V73

Hello all!

With mother's day coming up in a week or so, I thought I'd take the time to fix my mother's bicycle for the summer. It has not been used in years, probably about a decade. It's a rose (pink) Schwinn Caliente. I believe it's a 1991 or 92 model but I'm not sure. It's a nice carbon steel frame low-end road bike, and the wheels and frame are in fine condition.

What I need help with is knowing what to check and look for. I've never restored a bike like this before, the bikes I've worked on have all been newer and more recently maintained. I know I'll need new tires, tubes, and brake pads, and I'll need to clean and lubricate the chain and gears, but what else should I look for? I know where to find tutorials on a wide range of repairs and I'm well versed in general maintenance but I don't know the first thing about restoring a bike that's older than I am.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, even if it's just to point me at something useful!

Thanks.

-Val

bikeman715

You off to a good start with what you doing . I would also replace the cables and housing too .

CliffordK

Post some photos when you have a chance.

It really depends on how it has been stored, and the condition it was in when it went into storage. I've been riding Mom's bike once every year or so for a while. The tires are old, but still good enough for around the the neighborhood. Cables and cable housings may be fine, although if you're ambitious, you could pull the cables, put on some grease, and put them back.

One thing you might consider is cleaning and repacking all the bearings.... hubs, bottom bracket, headset, as well as greasing the derailleur jockey wheel bushings. Truing the wheels.

Also, check for chain stretch.

If well maintained, the bike may only need a bit of air in the tires. Was it hanging?

V73

Hasn't been hanging, just sitting in the garage. It's well protected from weather, but the tires are definitely dead. As far as repacking bearings and such, that is the kind of thing I was asking about. I wouldn't know how to do that. From what you said it sounds like that's not as critical to do to get the bike working though, so I could postpone that till later in the summer when I have more time.

I did check for chain stretch and tooth wear on the gears, and they're in fine condition, just need a little cleaning.

I hope the cable assemblies are in good shape, because I've never had to replace cables/housing on a bike before and I'm not sure I'll have enough time this week to do that (or at least not completely, I suppose I might have time to replace one or two). What should I look for to make sure all that's working?

-V

Homebrew01

Some high quality brake pads. The current ones are probably dry rotted & ineffective.

V73

Yeah, I was going to go with Kool Stop Continential Salmons. KS-C.

cny-bikeman

For the most part a bike is a bike. There is very little in an early 90's bike that would pose any challenge if you have performed maintenance previously. By '91 the Caliente had indexed shifting, so is not really "old school" at all.

V73

True. What I meant is that it is more challenging because it has not been maintained in so long, rather than because it was made a couple decades ago. Also just making a brief note of my adolescent inexperience.

Homebrew01

Lube the chain. A few drops of lube on the brake caliper pivots, derailleur pivots. Cables may be fine. Can't tell from here

JohnDThompson 

IIRC, the Caliente was spec'ed with a Shimano "Front Freewheel" and Positron derailleurs, which use solid (non-wound/braided) cables, so check to see what you have before going in too deep.

V73

Good to know, thanks for the tip. I'll probably go after the cables and tires tomorrow. I'll have to wait for the brake pads I ordered to ship though.

Jeff Wills

That wouldn't apply to a '91 or '92 bike that he referenced earlier. However, if it's a '70's Caliente, this is true.

V73, can you post a picture of the bike? Perhaps several? It would help.

Bill Kapaun

Servicing the wheel & BB bearings is the first thing I do.
I'm not going to put money into a bile and find the hubs/cones are shot.

V73

Soon as I get the chance. Probably later today. I'm not exactly sure what year it was made, as it was apparently bought at a garage sale, so it may actually be an 80s model, but I don't think it's any older than that.

Good point, I'll look into doing that. But if I found out the bearings were dead, I could probably fix or replace them. Of course that would be a real pain in the neck, but I could do it.

-V

Bill Kapaun

And if it turn out the hubs are trashed?
The other stuff, you KNOW can be done. You don't know about the rotating parts until you inspect them.

Jeff Wills

Then it's probably easier & cheaper to install complete new wheels. If it's a '70's Schwinn, 27" wheels with steel rims and freewheel hubs are available. (But the Front Freewheel "freewheel" requires an oddball tool to remove it. Hmmm...)

If it's a '90's Caliente: Schwinn catalogs, 1991 - 2000 (27 of 577)
replacement wheels should be cheap and available, but there's nothing in the catalog that specifies what they are.

Bill Kapaun

My point is that's a whole lot more money which may be a deal breaker. Especially considering the OP's expertise in dealing with Free Wheels etc.
No sense investing some money for naught.

CliffordK

If your mother hasn't ridden her bike for a decade, what makes you think this year will be any different? Has she talked about riding?

I'm pretty sure my mother hasn't been on her bike for a decade or so. I've ridden it to the neighbor's house a couple of times, and tuned it up for my niece to ride over spring break this year. I'll probably take my own advice and grease it up this summer... just so it will be good for another decade or two. However, I really don't expect her to start riding hundreds of miles anytime soon.

Hanging is probably easier on the tires than sitting on the ground. I'll keep an eye on them, but am not going to replace them until I see a bunch of dry-rot, or the bike starts going out beyond walking distance. Hopefully narrow 27" tires will be available in the future.

V73

Good point. Replacing the wheels might be a better option. Unfortunately as you said, the Schwinn catalog has very little specs on the Caliente. I suppose a trip to the LBS was overdue anyways, I need new tires for my brother's mountain bike. They might be able to tell me more technical info there, and advise on the wheels/hubs.

She's been getting back in shape this year, and is going on a large backpacking trek this summer. Besides, I know my own mom, I wouldn't be spending money and time on it if it didn't mean anything to her.

Well, you're right in that I'm a novice, but the point is to get better and learn more so that I'm not a novice. Sometimes you just have to do the thing, learn the lessons. If something of that scale is wrong, I'll probably just use my plan B for Mother's Day and fix it when summer vacation begins. The money is worth it for the learning experience.




I'm sorry I haven't gotten pictures yet! The camera was in use by other family members yesterday. I will get some, eventually...

I did check, and the cables are braided, not solid. Also, it has shimano shifters, which (correct me if I'm wrong) I believe weren't offered on the 70s models.

Jeff Wills

Actually, they were. The '70's Caliente used somewhat odd Shimano Positron shifters and derailleurs. (I was a Schwinn mechanic from 1979 to 1984.) Sounds like you have the later model.

I'm willing to bet that the bike will need a general cleaning and lubing, plus replacement of tires and brake pads. Spare parts for it are pretty generic, so any decent bike shop should have what you need.