Its raining pretty hard here. There are people running a marathon locally. I would normally be either riding or watching the runners, but since I can't I thought I share with you my Schwinn Collection.
For some reason my last 3 finds have all been US made Schwinns.
The newest edition a 1986 Schwinn Temp. Got it off CL locally. Not a super bargain like some of you but it was 30 min round trip car ride away. The hubs were too loose the BB was too tight and every bearing was dry. Went for a shakedown ride yesterday and it was one smooth ride. Still need a chance for a longer ride.
A few weeks prior saw this only a few miles away on CL.
Needed a lot of attention as it was left out for some time. I stripped it down to the bare frame, parts went into Oxalic bath. Had to sand all the Al parts to remove pitting. Still missing decals but its a good light touring bike. Added fenders since that picture so I will update it later. One unique feature is the Suntour shifter which is labeled Symetric. It auto trims the front derailer (left side) as you shift the rear derailer. Its a great feature. On most bikes, I am always fiddling with both shifters. On this one, once you get front derailer centered it more or less stays trimmed.
Now why didn't that feature survive either in later Suntours or Post Suntour? Some of you may know. Please share.
Prior to the LeTour Luxe I got a 1988 Schwinn Circuit frame/fork off of ebay. I bought it to replace another US made Schwinn (Traveler) that I crashed. Built from the frame up with Suntour GPX components.
This is an excellent high end bike and fits me comfortably.
The rest of the collection I got years ago. The Japanese made 1991 Series 3 Paramount OS was also a 30 min car ride away. It had a worn chain but otherwise didn't need but adjustments.
Finally, back from my college days, I still have this ATB Mirada (Made it Taiwan by Giant for Schwinn)
Its probably worthless, but has nostalgic value. Years ago I discovered that the right rear dropout had a crack in it. I almost tossed the frame, but at the last minute took it to a local welding shop. They deal with airplane parts and I didn't expect them to help with such a job. But the owner was a super nice guy and patched the DO. It has held up for 2-3 years. It looks a lot better with fenders and less aggressive tires. I will update this picture soon. It is the ATB commuter conversion. This is the most bomb proof bike I own.
This is my Schwinn collection. I hope you enjoy looking at them. I like most of you had a blast finding and refurbishing them.
The bigger challenge: How to find room for all of them in the garage?