corrado33

No identification on the bike other than a few Schwinn stickers. One of them being the "Wet rims require increased stopping distance." sticker. Always thought this was indicative of a bike that originally came with steel rims. Don't know how true that is though.

Not sure if anything component wise is original. Bike came in with one steel and one aluminum rim. Serial number on NDS rear dropout: SL921927. Inside of the rear dropouts is stamped 1236/L. No other identifying marks. Head tube badge is missing, but is riveted. (2 rivet holes.) Has a 1983/1984 registration sticker for some city. (So upper limit there.) Color seems to be original since it's darker under where the head tube badge used to be and under the tape that used to be on the bike.

Suguino Super Maxy crankset.
Weinmann 605 brakes w/ quick release.
Dia Compe Levers w/o quick release.
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Atlas LT
Front Derailleur is not original to the bike. It had an old school Dura Ace one on there, but this bike requires a FD with a cable stop, so it was replaced. (Previous owner had cludged one of those bolt on cable stops below the derailleur, it was wrong.

Anyway, pics here.

artclone

1982 Super Le Tour?

Check here: Schwinn Super Le Tour Going by Altus RD

Hard to tell from the info here how to pin down year:

https://re-cycle.com/History/Schwinn/SwnB_Serial.aspx

9volt 

82 SLT was 4130 and don't come in blue according to the catalog. Might be an 81-82 LeTour

T-Mar

Serial number indicates a Japanese frame manufactured in December 1979, which would make it a 1980 model. The components appear to be consistent with a 1980 Super LeTour.

corrado33

Thank all of you! I was guessing it was an early 80s LeTour because of the color and general age of the parts. Wanted to more sure.

@T-Mar It's funny, every "identify" thread I come across you seem to be there, even ones from way back. The next bike I worked on I identified via an older post you made about an 84 Univega. I'm certainly grateful you post, as I'm sure others are as well. Do you have spreadsheets of bikes you've come across and their serial numbers? I tried looking up the serial number on this bike but got no where. Maybe I just didn't know where to look.

9volt 

Serial numbers and catalog info are here:

Schwinn serial number lookup tool

corrado33

Yes, that was the first thing I tried.

No luck.

9volt 

About half way down this page there is some info on SA serial numbers:

Schwinn Serial Numbers and Date Codes

T-Mar

I note just about serial number I come across and record it in my personal database. I then X-reference the bicycle's particulars against my literature to see if I can determine the model year, which is then used to reverse engineer the serial number formats. Once I have sufficient data to have a good confidence level in the format, I post my findings.

Over the years, I have decoded literally dozens of serial number formats. Many of the major brands such as Centurion, Fuji and Nishiki have their own Serial Number Database threads which I created to collect, analyze and decode the serial number formats. Codes for the serial number formats are listed in these threads. Many others have been posted but are somewhat buried. My prime area of interest are Asian manufacturers and I did create a catch-all thread listing the manufacturers and formats for about 100 brands. When I originally created it, the moderators gave it a stickey but it has since disappeared.

These threads seem to get limited use, as even though the serial number formats are explained, few take the time to use them. Instead, most members just post to the thread and ask for an interpretation of their serial number.

corrado33

Thanks again T-Mar. I was planning on doing something similar, I'll have to go back and find your threads from a while ago. I'd be very interested in learning the coding of serial numbers!

EDIT: So I found your old thread with the serial number keys, but I have a question. It doesn't really match the serial number on this bike.

I don't think this is a giant made schwinn. But according to your thread it should have the serial coding of YMxxxxx. But it doesn't. I'm GUESSING it's SMYxxxxx where the S stands for... super!? Or just some sort of model designation probably. I've gotta be wrong somewhere. Any help?

Double edit: Seems the Le Tours and SLTs were different from the other bikes of the same year according to the second link posted by 9volt. So I answered my own question. Of course, I get interested in serial number decoding and the first bike I really try to understand is an oddity! I'll bet there are LOTS of oddities...

I bet it'd be interesting to trace bike lineages (in terms of who bought who and where they moved production) through serial numbers.

corrado33

Yep, that was the second place I went, and where I learned that it may be a Le Tour. I initially didn't believe it since I wasn't sure of the year. That same site says that in the early 80s they started using "S" in the serial number for models other than the (Super) Le Tour.

T-Mar

Found it! https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ber-guide.html

corrado33

Hm, the only problem I see with the identification is that the 1980 Le Tour didn't have DT shifters. It had stem shifters... Perhaps an early upgrade. DT shifters were prevalent before, so I don't think the appearance of the DT shifter "mount" (the tiny triangle on the frame) would be something to change the identification.

Actually, now that I look at it.

Perhaps it's a '79 Super le tour II. It matches the RD, crank, brakes, shifters, color. Does not match the rear wheel or freewheel, which seems to be replaced (it's an alloy rim and only a 5 speed instead of 6.)

EDIT: Oh, went back and read T-Mar's post... Yeah, I'm an idiot. Although the 1980 Super Le Tour didn't come in blue according to the catalog.

Scooper

The 1979 Super Le Tour II, the 1979 Le Tour IV, the 1980 Super Le Tour, and the 1980 Le Tour frames were all brazed in the Schwinn factory in Chicago; they were not made in Japan. I believe in 1981, Le Tour production returned to Japan.

The L9 serial number indicates the frame was built in November, 1979 (December would have been M9) as Schwinn didn't use the letter "I" because of potential confusion with the number "1" in the serial numbering system at the time.

Based on the Sky Blue color of the OP's bike, the five speed freewheel, and the serial number, I believe it is a 1980 model year Le Tour.





The 1979 catalog was more explicit about the Le Tours being built in Chicago. Note the "Schwinn's own made-in-Chicago X-tra Lite torch brazed lug frame..."

corrado33

Interesting, thoughts on the DT vs Stem shifters? Upgrade by a previous owner? And the rear wheel isn't original, so a 6 speed may have been replaced with a 5 speed when the wheel was replaced. I'm currently between the 1980 Le Tour and the 1979 Super Le Tour II, as this bike has parts of both.

Scooper

Good points. You could be correct, but the frame serial number (November, 1979) would seem to indicate a 1980 model year.

I dunno...

Metacortex

It does appear that the upper downtube braze-ons are different for those with downtube vs. stem shifters. Because of that and the Frosty Blue color I believe that would make it a late '79 Super Le Tour II. The wheels don't appear to be original to the bike.

Here is a 1979 ad touting the Chicago "torch-brazed" frames: