Originally Posted by Darth Lefty (Post 17019300)

..I will get rid of the turkey levers,...

Originally Posted by SirRdWarrior (Post 17019646)

Is there any advantage with going to a 700 wheel? Any issues with keeping 27 inch?

Originally Posted by SirRdWarrior (Post 17019646)

Is there any advantage with going to a 700 wheel? Any issues with keeping 27 inch?

Originally Posted by dddd (Post 17019262)

If I see a general "theme" with many of these resto-mod Supersports, it might be an "economical Rivendell".

I tried riding mine in stone-stock condition, for both style points and economic considerations as well as the "preservation" aspect espoused by collectors of more-haughty marques.

It quickly evolved, and I achieved a more-aggressive fit, an extra cog in back (with tighter gearing and shorter-cage allvit modified for 6-sp), a lighter (more-adjustable) seat and post, plus clipless pedals, 9-sp chain, lever hoods and a wider, standard handlebar.

The rest I think is all stock, but with plastic housing liners slipped into original brake cable housings, Matthauser front pads, and I hand-fitted a cut-to-width layer of wide Velox tape (to prevent tire bead blow-off above 75psi with my 1-1/8" tires). I also found Tange 12-ball, #64 chromium bearing retainers for the bottom bracket, not that they were really needed.

It's a 1971 as well:


[IMG]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5485/...552d766d_c.jpg by dddd2002, on Flickr[/IMG]

Originally Posted by dicktill (Post 17019822)

Nice bike. What is the water bottle cage?

Thanks, Dick

Originally Posted by SirRdWarrior (Post 17019646)

Is there any advantage with going to a 700 wheel? Any issues with keeping 27 inch?

Originally Posted by dddd (Post 17020116)

Thanks, Dick. The cage is an Italian REG brand cage, it's forty-something years old, but I found a couple of these new on Ebay for $30 a piece. Came all the way from Cyprus, near the middle east.

These have integral clamps and a flip-lever that clamps the bottle, holding it securely in place.

Originally Posted by dddd (Post 17019022)

I took this as a philosophical statement of sorts, but then wondered, what, exactly, the Super Sport "should have" been?

The Super Sport was and is a weird bike, not that it wasn't aimed at a market where other, almost similarly-heavy ten-speeds existed, but took an entirely different approach at this price point, just as the Varsity/Continental took quality/durability and weight to unheard-of levels in the entry-level market, while commanding relatively premium prices in the process.

Schwinn must be given credit for doing things their own way, with rigorous testing and development, and enhanced specifications of remaining parts that they procured from overseas vendors.
And Schwinn followed up with effective marketing.

As a U.S. brand, the Super Sport persisted with 1/2" pedals, and their in-house bottom brackets, kickstands and headsets were of elevated durability.
Their frames and forks were also made to heftier-than-normal standards, the better to resist flexing under heavy riders, and to better hold up to riding skills perhaps honed on an earlier generation's balloon-tire bikes.
As such, these might best be called "stepping stone lightweights", perfect for getting into "lightweight" road riding more gradually, or for holding up to years of tough commuter service.

But, since the rims on these were alloy, the balance of the components, such as the crankset and shifters/derailers, could have also been as such, but they left a higher price point in place for just such a slightly-different model.

And the oddball Allvit derailer, especially the Supersport's more vertically-disposed "long-cage" model, was only odd in that nobody else seemed to spec this rather slow-shifting version, while Schwinn simply wanted to offer riders lower gearing, without the complexity of a triple.

Lastly, the Super Sport's frame geometry angles, of the limited number of frame sizes offered, was made exactly the same as the company's premium Paramount road lineup, fully 3 degrees steeper (at 73 degrees) than the electroforged frames offered at the very next lower price levels, and this more than anything else distinguished a SuperSport from a Continental, in spite of the Continental's pounds-heavier wheelset.

Originally Posted by Hudson308 (Post 17021928)

Heh.
Here I thought they were just going after sales to the Chevy guys. :innocent:

Originally Posted by SirRdWarrior (Post 17023936)

Does anyone know if a brooks b72 saddle will fit on a 71 super sport? Its all stock and read somewhere that it might not fit because of stem... was just wondering if someone knew for sure... or if there is a brooks saddle that will definitely fit

Originally Posted by dddd (Post 17023063)

Good marketing strategy, given the times? They did sell a lot of these.

Originally Posted by hudson308 (Post 17024085)

the factory saddle was a brooks b15.

Originally Posted by NormanF (Post 17024571)

Its successor is the well named Super Sport DBX.

The 2006 Schwinn is just where Schwinn would have gone had the company survived to carry on the line.

Its built in the tradition of a sports touring bike. Ignaz Schwinn would be proud of it.

Originally Posted by Metacortex (Post 17024196)

fify

Originally Posted by dddd (Post 17024883)

I'm having trouble imagining Ignaz Schwinn being proud of a bike made entirely in China.

Schwinn was a company that made bikes to higher quality/durability standards than their competitors, yet this modern one looks made about like everybody else's generic China-sourced bike. What's to distinguish it as a Schwinn?

Not that I have anything against modern Schwinns, and when I buy a bike to flip that came from a department store, my first and nearly only choice is a front-suspended Schwinn MTB that is sold by Target.
I've had pretty good luck with those, but for the suspension forks taking in water from the vented top caps, which rusts up the springs inside and makes the fork action sticky. These forks are actually held together by the springs(!), seriously, so must be carefully examined for deep rust-pitting of the sort that might cause one or both of the springs to break.
Considering what these sell for new, I often wonder if I should bother with them, but they seem to ride rather well and the always-medium size fits most adults I'd say.

Originally Posted by NormanF (Post 17025232)

Its a dealer quality bike FYI, made in Taiwan. The dealer Schwinns are as good or even better than the Chicago Schwinns made back in the day. The quality is outstanding and these bikes have nothing in common with the bottom of the barrel Walmart Schwinns. They're in an entirely different league altogether.

Originally Posted by SirRdWarrior (Post 17023936)

Does anyone know if a brooks b72 saddle will fit on a 71 super sport? Its all stock and read somewhere that it might not fit because of stem... was just wondering if someone knew for sure... or if there is a brooks saddle that will definitely fit

Originally Posted by SirRdWarrior (Post 17019646)

Is there any advantage with going to a 700 wheel? Any issues with keeping 27 inch?

Originally Posted by NormanF (Post 17025232)

Its a dealer quality bike FYI, made in Taiwan. The dealer Schwinns are as good or even better than the Chicago Schwinns made back in the day. The quality is outstanding and these bikes have nothing in common with the bottom of the barrel Walmart Schwinns. They're in an entirely different league altogether.