8bitevolution

My LBS has a Schwinn Traveler for sale for $100. The mechanic had used it as a loaner for awhile and now is looking to make some more room in his garage. It's a steel lugged frame and still has the down-tube shifters and looks to be, overall, in good condition. He of course maintained it and is really good mechanic so I trust his work. I'm just not sure if this is what I should pick up or if I should hold off for something else.

He places it as being made in the late 70s, early 80s. The Schwinn Lightweight Databook suggested it was imported from Japan but, for some reason, I could have sworn the headtube badge had "Chicago" embossed on it. I may be mistaken, though. It is a round badge, not the long oval.

The only potential problem is the stem is a bit short so the handlebars feel a bit low. Out of fairness, I've never tried out a bike with drop handlebars so I'm not sure how low I should expect them to be. Also, there's no pedals on it right now and it's been raining a lot so it makes a test ride, at least later today, a bit difficult.

So any thoughts on a Schwinn Traveler?

well biked

You can look closely at the headtube badge, find four small numbers stamped on it, and more than likely determine the day the bike was assembled. The first three digits will indicate the numerical day of the year, the last digit will be the last number in the year. Example: 1555 would indicate the bike was assembled on the 155th day of 1985, assuming it's an '80's bike.........I'm going to make a guess and say this one is probably an '80's bike, since you say the bike has downtube shifters. I believe the Travelers from the '70's would have had stem shifters. I had a '79 Traveler I bought new in high school, rode it for years and loved it. It was one of the Panasonic made Schwinns, of 1020 steel tubing, lugged construction, heavy but a sweet riding bike. If the bike you're considering is from about '83 and later, it will be of a better grade of steel, some form of chromoly. I'm pretty sure some of the '80's Travelers were made in Japan, some at the Schwinn plant in Greenville, Mississippi, the best way to tell is to look for decals, the Japanese models that I've seen have always been marked clearly "made in Japan for Schwinn" or something similar. I believe a lot of the '80's Travelers were made of True Temper chromoly steel, with the letters "USA" on the decal identifying the tubing. If this is the case, the bike was probably made in Greenville. The Chicago plant shut down in late '83, and I don't think any Travelers were ever made there anyway, but Schwinn continued to put the Chicago headbadges on their bikes into the '90's, so I'm sure you're correct about the headbadge saying "Chicago" on it......btw, I'd say $100 is a fair price for the bike, especially if it's a chromoly Traveler in good condition. I ride a highly modified chromoly le tour luxe ('83) and love it-

KrisPistofferson

Think for a moment how much you'd pay for a brand new lugged frame with cantilevers. $1400? If the paint is in good shape, $100 is a great price. I found one a couple years ago I would've paid $300 for, but it wasn't my size. Travelers are good bikes.

well biked

Also, if the bike has a six speed freewheel (twelve total gears), it's probably an '80's Traveler, if it's five speed (ten total gears), probably from the '70's. Of course, freewheels can be changed out, but generally this will be the case-

8bitevolution

After taking a look at some Travelers, I'd have to agree that it was, at the earliest, produced in 1980.

I didn't see how many gears it had.

Is this most likely going to have a one-piece crank? I honestly didn't get to give it a good once-over; I looked at a lot of stuff in not a lot of time. I'll most definitely give it a much more thorough inspection before I do decide to get it but just curious what you guys have to say and what I might keep an eye out for.

well biked

No, it won't have a one-piece crank, more than likely it will have a nice Sugino crankset on it. If you want one of the better Travelers, most important thing is the tubing. Chromoly steel is much better than 1020. Look for the tubing decal.

8bitevolution

You nailed it! I even asked the mechanic what the cranks were; I can't believe that slipped my mind.

Today was a really fun and overwhelming visit to the LBS; they had a lot of old steel (lugged, nonetheless) in the shop which I had pretty much come to the conclusion I'd never find here. So everything got a bit jumbled.

Thanks for both of your help; I think I'll try to go by this afternoon after work or tomorrow, take it out for a test ride and put a down payment on it.

pastorbobnlnh 

8 Bite,

Post a picture when you get a chance. There are several of us who are affectionate about our old Travelers. If you want to see mine, look for pics on the post "New kid with new bike " here on the C&V forum.

Bob

8bitevolution

I went back and checked out the Traveler.

It's 4130 Chromoly tubing, has a Shimano 600 Rear Derailuer (didn't get a look at the front one) and the mechanic has replaced the rear tire with a new one that has a freehub!

Took it out for a ride in probably 30 mph headwinds (wee.) and the back brake was pretty non-existant. The mechanic tightened it up and that improved it a bit but it could probably still use a bit of tweaking. My only real complaint was the handlebars were just a bit too low.

So anyways, I pick up the bike Friday. It'll have a new, taller stem on it and some new pedals. I imagine he'll probably also give it a tune-up.

Thanks for everyone's advice and I'll get some pictures of it up as soon as I can.

I have to say, I was amazed at how freakin' light the bike was! I'm excited to get it home and give it a good ride.

well biked

Congratulations! My '83 le tour luxe has 4130 chromoly tubing also, it's good stuff indeed......Does the bike have centerpull brakes, or sidepulls? My old '79 Traveler had centerpulls, as does my le tour luxe. I can tell you this, if you invest in a new set of Kool Stop brake pads (preferably in the salmon color compound), they will likely help the stopping power regardless. The centerpulls on the le tour luxe stop very well with them. Looking forward to the pics-

8bitevolution

It has sidepulls as it sits right now. I didn't see mounts for centerpulls but that doesn't mean they're not there. It's all the more questions for my mechanic who's really great about putting up with my silly newbie questions.

The thing that really excites me is the fact that it has horizontal drop-outs and the free-hub. If I decided to run it as a single speed for a bit, it wouldn't be too difficult to do.

I think I will put some "brifters" on it in the near future; I've always felt a strange draw to them.

well biked

The centerpulls mount to the same holes as the sidepull brakes (center of seatstay bridge, center of fork crown), they're just a more robust design than the sidepulls (they actually have two pivots, two return springs per brake, etc.). The only significant advantage they have is that they stay centered over the rim better than the old sidepulls, it's very debatable whether they provide more braking power. But anyway, you might mention the possibility of some Kool Stop pads to the mechanic, they really do make a difference from my experience........and it sounds like you've already got upgrade fever! It's understandable, my le tour luxe is VERY far removed from its original form. I just love these old lugged steel frames!

Edit: you may have been thinking of cantilever brakes, which require a brake boss on each seatstay and fork leg to mount. They're a different brake than the centerpulls, though. Edit #2: There are some centerpulls that mount through each of the two pivots on the brakes, in a different position on the seatstays and fork legs than cantilevers, but I don't think any of the Schwinns had this type of setup. Just fyi.

silversmith

I love the Traveler I fixed up for my wife (if only it were a few centimeters bigger I'd be riding it)



Mine's made in 86.