exercise bike was pretty good, especially if you took off the wheel cover and trued up the wheel really well.
The better contemporary to that was the folding Bianchi exerciser, it used a flywheel (think automotive drum brake) surrounding the bottom bracket, a really trick design, they were expensive back then and I never see them come up anywhere for sale.
In the 80's Monark made a decent ergonometer, smother operating than the Schwinn, it had a big cast wheel and the resistance was applied by a nylon strap that went around the entire "wheel".

It works very nicely, tension is easy to control and it has a timer.

The Raleigh Twenty will give me some outside riding capacity (which is why I wanted it). I'm really glad you steered me the Twenty route instead of the Peugeot...the Peugeot was pretty and stylish, but this is a more sensible selection for my usage. I probably overpaid a tad by our standards, but I wanted it NOW...I didn't want to shop...and it's coming all fixed up.

Blatant plug - I really recommend Via/Bikeville...these are the kinds of people they are; the type who haul an excercise bike to you when you're hurt.

Needs a rear steer wheel and you're all set

ouch, that saddle! I had my time on stationary bikes for endurance training when all the canals and rivers were frozen and my crew+coaches got tired of ergometers (of the rowing kind), and those wide-ass saddles killed me.

those bars don't look very aero

Even better is what you can do with those massive sprockets that would make Moser or Cancellara cringle to spin it. lol. It's the track bike Ignaz didn't want you to know about that never really took off. Hahaha
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k304/Markm_05/100_1505-1.jpg

wew. A long stretch of deserted road, a hatchback with the hatch open, a camera and a case of your finest brew. All you need for a night of insane record-breaking attempts with a bunch of friends. See who gets to the magic 100 km/h first. Here's the immensely powerful sprinter Theo Bos doing a 160 km/h (yes, 100 miles an hour) behind a car.

http://youtu.be/H-Pl-H3UJJg?t=50s

The saddle at the gym is even worse! This thing is pretty terrible though, I had to adjust it upwards a decent bit.

Is the mounting not the same as on a regular bike? I saw some guy switch out the stock "couch" with a fizik saddle at a gym once, don't know if that was a custom piece or just an easy swap...

The gym is, but they won't let me swap the saddle. Equipment liability. The Schwinn doesn't seem like it's swappable...it doesn't use rails. I could clamp on something, but I don't have the parts in the house. The ones on my triplet don't fit...this post is thinner.

how soon before you swap that one-piece crankset? :thumb:

I have one of those in the basement. Saw it at a garage sale a couple of years ago and just had to have it.

The really funny part is that one of these came up for sale on CL today for $100. I really might just buy the thing - I like it. The down side is the saddle (which I'm sure I could figure out) and the storage.

The really funny part is that one of these came up for sale on CL today for $100. I really might just buy the thing - I like it. The down side is the saddle (which I'm sure I could figure out) and the storage.


Couldn't you just replace the seat tube with one from a varsity and use a regular saddle?

The really funny part is that one of these came up for sale on CL today for $100. I really might just buy the thing - I like it. The down side is the saddle (which I'm sure I could figure out) and the storage.

Is that the old style Schwinn saddle post? IIRC the top clamp is something stupid like 9/16"?

Aaron :)

That seems right Aaron - it's a bit odd. I'm sure I could work something out, I just don't have anything in the house that can do it right now.


Count you just replace the seat tube with one from a varsity and use a regular saddle?

This seems like a thin seattube, but it might work. The post from my T and C is thicker, at least I think. I eye balled it but didn't try yet.

I hate to say it, but I think the fork is...
Get well soon!

I don't think that's the original saddle . Schwinns had a much smaller sprung one , kind of triangular . Actually kind of comfortable . I have a couple of those, and they are great exercise bikes .

You can find these often in garage sale for $25 +- . Built like a tank !