Schwinn Racer seatpost sizes
 

I have a '59 Schwinn Racer frame that I'm bringing back to life. Can any of you Racer owners tell me the diameter of your seatpost and the year of your Racer? Just by eyeballing Sheldon's seatpost database, it looks like Schwinn used a lot of different seatpost sizes over the years/models. I don't have calipers or seatpost measurer. I tried measuring it with paper and a tape measure and it looks like the internal diameter of the seat tube is about 26.8mm. Can anyone corroborate this?

Thanks!

13/16", I have many spares if you would like one. btw I'm in the inner richmond

Racers made in the '60s had Electro Forged frames and had a seatpost that was 13/16s of inch, very skinny. Fillet brazed frames, i.e. Super Sports, Superiors, etc. had cromolly frames and thus used the larger sized 26.8 mm. I was not aware that a '50s Racer used cromolly fillet brazed construction.

Thanks so much, KoK and Pastorbob. I'll double-check my measurements tonight after work (I also ordered a digital caliper as I've been meaning to get one and this project is as good a reason as any). I'm also going to double-check the serial number to date the frame--but I'm sure I referenced it against this site: http://www.bunchobikes.com/serialnumber4.htm

KoK, do you know if any of the seatposts have the capacity for fore-aft adjustments of the saddle? The frame is a bit undersized for me, and I'd like to position whatever saddle I end up using more towards the rear.

Thanks!

Pastorbob found a 13/16 layback seatpost that he uses on his continental. Or you can bend one like I did on my tandem trying to get more distance between my girlfriends mouth and my ears.

My laid back seatpost on my Continental is a self made hybrid. The top half of a larger 7/8s BMX post is epoxied onto a standard Schwinn 13/16s post. I wish I could find something more suitable.
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...omSeatpost.jpg

Those are interesting set ups, to say the least. KoK, how did you bend the post? Pastorbob, is the post pretty stable? I'm not a heavy person, and I don't intend to have any vigorous rides on this bike, but a failure at that junction could be painful! I also take it that the original BMX seat post is narrower along the top than the bottom? The epoxied ends of the two posts seem to match diameters really well.

My hybrid post eventually came off the bike after the epoxy cracked and the bottom Schwinn portion became loose. I noticed this during routine maintenance, so I had ridden it for some time while it was loose. I'd like to have the two pieces welded together, smooth down the joint, and then have the portion from the joint up powder coated.

The BMX post is the same 7/8ths diameter its entire length. That's only 1/16th larger then the 13/16ths Schwinn post, and thus only 1/32nd further out from the outside edge of the Schwinn post. That's why it makes a nice smooth transition.

The standard Schwinn saddle clamps used on these bikes can be rotated 180 degrees for 1 1/2" or so adjustment, in addition to what can be had by sliding the seat rails.

Thanks everyone. I got a 13/16 seatpost and saddle that works. And I flipped the collar to move the saddle aft-wards, as suggested by Waldo. There's just s single bolt that runs through the rails at one location, so I can't slide the saddle any further sadly. But, I'll give this positioning a try to see how I feel on it.

On another note, the wheels are a mess and I'm thinking about switching things up. Anyone have any recommendations? The current ones are, of course, the Schwinn-specific 26 x 1 3/8. Has anyone tried standard 26" (559) wheels? How about 650A? 650B (yes, I'm an enthusiast)? I need to measure drop-out to chainstay/seatstay bridges still. Right now, the rear wheel has a coaster hub, but I'm not against building it up as a single speed and installing brakes (need to check distances from brake bolts to whatever wheel sizes I'm contemplating).

Thanks for all the great input!

I have a Breeze with 700c. They fit well.

I know this may be a bit old but does anyone have a 13/16 layback seatpost for sale? Thanks.