bigwoo

After all of these many months, it is done!

I wish that I could take credit for this, but the truth is that I simply sat down with a pen and pad and contemplated some things that I have always wanted to try on a hand fillet brazed Chicago Schwinn, because to me these frames deserve some special treatment. I wanted simplistic elegance and speed. This project came together because of some of the wonderful members we have on Bike Forums.

Thanks to Dr D for yet another absolutely perfect FAR OUT Campus Green paint job and for arranging for the decals!
(I don't want to start any arguments, mswantak did the decals and they are perfect. I don't know what the status is with that whole situation)

Thanks to the Big Boss Man for trading me the vintage alloy wheels for that mixte (which I was able to swap out for these Campagnolo wheels and hubs)

And, thanks to Jon at Grinder Bikes (I forget his user name) for feeding my Schwinn lust and creating yet another phenomenal build. It rides like velvet


Pastor Bob, this bike originally came from San Francisco Cyclery.


This was the bike, on a cold snowy night last year:

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And now, for your viewing pleasure:

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stringbreaker

Oh yeah thats a goodern all right. Dr. D beautiful paint job are those cork hand grips?

bigwoo

As pictured with half fenders, Brooks narrow, saddle bags, toe clips, air pump, Conti gatorskins with extra slimetubes, etc, it comes in at a stealthy 25.4 lbs


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Regarding the fixed -vs- all original, I now have the best of both worlds (But the fixed far outperforms the stock SS as we are talking Campy wheels, pedals, Nitto Albatross, Continental gatorskins, etc):

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bigwoo

Thanks stringbreaker,
Yes, they sell the cork grips at Rivendell and at Cycle Analyst here in Denver, Jon at grinderbikes recommended that I try a shellacked pair of corkers. I'm glad I listened to him. They feel great

stringbreaker

I'm going to shellac the tan cork bar tape on my project continental. Are the grips darker in reality than the picture shows

bigwoo

No, crystal clear shellac. But if you wanted them darker, I'm sure that it would be easy enough to darken by mixing 2 different shellacs

barba

I love the bike (the fenders not so much).

el twe

Very nice.

bigwoo

Thanks for the compliments, I know that half fenders are not for everybody, but I was blessed to find 5 pairs of these that had been in the basement of a local/independent Schwinn dealer since 1973.

I've grown very fond of these shorties and I hope they'll do a great job of protecting the head set from moisture/corrosion

(Strangely, they are stamped "Schwinn Made in France")

el twe

Schwinn used many French parts in the 70s and stamped them as their own or "Schwinn Approved."

pastorbobnlnh 

Oooh Big Woo--- Dr.D. has been teasing me in PMs about my SS (bought from el twe) the last few days--- and now you post his finished work! I'll go to sleep tonight dreaming about my "hand fillet brazed Chicago Schwinn". While your's has gone more causual as a fixie/SS, mine will try to morph into an Italian stallion. BTW, I picked up a pair of the shorty fenders for my SS, but have decided to use them on my tandem instead.

Your Sunset Orange looks to be in minty shape. What a nice pair! Thanks for sharing the pics!

bigwoo

Thanks Pastorbob, I know that the Campus Green model came from San Fran Cyclery brand new in '71, but never have known where the Orange one came from....

pastorbobnlnh 

Yes! I had forgotten about our connected SS Schwinns from the same dealer. Just to keep the pictures rolling, the San Francisco Cyclery SS I found at the dump.

el twe

Can't wait to see pictures of my old SS done right by Dr. D!

stringbreaker

PB did you repaint that frame?

Grand Bois

You can use wood stain to make them any color you want to before you apply the shellac. I have one set stained to match Brooks antique brown and two sets stained to match Brooks honey. It took multiple colors of stain and multiple tries to get it right, but it was a fun project.

pastorbobnlnh 

I can't wait to see the frame!

It's original. It has some rust problems on the underside of the top tube. I should sand down those areas and prime them--- or if someone is interested in this SS for their own restoration, PM me.

bigbossman 

I know that shorty fenders don't work so well from a practical standpoint, but I love the way they look. The work well asthetically.... at least to my eye. Of course, I don't care for fenders on my bikes in general - don't have a use for them as I'm a fair-weather rider.

Bigwoo - you traded those Rigida 3120's I traded you, for those campy wheels? Nice!!

bigwoo

Yes BBM!!
I have a riding bud who was working on a '73 Gitane, and the anodized black Campagnolo's just looked downright out of era/awful on his bike. He had been pining for an "aged" looking pair of rims with high-flange hubs, so that was extremely lucky timing on my part, and he did kind of owe me for giving him a set of Cinelli bars a while back...

bigbossman 

That Rigida set was nice - I hated to give them up, but I had no use for them and I was more than happy with our trade. Since then, I've picked up a couple of other nice vintage sets - both Mavic MA-2's, so I'm good with vintage wheelsets again.

It's great when stuff comes together, eh?

Lamplight

Looks great! The Schwinn bag is a nice addition as well.

USAZorro

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - and Dr. D like Santa - or at least his ace bike painter.

stringbreaker

PB That frame is too big for my short and dumpy body or I would get serious about it.

Kommisar89

Beautiful bike. Normally I'm not a big fan of fixie conversions but given the odd ideas Schwinn seemd to have about equipment in those days (i.e. - stem mounted shifters, suicide levers, one piece crank, pie plate dork disk) I think it was a wise choice. Very nicely done.

repechage

I ilke the bike, but it looks like the fork is bent at the crown, as it appears to have too much rake, the blades typically will align with the steering axis for the upper 5 to 7 inches, this one looks "kicked out"