goldfinch

I was poking around in the old family barn hayloft and found my childhood bikes, and old 24 inch wheeled Western Flyer single speed with coaster brake and the love of my teenage years, my old five speed Schwinn Collegiate, probably a 1969 or 1970, or at least that is my guess of when I got it. The Schwinn looks like absolute crap. The only thing that looks nice is the seat, oddly. Clearly, someone just tossed them up there and forgot about them. The tires are rotted away and it looks like mice or something nested in the remains of the tires. Gross. The fenders on the Coligiate are wrecked. I loved that Schwinn, but clearly it is not likely economical to fix it up as I see on Craigslist much nicer looking ones for pretty cheap. But it was my bike. I kind of want it to be a functioning bike again. I am not a mechanic. I can change a tire, adjust brakes and derailleurs and that is about it. So I might have to get help.

How do I go about evaluating this bike to see if it is salvageable? Steps?

The first step alone is daunting--how to get it out of the hayloft.

Removing the gross tires is also daunting.

10 Wheels

Pics....

goldfinch

I'm going to have to get it out of the barn first, too dark up there to make out much.

Flying Merkel

Much can be done. I wish I'd saved my old Stingray, broken frame & teenage period modifications notwithstanding.

goldfinch

I just went into the barn again, forgetting that I could open a door to the upper loft and let light in. And then discovered my camera battery was dead. The brake levers functioned. The paint has one major scuff through to the steel. Dirt everywhere. The rims and gears are rusty but I don't know if it is just on the surface. As I mentioned, the fenders are all bent and dented. I flipped it over and could pedal it a bit, even with the rusty chain and other drive train crud. I couldn't pedal much because the rotted out tire and tube with hay and detritus stuck in them interfered.

I think it is at least worth lowering down from the loft and removing the wheels. The front wheel is already off but at least I found it.

Chris_in_Miami

As Flying Merkel suggested, those old Schwinns can clean up beautifully. You'll be amazed at what a bottle of paint cleaner and some chrome polish will do.

oddjob2

+1

I'd add a set of latex or rubber gloves to this particular project!!!!

goldfinch

Step one done. I lowered it from the hayloft with a rope. And took a few pictures:







The front wheel was off and I removed the tire and hosed out the tire. The inner tube was missing. The tire seems fairly flexible. [EDIT: looked closer, too many cracks] There are a few places without paint and some rust. The chain guard is missing.

I plan on removing the rear wheel next because the tire and tube have fouled things up enough that I can't see how it pedals. Next step: find my ratchet set!

What should I use to clean the filthy drivetrain? Orange cleaner? Or can I use something more heavy duty? I have a small bottle of citrus based cleaner I use on my other bikes but that will go fast.

goldfinch

OK, wheel is off. Both tires are bad. I understand that I have to order special tires. I hate to do that before I know whether everything else works. The pedals do turn around nice and quiet like.

Taking the fenders off next and then shopping for some kind of cleaner.

wrk101

I use "Totally Awesome" for most cleaning, I pick it up at the dollar store (so naturally, it costs $1). WD40 will work as a grease cutter as well.

Endless threads on rust, you decide on the method. Google is your friend.

Unless you do ALL the work yourself on that bike, you will be WAY upside down cost wise. But most of the work done yourself will cost very little.

Sentimental bike, so it is worth the time and effort.

qcpmsame 

Goldfinch,
I won't try to tell you how to clean the Collegiate, not a C&V expert by any means. I do hope you will decide to resurrect this bike, especially as it means so much to you. Some new cables/housings, bearings repacked or replaced, new tires and tubes and of course some drive train components, maybe form eBay or a local co-op. It would be nice to see you on the bike in some pictures in a bit, please consider doing it. Pics as you proceed would be really nice.

Bill

uRabbit

My friend, that cycle is nowhere close to unrestorable. See the link to my Suburban in my sig (not the wife's).

For rust: water+aluminium foil+muscle (though I don't see any cancerous rust)
For grime: Simple Green, Totally Awesome!, basically any degreaser (I even used engine degreaser a couple of times)

goldfinch

OK, it took me an hour to get the fenders off. I had a frozen bolt. Let sit with WD40. No go. Borrowed a defreezer from cousin. Cleaned up the bolt but no go. Partly because I just didn't have the right sized thingie to hold on the bolt. Finally I took a hack saw blade and sawed away at the bolt for 15 minutes. Fenders off!

How do I remove the chain? I assume I need some special tool.

Right now I am going to use some engine degreaser and see how that cleans it up.

Having fun!

Flying Merkel

I bought one of those for an Ex-GF about 10 years ago. She rode it once. I would take it out and ride down to the beach and back, a 15-20 mile ride route depending. Made me a fan of the Schwinn lightweights. Build quality was impressive. Surprisingly comfortable and practical. Had a basket on front which made picking up a beer & pretzels on the way all the more easier.

Yes it's heavy. So what. It's a fun town bike, not a racer.

Sold the Collegiate for 3 times what I bought it for to a darling little college student. She can ride it for decades to come, and sell it at a profit anytime she likes.

Ed in Toronto

You're going to have to repack all the bearings with fresh grease also. If the old grease is dried out, you could cause damage. Hubs, pedals, headset, bottom bracket.

It's a good looking bike, it looks in great shape except for a few minor things you could take care of.

sonatageek

That bike will clean up and look great.

goldfinch

This is the mystery project for me. I suppose youtube has videos? What kind of tools am I going to need to do this job. I am very much an amateur but am willing and have plenty of free time.

I still haven't figured out how to get the rusty old chain off.

Spent the last hour cleaning away. Now I feel high from degreaser so am taking a break.

Pompiere

My wife has the same bike, and right now it is in nearly the same condition, except for the mice. Schwinn's chrome plating is pretty thick, so you should be able to clean it up. Once everything is clean, relubricate everything and replace any rotted rubber parts, like tires and brake pads. Any good bike shop should have the tires, especially if they once sold Schwinns. The tires are 26 x 1 3/8. The thing to look for is ISO 597 in the size markings. If it says 590, then it is for an English 3 speed, if it says 559, it is for a mountain bike. All are marked 26 inch. Some shops don't know the difference.

Edit: To remove the chain, you will need a chain tool to press a rivet out. Most new chains will have a snap link to fasten the ends, or you can buy one to make it easier.

Flying Merkel

You'll need a chain tool to press out a link. Cone wrenches are cheap. A cone wrench is just a thin wrench. Check out the Bike Mechanics section. Here's a picture of a chain tool.

I've used one of these for years.

Ed in Toronto

Here's a good place to start, some of these pages help me a lot;
https://sheldonbrown.com/repair/index.html

...and just hang out here at the C&V board, they're a great bunch of members here. I was at the same place you were almost a year ago, my bike had been sitting in a basement for almost 30 years. Just hanging out here and reading all the new posts every day help me make it run like new in a few months.

If you have any problems just ask here, I busted my freewheel trying to take if off, didn't know what do next, but look at all the help I got here in this post;
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hat?highlight=

This is my bike now, I rebuild the wheels with new spokes, rims and tires. Repacked all the bearing, cleaned and polished it. Got the correct frame pump for it. All with info from the C&V board.

goldfinch

Today was spent cleaning. The chrome came out looking mighty fine:







The rear fender has these big dents, but the chrome is in great shape:



Slow going, it took me most of the day to clean the thing.

I need a chain removal tool anyway so will get one, but the chain, which is still on the derailleur cleaned up pretty well. I am going to lube it. It may be ok.

Now the hard part starts, figuring out how to do things that I do not know how to do. The hubs and bearings. I will check out the links Ed posted. Thanks. And your bike looks mighty cool. Mine is never going to be that great. My issues:

--The dented fender. I will talk to my cousin about whether there is a way to "pound out" or otherwise make the rear fender look adequate.
--There are lots of paint chips and spots where the beautiful blue paint is gone. I will have to figure out how to clean up those spots and where to get touch up paint.
--The chain guard is missing. I'll live with that.
--I have no clue on how to service the hubs and lube where the crank is and headset.
--I will have to order tires. I understand that they are special schwinn tire sizes. No one locally has any and locally for me is 60 miles to the nearest bike shop anyway.
--What should I do for brake pads?

Flying Merkel

Parts will appear, but it will take patience. Looks good. Saw one today being ridden by an equally vintage rider.

Ed in Toronto

Go on eBay and type 'schwinn fender' into the search engine;

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from=...All-Categories

for what it's worth, might be ok to get a new one.

Henry III

Thankfully those things are a dime a dozen and a lot of schwinn middleweights share the same parts. Now don't forget that Schwinn tires are not the same modern size tires of basically the same size...1.75" is not the same as 1-3/4". Curse you Ignaz!!! That bike is coming along pretty nice and should turn out pretty nice. I think for under $100 you should have that thing in great shape. New cables, chain, tires and tubes looks to be all it needs. Fenders are a hit and miss type thing. Hit that Schwinn parts can be found a lot easier due to the amount collectors. Then again possible miss because Schwinn stuff pulls a premium sometimes. Fenders can always be sourced later or just generic chrome fenders could be used.

Ed in Toronto

Not sure what kind of brakes you have but if you scroll down this page and look at all the brake shoes, you might find what you need;

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html