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Old 10-18-12, 03:08 PM
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zanq
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Outside of Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 194

Bikes: Tumbleweed Prospector 29+, 1991 Schwinn High Plains resto-mod, 1998 Schwinn Homegrown resto-mod

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I am in the process of rebuilding of an old Schwinn mountain frame into a 26 inch light touring bike and can share some experiences. I've had some frustrations along the way. What kind of touring is she planning to do? If she plans to pack heavy and be gone for long periods, a new bike designed for the job may be in order.

I do not know much about Clubman's but based on the age of the bike, I would not throw too much money at it. From your pictures, it looks like you still need to sort out wheels and shifting. My next step would be to measure the spacing of the rear drop-outs (where the rear hub slides into the frame). Measure inside-edge to inside-edge:

125 mm spacing


Here is a good reference - link.

Once you know the rear spacing, you will know how many speeds the drivetrain can be which dictates everything else (derailleurs, shifters, etc.). Rather than look at online retailers, your best bet to find the parts you need at cheap prices may be ebay. From what I can tell from the images, the frame only has 1 set of braze-on's for a rack or fenders in the rear, 1 (maybe 2) set of braze-on's on the front fork, the frame looks to take standard road wheels and the brakes are a standard road design. The clearance on the brakes may only allow narrow tires; not great for touring. Again, it would depend on what she wants to do.

As for my touring frame build, the bike started life as a 7 speed mountain bike with unusual 126mm rear spacing. I could force a modern road hub in the frame (130mm) but it wasn't pretty and not correct. The original hubs and rims failed after years of abuse and I couldn't find a prebuilt 26" wheelset with a 126mm hub. Modern hubs in that dimension were too expensive so I bought used, vintage road hubs and built a custom wheelset myself. I was hoping to run 8 speeds but I'm limited to 7 speeds and probably bar-end friction shifters.

So measure the rear spacing and that will start forming a picture of what is possible.

Cheers!

Last edited by zanq; 10-18-12 at 03:17 PM.
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