GlennfordX4 has made a great "modern Collegiate prototype" (see GREEN bike) that puts that horrible joke that comes out of Detroit, to shame. I see that GlennfordX4 has incorporated the CENTERPULLS..(....possibly salvaged from a Continental???...). I'm curious if that is the case or what Centerpulls?? From what I can tell from the photograph, he likely took the CENTERPULLS which were original equipment for a 27 inch(630mmBeadSeatDiameter) wheel so that it works well for the 700C(622mmBeadSeatDiameter) wheel.
Personally, I prefer the Single STIK stem shifter versus the Thumb shifter but when you have incorporated INDEX SHIFTING as Glennford has, then the THUMB SHIFTER is fantastic. He has done a great job on the GREEN Collegiate, and on the ORANGE Varsity too, which also has been converted to CENTERPULLS like the Continental. My belief is that the SCHWINN Twin STIK stem shifter on TEN SPEED and the Single STIK stem shifter on FIVE SPEED are fantastic with friction shifting. From inception with 1967 model year through the Chicago end, there were slight changes, factory claimed as being upgrades/improvements.............(Metacortex is the definitive expert on exactly all the slight variations from '67 to the very early eighties) You can easily tell somewhat between earlier (s) versions from the later (S) version which arrived in mid seventies.... I believe that these SCHWINN Twin STIK (and SingleSTIK for 5 speeds..) are superb for Varsities, etc set-up as Upright Tourist Handlebar bicycles. These are fantastic for basic friction shifting, no matter what derailleurs that you employ. That is another matter that SCHWINN did somewhat keep with slight improvements as the years rolled on. The front derailleurs differ in model number from very late seventies, early-mid seventies, and very early seventies. They are all decent and durable and do the job well. Circa 1975, a slightly improved minimally revised Allvit rear derailleur came on board but it still was inferior to any rear derailleur from Shimano or SUNTOUR. ...........................If you like the opposite direction ten-speed shift as seen on SUNTOUR's Spirt front derailleur and a few other SUNTOUR front derailleur models, you can certainly use those as there are thousands of 25.4mm(one inch) clamp Spirt and other Suntour front derailleurs. The sky is almost the limit as there are numerous past thread-topics here on bikeforums that are extremely detailed as to how to make perfect shims so that one can easily adapt the 28mm sized clampsize front derailleurs.... THIS IS REALLY ONLY SOMETHING THAT YOU MAY NEED TO CONSIDER IF YOU ARE STARTING FROM SCRATCH WITH A BIKE FRAME WITH NOTHING, or A MINIMAL, ALMOST STRIPPED PARTS BIKE. The factory front derailleurs all work fine if in good condition. The rear derailleur (ALLVIT) is what can really be improved upon on the Schwinn ten speeds and pre-1970 five speed Collegiates.
As you can see, with Glennford's GREEN Collegiate example, the one-piece Ashtabula crank with 46T is a durable marvel of simplicity....................the
#64 caged bearings are likely still great and serviceable if routinely cleaned every few years by soaking them in cut in half Coke or Beer cans filled with Formula 87. Formula 87 is unleaded gasoline of 87 octane. Note which side and which "cup" each of the two Number64 caged bearings came out of, and re-install them in the same orientation after soaking cleaning-them and liberally greasing and re-installing.. You can buy new
#64 bearings & "cup" sets with new Nut and lockwasher for Schwinn specific ashtabula one-piece cranks for about $15 total including shipping online.....crystal lake bicycle, wonder lake illinois is just one such supplier..... The original SCHWINN stamped
#64 bearings are superior in build and materials quality if still in near perfect shape. The replacement aftermkt
#64 bearings are great too............it ain't that critical if liberally lubricated, the materials quality though not as durable just means that the aftmkt replacements will only last 25 years versus 65 years for the originals in great shape that are stamped SCHWINN. I buy the NEW
#64 replacement bearrings when needed from Phil C. who owns Chain Reaction Bicycles in Evans. He sells them for $2 each, as I bought a bunch of them during 2019 when I re-did a large number of ancient Schwinns to give away to folks needing transportation. His bike store is one of the few that carries a large supply of
#64 "schwinn" caged bottom bracket bearings as well as the
#66 other makes' one-piece Ashtabula crank bottom bracket bearings. The one-piece "AMERICAN" Ashtabula crank is a marvelous practical, and supremely durable bottom bracket set-up that is oh so simple. Yes, it might weigh more than a Sherman Tank but on any bicycle where overall weight does not matter, the one-piece crank is great. There is. really no reason to change from one piece to something more "upscale & light". Most folks who do change, get rid of the one-piece crank set-up probably just so that no one ever mistakes them for the working homeless folks riding these old bicycles as their only means of everyday transportation. Durability is great. It doesn't matter if you're trying to just keep your head above water, or if you're fortunate enough to have unlimited options.
The KENDA 597mm "schwinn tire" is fantastic and gives the most soft and comfortable ride that you'll find with these old Electroforged Schwinns even with the best 700C(622mm) and 27 (630mm) wheel/tire combinations. The only way to come close to that 597mm COLLEGIATE ride is to go to a much wider than typical, "balloon-tire" type set-up that would still fit between the forks and rear frame. Sure, the allure of having aluminum 700C wheels will certainly give you better braking in wet conditions versus pray&hope you stop with wet steel rims. Other than that and perhaps faster acceleration, and maybe four pounds lighter, you'll give up some of that old Cadillac--large ancient Buick "comfort-ride" to where the upgraded Collegiate will ride more like the SUBURBAN or VARSITY. The Varsity-Suburban has an excellent ride but the Collegiate has a better Rolls-Royce like comfort ride in comparison and the 597mm twenty-six inch wheels/tires are responsible for that. When you upgrade to 700C, you'll find that it feels like a SUBURBAN which has a great ride, but not quite the Rolls--ancient Caddy-large Buick behemoth ride. The KENDA tire is fantastic. Like all ancient variants of the 597mm tire, it is a bear for novices to mount evenly, but if you know what you're doing, it is simple and they ride oh so smooth. Be forewarned that the GUMWALL version is not perfect as to the "visual" of the gumwall outline, and the GUMWALL sidewall will begin to deteriorate after four to five years, where the BLACKWALL version will not deteriorate to such a degree even after a decade or more. Both are great tires that will serve you faithfully for many years and 2000 + miles if your bicycle is not stored outdoors in the elements. The KENDA (597mm) twenty-six inch "Schwinn" tire (37-597) has the tread pattern very much like the factory tire that was fitted to Seventies bike-boom era Collegiates-Breeze-Speedster ...etc, except that the current KENDA tire is better in every way than the new factory tire was back then. Other than the gumwall decoration not being perfectly uniform as the seventies era versions were, other than this, the current KENDA tires (both Gumwall & Blackwalls) are significantly better than the new tires were in the seventies. The KENDA (37-597) tires are incredibly inexpensive at approx $20 each including shipping ONLINE where they are widely available as there is no shortage of them as it still is a very popular tire because so many of these ancient BREEZE, SPEEDSTER, RACER, TRAVELER, COLLEGIATES, etc are still being ridden 45 years to 75 years after coming out of that ancient Chicago factory. Yes, fifty years ago, there were many different makers of these EA-1 597mm 26 inch tires with different tread patterns. I challenge you to show any particular EA-1 , S5, S6 37-597 in this exact size from the past that is worth a damn, compared to this Seventies era SCHWINN tread pattern. I don't think you will find one that is half as good as far as tread pattern design. I have more than fifty years of experience of owning these 26 inch SCHWINN "lightweight" bikes with this 37-597mm 26 x 1 3/8 schwinn size. Don't underestimate the current KENDA tire! It is a great tire. There is no chance of this KENDA 37-597mm tire being discontinued in the next few years as there are probably a million Schwinns still on the road or in sheds/garages/attics only needing tires/tubes/brake pads/grease to be functional. Twenty years from now, it might be a different story as most everybody will be gone that was riding these old Schwinn bikes when they were being sold new during the bike boom of the early seventies and before that in the sixties, fifties, and end of the forties. The ancient Cabers are successfully using these 37-597mm tires on their very ancient Schwinns that have the original wheels which call for a 599mm bead seat diameter tire which is obsolete and no longer produced. Sure, you aren't gonna find any of your local bike shops carrying 597mm tires............none have for forty years other than SCHWINN stores which have been gone for a long long time too.....................basically local bike shops want to sell new bicycles and thus stocking 27 inch tires and the 590mm common 26 x 1 3/8 twenty-six tire IS NOT IN THE EQUATION because availability cuts their own throat by giving the customer the choice of keeping the old-bike versus functional rather than spending the dough on a new bicycle which offers larger register sale and probably greater margins than keeping the old machine on the road. A new bike is a rolling adverising billboard for that bike store........the old bike still rolling on the road is testimony to the staff-technicians at that bike store.....but New sales are critical to remaining an ongoing concern unless located in a market possibly like NYC where there might be huge business in just keeping old bicycles serviced and rolling along.
The issue with obtaining 597mm 26 tires is NOT AN ISSUE!!! You can go online and order them and have them at your doorstep within six days, and you'll find that at least from the suppliers that I have ordered from, that the tires are FRESH and they come Mailed wrapped as opposed to twisted up like a pretzel. Don't knock the 597mm KENDA tires on the original COLLEGIATE wheels because they ride great. I doubt that most folks that express concerns about 597mm tire selection/availability have ever even ridden a COLLEGIATE with fresh new KENDA tires. The ride is more comfortable and plush than what you can get on a SUBURBAN-VARSITY-CONTINENTAL because of the 597mm tires/wheels. That is the reason that the COLLEGIATE, and Breeze/Speedster & others were SO POPULAR BACK IN THE DAY even though they weigh about an 1/8 of a ton!
One thing is certain and that is that the many examples that you see here in this thread are more Collegiate like in a modern sort of way than that overpriced Detroit thing that looks less like a Collegiate than the perhaps better Target/Walmart Wayfarer, etc- Collegiate like Chinese import that sells for about $200. Perhaps Detroit should go back to the drawing board. That has been a statement that has been applicable to automobiles for at least fifty years now.