etsisk

I have a voyager that I got for $25 about 8 years ago. I took the wheels off and replaced them with some weinmann (?) concave rims that had been updated from a previous bike and fitted with an ultegra set of gears. The top tube decals say voyager on the right side and "HEAD" on the left and the medallion in front says Schwinn Voyager.

Is this frame acceptable for light touring? Panniers on the back and maybe a rack bag and handlebar bag? I weigh around 200. I would like to even do heavy touring on it, but light would be fine as I get in shape for something more robust. Would it accept a larger touring tire?

Thanks so much for y'all's help!

Tom

icepick_trotsky 

Is it a new comfort/hybrid Voyageur, or a classic steel touring frame? If the latter, that's a great light touring bike.

cb400bill

Need pics!

The Golden Boy 

If the head badge is like this:




It's a purpose built touring bike- and a very fine touring machine.

etsisk

Yay! The badge is EXACTLY like that! I'm excited that I don't have to spend a whole bunch of money to get another bike! I might think about changing the gears in back to give me a lower low - I have either 18 or 21 gears total right now and would like 27. Man, I'm 62 - I need all the help I can get!

etsisk

So, does this mean that it would also be good as a heavy tourer? Cross-country and back? (Sorry for all the questions - as you can tell, I'm a noob at this stuff. Which is great because EVERYthing is exciting!

bikemig 

We need more pics but the classic voyager is a fine touring machine. It can be modded if need be to give you better gearing; also new wheels might be in order if you are riding it across the US with panniers.

Scooper

Look closely at the head badge for four small, lightly stamped digits. They represent the assembly date of the bike and will tell us what model year it is so we can see how it was originally spec'd. The first three digits are the day of the year (001-366) and the last digit is the last digit of the year. The Voyageurs were all nice bikes, but varied from year to year; getting that assembly date will help us figure out what you've got.

etherhuffer 

. What size frame? I have a 68cm Voyageur 11.8. It has a very nice ride but it is a real noodle. Lots of flex in the frame. But people have toured on lots of stuff without a problem. I too am 200 and generally would not use thos frame for heavy loaded touring. Light touring would be perfect for the 11.8 version

likebike23

It's not the number of gears that determines the range. You can get a wide range freewheel with 6 or 7 cogs and still have a low enough gear. The only advantage that 9 rear cogs would give would be closer spacing between the cogs. IRD makes some freewheels in 6 or 7 that have decent cog combinations, pick one with a 32 or 34 tooth large cog. BTW: the bike will be just fine for what you want to do. Good luck.

jiangshi

Depends on the model. I have a Voyageur SP decked w/10X3 Ultegra STI's. It's more capable than I am.

fietsbob

'Touring' doesn't care what bike you ride .. just get it so it wont break down.

etsisk

the number stamped on the badge is 3213. I'll try and get some pics to y'all tomorrow when there's more sunlight. Y'all are just great - I really appreciate this.

etsisk

@fietsbob, yep, I do get that - but if the frame isn't up to the load, I don't want to find out halfway down some mountain in the Sierra Nevadas, should I ever get my old butt over that far! I'd like to find out now!

dicktill

Dumb question: What's the difference between the Voyageur and the Voyageur SP of this era?

Thanks, Dick

BluesDaddy

This one?
(scroll down)
1984 Schwinn Catalog

fietsbob

People rode across the country on bikes just like that . 38 years ago.. "BikeCebntennial "

the load goes in bags on pannier racks , unless you tow a trailer .. either will do.

jiangshi

That's the one I have, a very capable machine.

Scooper

Dick, here are the 1984 Voyageur SP and Voyageur specifications. The differences are pretty obvious from the specs chart, but one of the main differences is the SP's frame is Columbus SL and SP mix (SL with SP down tube) and Columbus fork blades, while the Voyageur frame is Tange Champion chromoly with Tange chromoly fork blades. Another difference is the Voyageur SP component group was Sun Tour, while the Voyageur was Shimano.

dicktill

Thanks Scooper. So which is considered the better model?

Regards, Dick

etsisk

Scooper - do you have the tech spec chart for 1983, by any chance?

jiangshi

Do a Google search, Schwinn catalogs are available to anyone.

etsisk

sure, and I already found the catalog, but that kind of chart was not in it - I didn't anything like that listed. Perhaps I missed it, but I don't think so - I checked again with the same result.

Scooper

Yes. Here are the 1983 specs. Your assembly date code is late 1983 right on the cusp of changing to the 1984 specs, so the color of the bike should tell you which model year it is. In 1983, the Voyageur SP was Champagne with Brown trim or Smokey Pearl with Blue trim. The 1983 Voyageur was Champagne or Smokey Pearl. In 1983 both the Voyageur SP and the Voyager used Tange Champion #2 tubing.

Colors in 1984 were Dark Blue for the Voyageur SP and Warm Grey or Wine Red for the Voyageur.

Scooper

The Voyageur SP was considered the better model.