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My "new" Schwinn Voyager

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My "new" Schwinn Voyager

Old 06-21-08, 04:14 PM
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My "new" Schwinn Voyager

I just got this bike a few days ago. I had to put some new tires on it, the originals were getting dry rotted. I scrapped the brake hoods off because they had melted! I don't know if the previous owner had glued them and the rubber reacted with the glue or that just happens to 28 year old hoods, but does anyone have any sugestions on how to get the rest of the hoods off? It also has a Brooks leather saddle that seems to be drying. Anyone know how a good product to bring it back to life? It also has the original rims, Araya I think is the name. They appear to be in good shape. Are these decent rims?

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Old 06-21-08, 06:06 PM
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You found yourself a great bike and welcome to C&V. Thanks for posting and putting up the pictures.

Try Brooks' Profide as a treatment to restore the leather. But to be honest, it might not come back. Let me suggest new brake pads. Most of us like Kool Stops as the best choice. The lever hoods will require some solvent, although you could first try soaking them in full strength Simple Green. It would be a good time to remove the old padded bar sleeves and go with something like a cork wrap or whatever you prefer.

My only other suggestion if you haven't yet, is to replace the brake cables and linings. It will improve the braking. I'm amazed at the lack of tire clearance. What size tires did you install?
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Old 06-21-08, 06:32 PM
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I can honestly say I have NEVER seen a red 11.8!? Looks sweet, and a very cool find. I imagine the
tires are 27 x 1 3/8's. A hard size to find, and funny that he did. Either that or they're 700's and bigger than 28c.,,,,BD
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Old 06-21-08, 06:45 PM
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Wow! Great score and welcome to C&V! I'll ditto everything Pastor Bob said but say the saddle can be fixed up to a point. You'll probably never be able to get the patina of age to go away but I have had success bringing back saddles in much worse shape then yours. I will usually smear a good wet coat of Proofhide all over it (top and bottom) and stick it in a sealed plastic bag for awhile. Then take it out and rub the tar out of it with a soft clean terry cloth to get some luster back. I've been known to "polish" them with a shoe brush at times as well. I have a B-72 that was soooooo dry the edges curled up on the bottom of the skirts. I applies tons of proofide and taped it up all nice and tight to get the shape back. I left it in a warm cozy place and a week or 2 later......Voila! Back in shape. My GF still rides that saddle daily and it's been nearly a year. Rain or shine! With a saddle cover of course.
Anyways........Great bike!
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Old 06-21-08, 07:52 PM
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Wow I've never seen a red one either. Welcome to the voyageur club. I wish I could tell you more about mine, I only rode it a few miles (with a stuck -too low- seat post) before I took it apart to clean it and replace old parts, but it's coming back soon.
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Old 06-21-08, 09:54 PM
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Drool... a '80 Scarlet red Voyageur 11.8 with a 23" frame! I've only seen one other one and have been kicking myself ever since for not buying it. It would look terrific with these two (hint hint) ...
https://buggytexas.com/images/voybc.jpg

What a beautiful bike!

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Old 06-21-08, 10:34 PM
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B.U. TIFUMUS. I LOVE a good red Schwinn
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Old 06-22-08, 05:13 AM
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I had to put some new tires on it, the originals were getting dry rotted. I scrapped the brake hoods off because they had melted! I don't know if the previous owner had glued them and the rubber reacted with the glue or that just happens to 28 year old hoods, but does anyone have any sugestions on how to get the rest of the hoods off? It also has a Brooks leather saddle that seems to be drying. Anyone know how a good product to bring it back to life? It also has the original rims, Araya I think is the name. They appear to be in good shape. Are these decent rims?

tires: Suggest either Michelin World Tour or Panaracer Pasela as these two are about the widest 27 inch tires out there. https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/tires/630.html

rims: ok, but the 1980 Voyageur's rims lack a modern hook bead so it's strongly suggested that you not inflate your tires to more than 75 psi lest you risk them blowing off.

hoods: go outside. don't fool around in any sense. gasoline and very fine steel wool will do the job.

cables and casing: +1. no, +1000. Both brake and derailer.

brake shoes: Kool Stop salmon. Either thinline https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/b....html#koolstop
or Eagle Claw 2 https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/b....html#koolstop

Saddle. Old and dry Brooks? I'm with Sheldon Brown, Neatsfoot oil. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/leather.html
The easiest and fastest method to break in a new saddle is with a liquid leather dressing, such as neatsfoot oil, Lexol, seal oil (a French favorite) or baseball glove oil.. These products are available from shoe stores and sporting-goods stores. There are probably lots of other liquid oils that would work as well-RAAM pioneer Lon Haldeman uses SAE 30 motor oil, but his saddles tend to wear out after only 300,000 miles or so (according to Cyclist Magazine). Paste or wax type leather dressings, such as Brooks Proofide, Sno-Seal, and saddle soap will work, but it takes much, much longer to break in a saddle that way.

On a 1972 B15 I just revived, it took two days of soaking in Neatsfoot oil ($5 at the hardware store), but the result was just as Mr. Brown instructed.

It's a wonderful riding bike. Please post pix with the new white cables so we all can drool.

McDave--your bikes always make me smile.
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Old 06-22-08, 01:04 PM
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"I'm amazed at the lack of tire clearance. What size tires did you install?"
They are 27x1 1/4, the same size as the originals.

I hadn't noticed the clearence until you pointed it out. That is the rear wheel obviously, but when I bought the new tires at the LBS I had them put a 700cm rim and tire on the front just to see if that would be an option, fit wise, for in the future. It seemed to fit well and the brake pads were able to be adjusted to fit the rim. I'll definately have to check that rear wheel before spending the money on a pair of 700's!


"it's strongly suggested that you not inflate your tires to more than 75 psi lest you risk them blowing off."
THANK YOU for that heads up!! I'm sure that wouldn't be pretty downhill at 20-30 mph!!

"Drool... a '80 Scarlet red Voyageur 11.8 with a 23" frame! I've only seen one other one...."
Yes, it is a 23" frame. How can you tell it's a 23" frame just by looking at my crappy pictures?!

Thank you for the tip on the brake pads! I was gonna ask what was the better quality to use.

Any suggestions on what to do about a water bottle? Should I just use a hydration backpack or is it OK to drill holes for a bottle cage? Any reliable "clamp-on" bottle cages?

Thank you for all the other helpful info and the compliments!!
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Old 06-22-08, 01:14 PM
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Originally Posted by unclemule
Any suggestions on what to do about a water bottle? Should I just use a hydration backpack or is it OK to drill holes for a bottle cage? Any reliable "clamp-on" bottle cages?
UM,

I use a hydration pack on all my rides but most road bike riders frown upon this simply because it is not stylish. I like it because it is safe. IMO a water bottle is not safe unless you stop to drink, but that's just me, and this is coming from a guy who doesn't mind hitting 45+ mph.

If you need a bottle cage you can buy this adapter from Velo Orange. They work well.

https://www.velo-orange.com/miststwaboca.html

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Old 06-22-08, 01:19 PM
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ohhoooo........very cool, thanks for the link!
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Old 06-22-08, 07:49 PM
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Great bike!
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Old 07-01-08, 12:53 PM
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Hey, I just bought a 25", red, possibly 1980 Schwinn Voyager 11.8 a few days ago. It is in pretty good shape with the requisite paint chips you would expect from a bike that was actually used. I trued the rims a bit...they clean up so nicely! The shine almost as much as the chrome parts of the frame/fork.

Sadly, I may just flip the bike once I clean it up.

I also had those fleshy hoods (ew) on my my bike. If you keep rubbing it will come (ew) off.
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