Hello all,
My girlfriend rides a classic 1973 Schwinn Varsity we restored a few years ago. It was her dad's when he was a kid, so it has quite a bit of sentimental value. We have done plenty of touring on it in Florida, but we are taking a tour that will cross through the Colorado Rockies (Great Parks South, maybe North too if we feel like it). Currently the bike is equipped with an Ashtabula one piece crank, 53/39 chainrings (no ramps/pins) and a new Shimano 5-speed hyperglide 13-26 cassette. In FL this was more than sufficient for most climbing because frankly Florida does not have long steep hills, even loaded. We want to re-equip the drivetrain to handle the mountainous terrain. Now I know that doing this isn't most people's idea of a proper touring bike, but we are willing to throw a little cash at the project.
Another consideration will be braking power. The current chromed steel rims and single pivot Dia compe brakes leave much to be desired. It also has the stock levers were are frankly pieces of junk. Upgrading this is a must.
I've researched a few options for a 3rd chainring:
#1
Get a tripilizer mount for the ashtabula crank. I found a few older threads discussing it, and Sheldon mentions a 'power disk' here (under chainwheels):
http://sheldonbrown.com/opc.html
Thing is, I can't find any. I found some 110mm BCD adapters but this was for SS BMX use.
Get a triple derailleur. Looking for suggestions on this, it has a 25.4 mm seat tube.
#2
Use the truvativ american-to-euro BB adapter
http://www.amazon.com/Truvativ-00-64.../dp/B000VT550K
Add a 3 piece crank setup, add triple derailleur. This will necessitate new pedals or a pedal adapter.
What chainline should I use? 45mm? Less?
Now, as for braking power. I was thinking of using the new Sturmey Archer drum brake hubs and converting the bike to 700c wheels. Front wheel XL-FDD, 90mm drum brake dynamo hub, and rear X-RDC 70mm drum brake cassette hub. This would avoid the need for new long reach brake calipers. I would also throw in some modern road levers to up the power a bit. Thoughts on these hubs for touring? Especially in the mountains. I have doubts about the strength of the rear freehub, I've heard reports of pawl failure.
If not that ... then what? Can't imagine that the stock brakes would be much better on aluminum rims.