Yes, Schwinn outsourced to Japan on some models, from around '74, starting with the Le Tour (although some le tours were also made later in Chicago for a year or two, and then in Greenville, Mississippi later still), thru maybe the early nineties. The Japanese sources were Panasonic mostly, and Bridgestone some. Your Chicago headbadge means only that Schwinn's corporate headquarters were in Chicago at the time your bike was made, and that was the case thru the early nineties, I believe. They put "Chicago" badges on some models long after the Chicago manufacturing plant shut down, in late '83. Another USA plant, in Greenville, Missisippi, operated from '81 thru '91. During this time, various Schwinns were also made in Japan, China (China Bicycle), and Taiwan (Giant)..............I think what you'll probably find on your Schwinn in regard to the headset is that it will have an odd sized quill stem diameter, and a matching odd size on the inside diamter of the steerer tube. The dimension will probably be 21.15mm (usually marked .833" on the stem), instead of the more common 22.2mm used on 1" threaded fork assemblies. The headset cups, the threads on the fork, etc., will all be ISO, but the stem, inside diameter of the steerer, and the inside diameter of the top locking nut on the headset assembly will be .833". I've taken headsets off of Schwinns and used them on other bikes with 1" threaded forks, but I've had to sand out the inside diameter of the locking nut to allow the 22.2mm quill stem to slide through and down into the steerer. Hope this makes sense-
Last edited by well biked; 07-07-06 at 11:50 AM.