gramphighgate

hi i don't know if this counts as vintage and/or classic, but i'm wondering if someone can help me figure out the year of my schwinn pelaton. also, i've heard the fork should be upgraded. any suggestions?

thanks, as always.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ksk7g8ddx...NxXwBxi7_VW8ca

edit: i don't know why i put 'value' in the subject line; i don't really care. i paid $600 without pedals in sf. all ultegra except for the RD, which is dura ace.

DVC45

Looks like a 1999.

Why do you think the fork needs upgrading?

gramphighgate

that's just tends to be what ppl online say about the tig welded 531 pelatons. i don't know enough to know why, exactly. that and two friends have suggested upgrading it. is it AL?

edit: if it is a 99 then yes it is aluminum, and who wants a steel bike with an AL fork?

gramphighgate

here is a bunch of info on upgrading the fork. frankly it made my head hurt.

The One Speed Biker: My 1999 Schwinn Peleton

Scooper

It's a late nineties Peloton. These are nice bikes with TIG-welded Reynolds 853 frames that were produced in Asia. They have the same geometry as the Match Cycle built Schwinn Paramounts that were lugged 853 and came with a chromoly fork instead of the aluminum fork that came with the Pelotons. Getting rid of the aluminum fork and installing either a steel or carbon fiber replacemernt is the first thing I'd do.

Here are the specifications:



Here's the geometry:



Here's the catalog page:



For comparison, here's the Match built Paramount catalog page:

Sierra

I've heard about changing the fork also, but I've never heard exactly why. I have one of these with the original aluminum fork, and granted, I'm only a recreational rider, but I think the bike rides just fine with it. Just how much would I gain by spending a bunch of money for a carbon fork? I'm not trying to be snarky here, I really would like someone to expound on this.

shoota 

It's PelOton. It's right on the bike.

gramphighgate

thanks for your help with this and other matters!

gramphighgate

i'm with you. it's not just the fork, it's probably a new headset, stem, and maybe even drop bars+tape. i think i'd rather put that couple hundred bucks toward a new bike. i mean i only paid $600 for the thing in the first place.

Scooper

Eric, I'll admit to personal prejudice against aluminum alloy forks, but I also believe there is a reason aluminum has never been a very popular material for this application.

Unlike steel, aluminum has no fatigue limit. In an aluminum structure, every cyclic stress no matter how small, is cumulative and contributes to ultimate failure from fatigue. Designers know this and overbuild aluminum structures to compensate for this property of the material. For bicycle forks, this means using very thick walled tubing for the fork blades. The thicker tubing results in very stiff blades, and since one of the functions of the fork is to absorb road surface irregularities by flexing (cyclic stress), the stiff blades transmit a lot of road buzz to the frame and rider. This can be mitigated by a careful choice of tires, but both steel and carbon fiber forks are far superior to thick walled aluminum alloy tubing in absorbing vibrations. Additionally, steel does have a fatigue limit, so a virtually infinite number of stress cycles below the fatigue limit can be tolerated without failing from fatigue.

As I said in my post above, "Getting rid of the aluminum fork and installing either a steel or carbon fiber replacement is the first thing I'd do."

Some folks wouldn't consider replacing the aluminum fork a priority, and that's their decision.

EDIT - If you look at the aluminum fork on the Peloton catalog page you'll see it's much beefier than the steel fork on the Paramount catalog page. That extra material helps compensate for the lack of fatigue limit, but also makes the fork much stiffer.

2000Para853red

I have a 2000 Peloton Pro.....same frame as yours (diff color) but came with a Time Club carbon fork. You should be able to pick up the same fork now for not too much $. They are awesome bikes.....853 tig welded frame....made in asia. Same frame design as my 2001 Paramount except the Paramount was made in the USA by Curt Goodrich @ Match with lugs and has a steel fork.

Nice bike.....enjoy.

Sierra

Thanks for that info Stan. It all makes perfect sense.

I find very little if any difference in the ride between my Peloton and my Match Paramount of the same vintage with it's better fork, but as I mentioned, I'm not a serious cyclist with a lot of experience.

I've seen quite of few of these Peloton with replacement forks and too my eye they aren't very attractive. I also have a Super Sport GLX(tig welded 853 frame) from Y2K(same paint/decal scheme) that has a carbon fork that is curved and matching painted. Seems to me that this would be the ideal replacement fork for these bikes, but probably very hard to find.

Roopull

Not my thread or question, but thanks for posting that whole post. In a world of vague and often meaningless opinions, it's nice to actually read some facts and learn something.

gramphighgate

thank you all for your replies--i kinda lost track of this thread for a moment?

would this be an appropriate replacement?

Nashbar Carbon 1-in Threaded Road Fork - Normal Shipping Ground

if not or even if so, other specific suggestions are certainly welcome.

and yes, i love the bike. i need a new stem--the thing is 5" and is messing up an otherwise perfect fit.

Scooper

I was going to suggest that you look into that Nashbar fork further. The price is right and the reviews are good. The 43mm rake is close enough to the 40mm rake on the existing aluminum fork that you shouldn't notice a difference in handling. The Nashbar fork is for 700c wheels, so the fork length or axle-to-crown length should be close enough even if it's not exactly the same as the original fork, but without knowing the exact difference in fork lengths it's hard to guess how much the difference will affect handling.

The Nashbar fork crown race is ISO (26.4mm) and from reading the blog at the link you posted the headset on the Peloton is JIS. If that's true, you may need a new headset.

That Nashbar fork is certainly worth investigating further IMHO.

cycle_maven

Yes, that's a nice fork.

Make sure the steering tube is the right length, however. I don't see on the Nashbar page that they call out the steering tube length, and if you get one that's too short or too long, it won't mount on your bike.

Edit- I just looked at the drop-down menu- they have plenty of sizes... go for it. You may just need a crown race, not a complete new headset- it's worth investigating.

Scooper

What I find really interesting is that Schwinn changed the alloy fork used on the 1999 Peloton to a Time Club Carbon Fiber fork in 2000. Here's the 2000 Peloton catalog page.



There was also a Peloton Pro model in 2000 using the same Time Club Carbon Fiber fork:

gramphighgate

Okay thanks to everyone. Sorry to revive a thread that is probably of interest only to me, but I have a follow-up question.

I've decided I need a shorter stem. The stock stem is 4" and even with the saddle jammed forward, I have to stretch. And so I'm looking to change to a 3" or 100mm stem. Given this fact, should I just upgrade to a threadless set up instead?

Either:
new stem and new threaded fork

Or:
new headset, stem, and threadless fork

I'm relatively new to cycling so am curious to know if there are advantages to the latter setup other than easier stem changeouts. If feel that the extra cost of upgrading the headset is probably worth it but would like to know if I'm missing something. Thanks.

Scooper

Most threadless stems are for 1 1/8" fork steerer tubes, and your frame's head tube is set up for 1" fork steerer tubes. Personally, I'd stick with a threaded headset and quill stems for this bike. Handlebar height is much easier to adjust with a quill stem than with a threadless stem since once you cut the steerer tube on a threadless fork, you're stuck with limited height adjustment.

There are lots of 22.2 mm O.D. quill stems available to fit the standard I.D. of your fork steerer tube. The Nitto Technomic, for example, comes with a wide range of stem extensions (from 50mm to 120mm).

Nitto Technomic Quill Stems

gramphighgate

thank you. the nitto stems are such a classic look. was hoping for a dual bolt stem as i hate the idea of wrecking my nice and expensive tape job, but that's probably too much to ask.

Scooper

It's a pull-down menu. Click on "Nitto Technomic Stem (tall) 22.2mm Quill with 26.0mm Clamp", then "Select Size"...

Pars 

One rough rule of thumb I have always used for stem length is placing my elbow on the nose of the saddle, my fingertips should just graze the handlebars (or close). Assumes the saddle fore/aft adjustment, proper saddle height is set, etc.

Also check your handlebar diameter at the clamp portion. The Nitto stems Scooper referenced is 26mm, which is probably the most common. Other common sizes are 25.4mm (French?), and 26.4mm (Cinelli mostly).

EDIT: and I don't know if I would call threadless an "upgrade" or not. Seems like another solution in search of a problem. Though the availability of stems with faceplates do facilitate much easier bar changes.

gramphighgate

got that, thanks. for some reason i had a moment and thought there was another metric i had to think about. but it's just the size of the head tube and the extension.

you are incredibly helpful--thank you so much. i'm going to look up some information on how to order the correct fork length and will check back here if i have problems/before purchase to keep from making yet another mistake.

LesterOfPuppets

Well, you have to guess or buy a few or go to a shop that has a bunch of used stems you can try.

Your conversions in an earlier post were a little off. 3" is 75mm, 4" is 100mm.

There are removable faceplate quill stems. Profile Boa and H20 are the most widely available but not that nice looking, IMO.

There are others in the used market, 3t mutant and Cinelli Frog, for instance. My 2001 Lemond Buenos Aires came with a removable faceplate quill stem, not sure of the maker.

If you're careful you can unwrap and rewrap tape, only need to do one side.

Pars 

^ Salsa quill stems have removable faceplates as well.