vonfilm 

I am confused. Which are the desireable lugged Schwinns, Japanese and otherwise? Lets not talk about Paramounts. I know those are desireable. I like the fillet brazed Schwiins too.

What I am wondering about is which of the lugged Schwinns are built from lightweight tubing and which are best left at the curb.

20grit

Prelude, Premis, Peloton, Superior (short time frame around the early 80's. the rest were fillet brazed), Circuit for starters

cudak888 

They all start with "V:"

Volare
Voyageur
Voyageur II

-Kurt

theschwinnman

Yes, Voyageur frames are nice, they are fairly light, and the build quality is good, however the early ones were not real touring bikes even though they were advertised as so.

cudak888 

Sport tourers. A Japanese copycat of the Paramount, really - jack of all trades, specialist in none.

Applies to both the Voyageur and Voyageur II (and I dare say the Voyageur 11.8's fall into this ambiguous category just the same).

-Kurt

theschwinnman

Well, to be fair, the tubing used in them was lesser than the 531 used in Paramounts, but nice bikes none the less.

I think a Voyageur 11.8 is worth picking up, they are double butted Chrome-Moly and have forged dropouts, they were second to the Paramount in 1980 and '81.

wrk101

Not many vintage Schwinns should be left at the curb. People like them, whether they are really heavy, or light.

No reason to be confused on a Schwinn, there is more information on the web on Schwinn than any other brand.

And a good one will have its tubing material clearly labeled. Heck, even the mediocre ones tended to be labeled.

cudak888 

I've long seen a perceived gap of almost mythical proportions between 4130 and 531 on this forum. I'm not saying the 4130 tubing used on Schwinns were anything special, but - if I may divert from the given topic for a second - one must realize 4130 itself comes in many forms. After all, what is True Temper's tubing if not various versions of 4130 (some arguably superior to 531)?

-Kurt

cudak888 

Nothing like a fully-outfitted, 40 pound Varsity with a "SCHWINN X-TRA-LITE" sticker on it.

-Kurt

theschwinnman

I agree about the undeserved cult following of 531, but from what I've come to understand, the Paramount frames were considerably lighter than the Voyaguer. I do not know, however, if this was due to the quality of the metal, or the thickness it was drawn to.

ColonelJLloyd 

I have an '80 Voyageur 11.8 and an '81. They have 4130 main tubes. I'm happy with them. While I don't own any 531 frames, I have trouble believing I'd notice a big difference in the weight. Perhaps the ride quality (flex) is noticeable, but I suspect it wouldn't be for me.

I would certainly agree with Kurt's characterization of the 11.8s as "jacks of all trades, masters of none". My chrome 11.8 is set up with 700c rims, fenders, dynamo hub and front rack for a French cyclotourist kind of thing. I love the hell out of it. Certainly cost a lot less expensive than a Paramount.

I also have an '87 Voyageur built from Columbus Tenax (which I believe is the lesser of SLX or SLP -- can't recall). It is indeed a true touring bike.

pastorbobnlnh 

Don't forget the Super Le Tour 12.2. These were well made as well.

Mr IGH

I've got a 1980 Super Le Tour II made in Chicago. It's as light as a Sports Tourer and the top tube is shorter by 1.5" on the 25" version.

https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...0/1979_03.html

wrk101

Or they all start with a "P":

Prelude, Premis, Peloton, Prologue.

Any of the Tenax bikes were pretty nice, I have had a Tempo, and a couple of Preludes. But right now, my Prologue is my favorite.

+1 I had a Voyageur 11.8, it was a really nice bike.

By the mid to late 1980s, Schwinn was making (or having made for them), some really nice lugged steel bikes. I think they are still under-appreciated in the marketplace, while curiously to me, EF Schwinns from the 1970s get all the love. So there still are some good values out there.

Oregon Southpaw

^So true, and I'm glad about this.

You hipsters keep your Varsitenials, I'll be on the look out for the Columbus-tubed bikes of the 80s. They were undervalued then as now. My CF riding weight-weenie friends are always shocked at how nice my 88 Circuit rides.

Picchio Special

Passage

cudak888 

^
Indeed. Schwinn's first real touring bike.

-Kurt

USAZorro

What about the old Madison?

3373jones

Varsity...



oh wait, no lugs here.

soonerbills

And no mention of the 80's 4130 lugged Travelers? Why are these ignored? I have a Traveler frame that seems as light as any of my 531 rides.

USAZorro

What are your 531 rides? My heaviest is a SuperCourse, and I guess that was comparable in weight to the 80's Traveler I had. My other bikes with 531 tubing (double-butted) are quite a bit lighter.

Oregon Southpaw

Good call, definitely desirable, depending on who the demographic is. I have never actually seen one of these in person, but if I had the chance to I'd buy one.

cudak888 

I have. My size too, but the lower head lug cracked from the frame falling off a lift bridge (long story). I'd scoop one up in a minute.

-Kurt

theschwinnman

Please, do tell us this story.

DiegoFrogs

Some Schwinn models like the traveler suffer from the stigma of having been upgraded from hi-tensile steel to higher quality tubing. You really have to look at the frame itself, and not just the model name. There's a big difference between a 1986 Traveler or World Sport and their 1980 counterparts. Many of the parts were upgraded to better, lighter ones by this time, too.

I do like my 1980 Traveler, though.

I think some people might also not care for the logos from this era in the mid 1980's-1990ish. With some of the color schemes, though, I think they're pretty sharp.