pastorbobnlnh 

Just won this on ebay. Saving on shipping because it is located near rootboy on Cape Cod and I'll be there the end of April for our Spring Cape Cod Rail Trail Ride.

Can't find it in any of the catalogs in this color or with this style of decals. I thought I had seen them, but in all my checking from the early '80s through the late '90s has not produced any more clues.





Asked the seller to check for the four diget date code on the head badge and he reported back that he could not find one. I'm guessing this is a Giant built Schwinn, but any and all insights into the vintage would be appreciated.

At the moment I think I will build it into a drop bar MTB, but I'm just as likely as to keep it as close to stock as possible.

pastorbobnlnh 

Couple of more clues. Any idea on the time frame for these Suntour components?

Scooper

Bob, it's a 1988 model year High Sierra in "Bold Yellow". I'll post scans in a few minutes.

pastorbobnlnh 

Stan, you are the man!

Am I safe to assume this is a Giant, made in Taiwan, model?

Scooper

I'm guessing either Giant or China Bicycles, Bob. If it's a Giant made bike, the odds are good there would be a "Gmmyy" (mm=month, yy=year) date code stamped into the driveside rear dropout.

Here's the catalog scan. I'll scan the specs in a few minutes and post them. If there's anything you'd like scanned at a higher resolution just let me know.

Scooper

1988 Specifications.

Scooper

Here's a higher resolution scan of the geometry.

pastorbobnlnh 

Stan,

Thanks for posting these scans. Much appreciated. They are not in the usual places so I was challenged to nail down the date. I like the unique decal style. Too bad they didn't fillet braze the other tubing joints. They look a bit sloppy compared to the head tube joints.

rhenning

Bob I believe most of the other welds were TIG or even MIG welded not brazed on those bikes. Roger

pastorbobnlnh 

Too bad they didn't employ Frank the Welder to make those welds. Would have been much neater.

rhenning

Bob it would of also been a lot more expensive. Roger

Scooper

Yeah, it looks like just the head tube joints were fillet brazed and everything else was welded.

Paramount1973 

I wouldn't kick that bike out of bed. Er...

pastorbobnlnh 

Mixed use construction! My Twinn Sport Tandem appeared to have three different styles of tube joining, fillet brazed, welding, and EF. It was quite the sight!

I've looked at Schwinn MTBs over the years and never had one which caught my eye the way this one does (except a few of the Paramount MTBs, but one never really presented itself). Too bad I won't lay actual eyes on it until the end of April.

Any ideas what these retailed for back in '88?

Scooper

From the 12/29/87 price list for 1988, MSRP for the 1988 High Sierra was $549.95.

The Golden Boy 

The Paramountain, KOM, Cimarron and High Sierra were the cat's pyjamas.

Where the Cimarron was fillet brazed in the front and lugged in the back- the High Sierra was fillet brazed in the front and TIG welded in the back- at the seat stay and BB. The welds on my 87 HS look more rough than yours, Bob, but yours look sort of finished-

The Paramountain and KOM were lugged in the front and back- but much more "race-y" without all the rack and fender mounts.

Really cool bikes.

well biked

FWIW, regarding place of manufacture, I've got an '89 High Sierra with one of the "G" serial numbers, apparently manufactured by Giant for Schwinn.

pastorbobnlnh 

I do appreciate all the help today. Looks to be all original except the tires. It will be interesting to see how the actual stacks up to the pictures.

The debate in my head is whether to stick to as near to original as possible, or make it my own. Soma's Lauterwasser bars are tempting. I don't really care for knobby tires. Racks and fenders are appealing. I've come to like handlebar bags on all my rides. So, I'll just need to wait and see what the creative juices bring.

Scooper

My vote is to make it your own, Bob; set it up so that you want to ride it.

well biked

+1

The Golden Boy 

BluesDaddy

Very cool bike. The color and decals are bold in a good way. Regarding modification, in my opinion it would be a shame to divorce that stem from the bike. Other than that, have at it!

inkandsilver

That's a great looking bike. I already have one in black chrome and I'd have been sorely tempted by that if it were my size. I agree with BluesDaddy about the stem, but still, do what you need to do. Maybe you'll need drops that have a shorter reach? Hmm, maybe some dirt drops?

bradtx

As it has all of the touring attachment points, I'd be very tempted to equip it with front and rear carriers, fenders and a trekking handle bar.

Brad

pastorbobnlnh 

This is exactly what I'm leaning towards. And don't worry, that sweet yellow stem is staying. In other words, any new bars have to fit the stem or they won't even be considered!!!