Here is my latest urban assault vehicle .
Schwinn Sierra, mostly original equipment including 14- 30 Shimano freewheel, front and rear derailleurs, crank, wheels, brakes, stem and seat post.
Parts I replaced/upgraded
Chain, pedals, tires (2 x 26 Bontrager’s) , bars, brake levers, grips, cables and covers, bottle cage, saddle. (I used some Serfas 2x26 tires on another vintage mtn bike and think they have the look too.)
The bike was dusty , dirty and disheveled when I grabbed it from the diserted Bike Exchange last week .
Stripping it of its old rags and giving it a thorough cleaning revealed frame paint in pretty good
Condition. Some touch up with red Rustoleum Gloss Cherry (248568) from one of my spray cans matched the original solid color perfectly . With all the bright bits cleaned and polished she looks brand new. I couldn’t help gilding the lily a bit and added the red highlights to the fluted seat post.
I can’t think of a better steed for some urban techie wanting a cool vintage ride from his apartment down the street to his job at Google or Facebook.
These are the fattest tires I have put on a bike yet. We don’t usually get them this big at the Bike Exchange. I do have a set of 2.125 x 26 I stole off a huffy cruiser the other day. I am waiting for the perfect frame to put them on.
One kind of quirky bit of kit you will see are the Shimano shifters. I bought a couple sets a year ago because they were cheap . They are unique in the way they shift. Index shifting from high to low gear is by the shift lever. When you push the button the derailleur drops back down to high gear all at once. I guess they figure once you get to the top of the hill you automatically want to be in high.
They take a little getting used to but are kind of neat.
