TalkNormal

Hi all, I have a very dumb, yet somewhat specific question (hence wasn't able to turn up much via search): My girlfriend has an old 1983 raleigh olympian that's been converted to a single speed and since it doesn't quite fit her, I was thinking of swapping over as many of the parts as I could to a slightly smaller 1987 Schwinn tempo frame (which has the added advantages of being a nicer frame and, hopefully, a good learning experience for me). However, I wanted to make sure I was aware of all the possible compatibility problems before I attempted to embark on such a thing, because this is supposed to be a budget bike and if I need to buy a ton of extra stuff then I probably don't want to do it.

I'm aware the frames are designed for different size wheels and seat posts -- this I have covered already from my spare parts collection. I also have a headset for the Schwinn already. However I have no idea what, if any, problems I'll run into if I try to swap the stem and bottom bracket from the raleigh onto the schwinn. I've consulted the catalogs for their respective years without much luck, and just generally don't know what to expect since I'm very much a beginner at this kind of thing and don't even know what the possible compatibility issues are that I should be aware of. Is there anything else I don't know about that I should know? Is this a futile endeavor from the outset??

OK thanks!

ultraman6970

If both bikes are road, u should not have problems at all. The Olympian is a road bike right? U mention diferent wheel size? Looked for pictures and i found an olympyan that looks like a mtb frame and another one that is a road bike.

I would not move bb neither the headset, thats asking for problems.

TalkNormal

thanks! i think i can deal with getting a new bottom bracket, but i'm glad to have it confirmed in advance that the stem shouldn't be a problem (assuming i can ever get the damn thing out of its current frame). and ya the olympian is a road bike -- it's got 27" wheels but the tempo takes 700c... but I was planning on using my own old SS wheelset on this frame, so shouldn't be a problem (maybe i will need a longer axle tho idk...). anyway thanks again!

CollarBones

First question with all conversions: will the drop outs work?

TalkNormal

ya they're horizontal if that's what you mean, but it's just a single speed (freewheel) conversion anyway.

dedhed

Most items shouldn't be a big deal. I did a similiar swap - '86 Olympian mixte (which was a very nice frame, triple butted cro-moly) to a '87 Schwinn Sprint. I believe the BB axle was even identical, but going SS you may want to check your chainline. You may also have a problem with brake reach on the 700's.

Here is the one I did. #1
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...entries-are-in