RidesaJapanese

Some would call this a parts bike, it's fairly rough, but it's all there (I found the seat cover the next trip to that junk store). I figured for $15 the sum of its parts was easily worth that, let alone it being road worthy again some day. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the Japanese road bikes.

Velocivixen

I like that shade of blue. Will you post photos along the way of it's "coming alive"?

RidesaJapanese

I will do that, hard to say when it may be. I'm still taking down my old house to reclaim the lumber, all my outbuildings are crammed with lumber, hoping to be able to build a workshop/garage with it all sometime down the road.

randyjawa 

There is a banged up Schwinn Traveler (man's frame), sitting in the back of the Bicycles for Humanity junk storage area, right now. I took a quick look, feeling saddened by the damaged frame set. The bicycle is my size, all there (pretty much) and in good shape, other than the frame damage. I actually thought about trying to fix it up, and just might do just that. Except for...

I am not in the market for another bicycle, free or not, at the moment.

RidesaJapanese

Some say the step through frame isn't a 'girl' frame, but being 44 the childhood memories and prejudices remain strong. I did ride a step through frame CrissCross all summer, but upon finding a 'male' Trek 730 it has been retired. No one accused me of riding a 'girls' bike, but I felt a sense of shame all the same.

randyjawa 

Not in the fifties, sixties and seventies, they didn't. I am close to 70 years and I prefer the term Step Through since, at my age, it is getting harder and harder to swing my leg over the top bar. But I don't like riding a woman's bicycle, for testosterone driven reasons.

But I loved riding this old Raleigh, and it featured a wonderful Step Through (by today's standards) frame set...



By the way, I paid $30.00 CND for the bicycle, just as you see it pictured, but with the dust wiped off. Today, it lives in Alaska.

RidesaJapanese

I'm 44 but with bad knees and sciatica in the left leg I didn't mind the step through frame. It can be embarrassing to fall over when you dismount a bike.

This Takara is my favorite bike, I paid $3.00 US for it at a swap meet, no idea why they asked for such a paltry sum. The photo was taken the day I got it home, it's rode trouble free since.

nightshade18

Huh? I thought Schwinn were American.....
My newbiness is probably showing through.

RidesaJapanese

They were made in Chicago, I think in the 80's they started having them made elsewhere to reduce costs. I'm ok with it, but most people would probably rather have a Chicago than Japan Schwinn. By the early 90's Schwinn was made in China, but they were at least still a bike shop quality bike. My '91 CrissCross is Chinese made but seems pretty decent.

nightshade18

Well you learn something everyday.
Were they still designed in Chicago? It's funny how we associate a nationality with all kinds of brands, and yet chances are they're assembled from bits from all over (well, ok mostly the far east) or just completely made abroad.

Good luck with the build!

deepcduck

I just did the same thing yesterday. I picked up a pair of his and hers Schwinn Travelers. Planning doing a "resto mod" to the mens. Needing lots of input to upgrade to modern components and wondering if I'm in the right place.
.

deepcduck

Regarding the made in Chicago. My understanding is that Schwinn sold out in the 70's and the company moved all the manufacturing to Taiwan. My traveller says Made in Taiwan and also Approved by Schwinn. They made some great bikes in the mid 70's to mid 80's

RidesaJapanese

From what I've read, and my own experience, Japanese road bikes in the '80's were simply superb. I don't know when Schwinn became a sprawlmart clunker, but I know for a while whoever put that name on a bike had to build it to Schwinn standards. Those are nice bikes deepcduck, I know someone on the Schwinn facebook group suggested I upgrade components on it so it's probably doable. I'm just a traditionalist, and I love the smooth glide of the old SunTour derailleurs. I'm 44 so I remember 10 and 12 speeds when they dominated the market, everyone had or wanted one.

FBOATSB

They were at one time. Here are links to some articles following the timeline before the Chicago factory closed for good in 1982. Chicago Schwinns
and Inside the Varsity also ; https://re-cycle.com/History/Schwinn/Swn9_Chicago.aspx

Metacortex

Schwinn actually stopped building bikes in Chicago in mid-'83.

FBOATSB

My apologies if this article where I read this is inaccurate or maybe just a typo: Last Chicago Schwinn

with this brief excerpt from the article: "Schwinn shifted most of its production to Taiwanese company, Giant, and closed the Chicago factory entirely in 1982."

But what's a year over the decades
They still made some bikes in the U.S for a short time after that, just in other peoples factories

Metacortex

No apology necessary, however the article in question is incorrect about that specific point. Schwinn did continue to produce some bikes in Chicago through mid-'83, like the Sidewinder and Continental for example: Anybody know when in '83 the Chicago Schwinn plant closed?

mightymax

I ride Schwinn and love them BUT none of the Schwinns I have were actually 'made in Chicago'. I have 2 World Sports both made in Taiwan. I also have a Traveler made in Taiwan and it has the same frame and Suntour/Sugino/Diacompe componenets as my World Sports. These bikes were made for Schwinn by Giant. I have a Voyaguer 11.8 I am still getting back to more original condition, that was made by Matsu****a (Panasonic). I just picked up an 86 Le Tour that was Made in the USA but at the troubled Mississippi factory since Chicago by this time was gone. I am currently reading the book 'No Hands, The Rise and Fall of the Schwinn Bicycle Company, an American Institution'. What a cluster Schwinn had become in the 80's. They were more an Importer than a manufacturer although if you read the book you will be amazed at the opportunities they let slip away....
Anyway one of these days I hope to come across an older Traveler with DT shifter as I think these may have been a Japanese bike. The book, if I am correct, makes me believe Chicago never made a lugged frame bike as they did NOT have the equiptment.

One last ramble. A step through frame to me will ALWAYS be a Girls bike. The first 'big boy' bike my Dad bought me was a step through he bought used. The kids in the neighborhood were relentless in making fun of me for riding a 'girls' bike. My Dad actually had a friend of his weld a top tube on it so I would continue to ride it! Being 54 with worsening aches and pains. I say if you are comfortable then enjoy the design. I see women on the trail everyday riding what I would consider a Man's bike so I think now days bikes are more of a unisex design.

Max Bryant

Metacortex

The very first bike Schwinn imported was the 1972 World Traveler, which was introduced to dealers via newsletter in Oct. '71 with the first major delivery in Feb. '72. This was followed by the World Voyageur later in '72. Both of these were designed by Schwinn but made by Panasonic and Bridgestone. I believe these were considered a success since Schwinn's 1972 sales figures included 36,279 World Travelers and Voyageurs. This opened the door for the "Schwinn Approved" imported models like the Le Tour that came in '74 and later.



Note that the original (World) Traveler continued from '72 through '77 relatively unchanged and had Shimano made stem shifters during that time.



The first Schwinn Traveler with downtube shifters was a newer and quite different model that came out in '83.



In 1979 and '80 Schwinn made 18ga 1020 carbon steel lugged frames in Chicago for the Le Tour and Super Le Tour models. They made these via a "Torch-brazed" process described in the catalogs at the time.

RidesaJapanese

The shifters look fairly plain to me, the derailleurs are marked Schwinn approved, so were the side pull brakes with Dia Compe levers. The front one looks terrible but I've brought worse looking cast iron back to cooking in the kitchen. The head badge says it is a Japan bike, the head lamp didn't have corroded batteries in it so I've hoping it might work.

Overall I can see where upgrades to this frame would be best, easier than cleaning the spokes, rims, etc. And I agree it is a girls bike, in my youth any lad riding it would have been teased unmercifully.

Metacortex

The Opaque Blue paint and GT-120 derailleur (if original) date that as a '74 or '75 model. Post the frame serial number as well as the date codes on the hubs and we should be able to narrow it down further:

RidesaJapanese

Where might the frame SN be? I looked under the BB, wasn't there. It has the same wheel reflectors, guess it's older than I thought it was.

HotFootPusher00

Hey guys, I'm really pretty new to the site and the biking community, but I have a few bikes and picked up a Blue Schwinn Traveler a little over a year ago. I've been riding it for awhile now, and I love it!!! Probably more than any of my other bikes. When I picked it up, I searched all over to find info on it. If I remember correctly it was built in March or May of '82. I love the way this bike feels when I ride it, but it does have some flaws, like lots of pitting on the chrome parts and scratches on the frame & fork that eerrkk me and I hate looking at but the components are smoothe, and really I still think its pretty clean, but looking at it and riding it as much as I do makes me wanna do some major changes to it like paint, maybe upgraded rims or something... idk... I know thats there's people out there that will say not to change anything and others that will give me a long to do list but I don't have either around me, so I guess I'm just wondering what true enthusiast like yourselves felt??

p.s. I'll eventually post pics for ya'lls in hurr

Metacortex

Look on the LH dropout as well as the base of the head tube. What are the date codes stamped on the hubs?

mightymax

I am slowly getting a Traveler roadworthy. It is a Giant made bike and other than the name it is exactly like my World Sports. It had a bent rear rim and it was mismatched to the front as it was steel while the front was alloy. I bought a new set of alloy for it. Paint and decals in great shape will make this one look sweet.
Anyway the World Sport I currently ride looks rough. I bought this on Craigs List for 50 bucks to use whie I rebuilt my favorite even rougher looking WS. Anyway I had the bottom braket replaced with a sealed unit. It may look like a beater and I am positive alot of guys on their Uber bikes look down at me and my rig. As rough as it looks it just purs!
Last weekend I was out in the rain and crossed paths with another rider who once kind of back handed insulted me and my machine. Anyway he was on his Felt heading home. I am sure he washed, towel dried, pewdered, and sang a lullabye to his 'baby'. After riding my 'beater' hard. I put it away wet and dirty just leaning it against the house on our deck. Next day went out and again it just purred. I consider painting it but I just keep riding. You have to decide if you are fixing it up and it will make you more happy and satisfied with it. All I know is at the end of the day that Schwinn will always be a smooth and reliable bike for you... Enjoy it!
Max Bryant