Baggs

Hello all. First post.

I have a really dumb question and need some help with it.

How do I get the old handlebars off of my 1968 Schwinn Stingray and put new ones on?

A little background: I got it new for Christmas, my parents are 85 and I recently rescued my old bicycle. It was and is still the greatest present I've ever received.

It still rides, though I just took off the sissy bar and started stripping the surface rust off.

I bought some new ape-hanger handlebars for it and some new lime green Schwinn grips.

During the early BMX craze in the 70s, I took off the original Schwinn handlebars and replaced them with motocross handlebars, which remain on it still. (I took it for a few spins and it still rides pretty good and a couple of guys called out wanting to know if it was original, would I sell, etc. Pretty cool.)

OK - I haven't worked on a bicycle in 30 years. I don't even know most of the terms you guys use. I've spent four hours trying to find the answer to my question, but no luck.

The problem is I don't know how to get the motocross bars off of my bike and get the new "original-style" Stingray-type handlebars back on.

I've taken an immense interest in getting my old bike back up to riding speed, so to speak. Not restoring, just getting it back to riding condition.

So, after I undid the clamp, the old motocross bars just flop about and I don't see how in the heck I ever got them on, nor have any idea how to get them off.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. After everyone makes fun, can someone please help me with what should be a terribly basic procedure.

Stacey

Reclamp them, take off a grip, unclamp them and just slide them out. It might take a bit of fanagling but they should come right out.

Welcome aboard Baggs

Little Darwin

Am I correct in assuming that these are the bars that have a cross brace that is keeping you from just removing the grips and sliding them off?

If so, I would try removing the bolt completely from the stem and then trying to slide the cross member through the open part of the stem... and perhaps prying the stem open with a large screwdriver to expand the opening.

Baggs

Hey guys. Thanks for welcome.

Yes, you're correct - it's got a cross bar that prevents me from slipping them out.

I didn't know if I should pry the clamp wide enough to slip them out or not, but it appears to be the only option.

I guess when I was 15, I had some ingenuity since I have no idea how I got them on in the first place.

OK then, I'll pry the clamp wider apart with a large flathead screwdriver, slip them out, and put the new one's on.

When I loosened them, two metal plates slipped out that I guess were used as "shims" to keep the moto bars tight**********? Should I replace these when I put the new handlebars on or leave them off? Trial and error I guess ...

Sorry to be so backward but it has been a long time.

ilikebikes

Please post pics of the bike, close up of the stem and bars may prove to be very helpful as a lot of people did this "BMX" conversion and most switched out the orig Schwinn stem for a BMX type stem, so you may need to get rid of the stem to make it orig, but only you or pics can tell us if this is indeed the case If the stem is indeed the orig Schwinn stem, then please be very careful of prying the stem open with anything as this is also a good way of making the chrome flake off, unless its rusted through the chrome then pry away!

Baggs

The stem appears to be original. The only thing I remember swapping were the handlebars in about 73 or so, and the banana seat I replaced a little earlier with another one since the first got ripped.

There's no rust on the stem, and what rust there is on the bike is just surface that I'm cleaning up with fine steel wool with different polishes, cleaners, etc.

I don't have a photo-hosting Web site so I can't post pics. I can snap a few and e-mail to someone if they are willing to post.

I will say, I'm glad I found this forum. I've got a renewed interest in Schwinn and riding bicycles in general since my nine-year-old learned how to ride. He wants a Grey Ghost (didn't we all back when) so his birthday in October will be a good one.

On the old Stingray, I'm not sure the rims are still true, and I see some bends/dents in the edge where it meets the tire, which I guess happened when we were building homemade ramps and jumping --Evel Knievel was huge at the time and we all wanted to "jump things." So, I probably need new rims and of course tires, etc. The bike originally came with a rear slick, which is long gone, and I'm confused about what size tires are needed (2.175 inch????) or something, etc.

Like I said, I need you guys' and gals' help in all this. I'm really not as stupid as I sound, but I thought it better to "first do no harm" and swallow my pride. There's a slide/photo (remember those?) of me riding the bike Christmas Day for the very first time in 1968, and like I said, this bike is the greatest present I ever received.

I've caught Schwinn fever. Like my guitars - I get GAS - guitar acquisition syndrome - and there is no known cure.

Please keep the help coming.

Little Darwin

When you were younger you probably had absolutely no knowledge of your mortality, so you probably didn't even think twice about prying the stem as far as you needed to in order to change the bars, and on a steel stem, this is probably not too bad on the dependability of the stem...

I know I bent forks by hand to align them in the 70's, so do whatever it takes.

Baggs

Yeah, I think you're right on that one.

OK, I'll report back on progress.

itsdefnit

just had the same problem as the original poster... this thread was unbelievably helpful thanx alot everyone!