BigLoopDuke

Ok, I picked up an early 70's Schwinn Continental a few weeks ago and it's being tuned up, as you read this. The primary goal for this bike was to help me get back into shape.

My question is...would I be able to do some light touring on it? It's got 27" x 1 1/4 wheels on it now (I think they're 1 1/4) and a lot of touring bikes I've seen use 700c. Is it pretty easy to make a conversion? Also, would I be able to attach the necessary racks to carry a light load of gear? (I also do a lot of hiking and backpacking and have been able to bring my average gear load down substantially.)

The big tour I'm thinking of is RAGBRAI '08.

Help?!?

hockeyteeth

The difference in radius between 700c and 27" wheels is 4mm. Converting wheel size is often not a problem as long as your brake calipers have enough reach to drop the pads the extra 4mm.

I don't know enough about frame geometry to determine whether or not the conversion alters geometry negligibly or significantly.

Pompiere

The Continental will be a good bike to help you get back in shape, but for a tour as big as RAGBRAI, the extra weight will get old real fast. Instead of converting your wheels (which may be difficult due to brake reach), you could invest in a lighter bike that already has 700 wheels. A good used bike with touring geometry and gearing can be had for what a decent set of new wheels would cost. There is nothing wrong with 27 inch wheels either, but 700 has more tire choices.

USAZorro

With a little bit of ingenuity, you could fit the bike out for RAGBRAI. I don't think your equipment would be anyone's first choice, but you certainly could do it.

John E

Lose the kickstand, the suicide brake extensions and the pie plate, replace the crankset and rims with aluminum, replace the brake pads with KoolStops, replace the TwinStiks with barcons, and replace the 5-speed freewheel with an ultra-6. Your brake calipers should have 4mm reserve in the pad slots, to accommodate 700C rims. Unless Ragbrai is really hilly, frame weight is a nonissue.

brew

John E put it great. Sure you can find a better bike for touring, but the continental will work just fine. Ride it some, if you like it, you can always change out to a 3pc crank, better wheels, and loose things like the kick stand that are extra weight.
If you want to see what can be done with a continental, just check out stringbreakers on this thread. It is a beautiful machine.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=commute

CardiacKid

I don't think you have to carry much gear during RAGRAI. They transport your gear from stop to stop. By the way, the "I" is for Iowa. I think they have 3 hills in the state and there is a casino at the bottom of every one. Therefore, weight isn't that big of a factor.

bigbossman 

If I were going to put that much parts/work/money into a bike, I'd start with a better frame.

Frame weight is part of the total weight, and in my experience it is an issue on longer rides - flat or hilly. I do a lot of centuries, and I've done several around here multiple times, both with vintage and modern steeds - sometimes on a ~30 lb bike, and then again on a ~20 lb bike.

Based on my experience the weight differences between bikes is an incremental one, and it is cumulative. That is, you don't necessarily notice it consciously during the ride, but it adds up at the end to be significant. The delta for total time on the course wasn't too big, but the fatigue factor was.

tolfan

You can do almost anything to a continental. I manged to stuff 21 speeds onto mine. Only change Was a longer derailer cage. The front even had the reach with the stop screws all the way out. Ya thay are a little heavy but thay soak up the road so nice.

stringbreaker

Yeah I spent way more than I should have but I did it to keep it not to flip it and I got a real cruiser out of it and that thing will take bumps better than any aluminum ride out there. Its all in what you want but my next project will be with a lighter although still a steel frame. You should be able to tour on it if you are in decent enough shape and if you ride this bike for a while you will be in shape. I thought I could buy a lighter bike but instead I just lost 33 lbs and that has helped more than anything. Man I sure do LOVE the continental its RED you know.

BigLoopDuke

Stringbreaker - Your Continental is amazing. What are the tires you have on it?

You all are probably right. I'm going to hang with the Continental for the time being, maybe lose a little weight in the process and maybe pick up a touring bike a few months closer to RAGBRAI. I've been looking at a Surly LHT for a while, but the Continental is pretty awesome.

I mean, c'mon, folks have been riding RAGBRAI since '73 and completing it without carbon forks and the real fancy modern stuff. Then again, McD's hadn't yet completed it's chokehold on the American public either...

USAZorro

I'm saving my pennies for one of them too. It has everything I could want in a touring bike - except lugs.

Picchio Special

Also, replace the cables and housing with good current stuff.

Picchio Special

Well, if it doesn't have lugs, what's the point, really?

rmfnla

Yeah, but ride quality is not (a nonissue) and that thing will always ride as dead as a door-nail.

Pompiere

Is that because your wallet is lighter?

stringbreaker

The tires are Panaracer Paselas with the gumstyle sidewall they are 27 X 1/8 and are smooth as silk on this bike. The cables are jagwire from Harris bikes. The brake levers are new old stock from 1975 I think and were still in the original packaging. I just installed the custom micro adjustable seat post on it tonight. I have access to a lathe and a friend that can weld aluminum so it was a relatively cheap endeavour. Thats powdercoat not paint and the decals are reproductions. Sorry to go on but I love this bike

USAZorro

I know - and that's why I agonized for so long. Precious few steel bikes were made that are lugged steel tourers, have three bottle bosses, fender and rack mounts, and built-in spoke holders. Presuming I can find the right one over the winter, (factoring in the hassle of finding one that's the right size, in good condition), and even then considering the time and expense involved in getting it just right... well, it will be so much easier just getting a nice (not sublime, but pretty darned nice) bike to use for longer rides just seems to make sense at this point in my life. I still will have a nice little stable of vintage riders, and I'll still appreciate and take care of them, but I'm to the point where having 4 or 5 concurrent projects running in slow motion is just a bit more hassle than I want. Maybe after the dust settles, I'll have the luxury of keeping an eye open for just the perfect vintage tourer to pass my way.

cudak888 

Can I suggest a custom frame by Mike Terraferma?

https://www.terrafermacycles.com/

-Kurt

mrhedges

well you can tour on anything really but do you want to tour on it? try riding a century first. I toured on a '89 trek 400. it couldn't carry as much as a touring bike but it worked i did 125 miles in one day on it. but its also been my main bike for 4 years so i know it.

Scooper

Kurt, Jan Heine has a nice three page article on a Mike Terraferma road racing bike in Bicycle Quarterly. Pretty impressive bike. He's pretty close to you - Coral Gables, I think I read.

John E

Having owned a doornail-dead frame (first-generation Nishiki Competition) for 20 years, I fear you are correct. However, on a smooth road, some riders simply may not care about the finer points of resilience. I was fat, dumb, and happy on my Nishiki for a long time, because my main points of comparison were gaspipe English 3-speeds. I was surprised by how much livelier even a lowly Peugeot UO-8 felt, and my Peugeot PKN-10 and Bianchi were real eye-openers.

cudak888 

Scoop, he's not more then 5 blocks from me; I've been to his garage workshop, and have ridden around the Granada Golf Course with him and a few of the BF'ers. His stuff is top-notch, I tell you.

P.S.: He has a dark blue 23" road frame, all traditional, for $1,200 if I recall right - reduced from $1,700, for it seems as if a tiny flat spot on the True Temper tubing escaped his eyes and that of painter Gary Cole. You can't see the mark unless you get your eye down the tube. Tempting, but I already blew my money on the '70 P-mount.

-Kurt

P.S. #2: Nothing on the '70 yet. Waterford said Rich hadn't been able to get to the storage where they keep the Paramount records. Guess he's been busy. I'll give them another week to get their sprockets in check

CardiacKid

I hate to show my lack of sophistication, but when someone describes a frame as dead, lively or resilient, I am reminded of a Robert Parker wine review. Those words mean about as much to me as "earthy, with a hint of casis and a strong finish".
To my unsophisticated rear, a good frame doesn't knock my fillings out on chip and seal, sticks when I turn hard into a curve, accelerates when I stand up to pedal, without flexing, and continues going straight when I take my hands off the bars.
Someday I hope to understand the finer points of frames but, after 45 years of bike riding, I doubt I will, anytime soon.

rmfnla

...and that's what really matters!