Originally Posted by
Nooner
I was looking for a bike I can prepare for Eroica California in April, and came across this Schwinn. I found it at a yard sale and picked it up for $25.
Except for lighter alloy wheels and perhaps climbing gears I want to keep it as original as possible.
A good cleaning and new bearings will be first.
What year is this Le Tour?
The head badge is stamped 1131
I'm thinking a Japanese made 1981?
Nooner, Try not to take some of these negative posts to heart. Your Le Tour is certainly a perfect decent ride for Eroica. If your intention is to get it ready and ride it cheaply, it would be great for that. If, on the other hand you want to change a bunch of stuff, and really customize it, I would advise looking around for something a bit lighter. This Le Tour, even with lighter alloy wheels will probably be around 30 lbs. A higher spec race bike will probably be in the 23-25 lbs range. With some looking, you could probably find a higher spec bike that doesn't need the wheels upgraded, for less than a new wheelset for this bike. If you do stick with this one, I would certainly swap out the wheels. From what I understand, there are a number of pretty sketchy dirt descents. I wouldn't want to try that on chromed rims.
As for the age, it looks to be a 1981, so 1020 Hi-Ten frame and fork, and Shimano Altus derailleurs / shifters. On the plus side, the Sugino Maxy crank is 110BCD, so you could toss a 34T small chainring on there to help tame the climbs.