Duane Behrens

Waiting on parts for the Nishiki rebuild. Bored, I pulled the next old beater out of the corner. A Schwinn this time. "World Sport." Man was selling 2 Schwinn road bikes for $150, take it or leave it. I took it. One is an older (seventies?) "Olympic." Haven't really looked at it yet except to lift it. Wow - compared to the newer World Sport, it's an anchor.

Anyway. A bit of research indicates the World Sport is a 1988 model. Much better running condition than the Nishiki was. The tires actually held air! I'll replace them anyway, but at least I can get in an assessment ride. The bike is dirty with some rust spots, but after I got the chain back on it did seem to pedal, even shifted.

One thing. At speed the rear wheel sets into a slow wobble, evidenced by the freewheel sprocket cluster undulating up and down slowly. I'm not sure if the rear wheel is out of true or if there's a problem with the rear axle. (There's no apparent noise.) Well. I'll get it all apart and try to figure that out.

The paint is pretty good, a couple of pencil-eraser-sized rust spots. I'll have to learn how to match touch up paint, 'cause I don't want to ruin the blue-to-silver paint job by having it repainted. . . . . might be able to clean this one up for a bit less money than the Nishiki.

This is a 54 cm version, a bit more my size:

Jax Rhapsody

If the cassette is wobbling around- axle is bent.

Crescent Cycle

I'm guessing that it is a freewheel. In which case I really don't see how a bent axle could cause the gears to wobble, since the axle doesn't spin. The threads on the hub are probably off center or at an angle. I don't think there's any fix, and I don't think it is a big problem.

MEversbergII

I've noticed a wobble on at least one of my bikes, didn't think that was unusual.

M.

loimpact

Ya, just think of it as being like the pro bikes w/ their unround crank rings!

But seriously, thanks for putting this stuff up. I love reading up on it. It's like watching HGTV, except it's like......errrr......B(ike) & G(arage) TV.......or something like that.

fietsbob

There is not really perfection in Freewheels , before Index shifting it was good enough like that ..

slight Planar wobble is Normal

Kopsis

It's likely just "normal", but note that damaged or poorly adjusted drive side hub bearings/races could be contributing to the wobble.

HillRider

Assuming it is a freewheel hub, the axle might be broken. Take off the rear wheel and check as this was a common failure.

cny-bikeman

It's a freewheel, not cassette

The freewheel is attached to the hub, not the rim, so movement of the freewheel has nothing to do with the rim.

A bent axle is also not the cause of freewheel wobble. That does not cause the hub shell to rotate differently.

Freewheel wobble is normal and common - in rare cases it may affect shifting, but it almost always can be ignored.

The only things that can cause excessive wobble in time with wheel rotation are poor alignment of the machining for the freewheel threads, or a hub flange on a three-piece steel hub that is crooked or has broken free.

RaleighSport

As has been said, freewheel so probably not bent axle (at least the odds are very very low), some play in the freewheel is normal however I have encountered a freewheel where the back cogs and spacers were replaced with some kind of cordage.. needless to say it wobbled a lot and it was almost impossible to stay on a particular gear, I'd check for something odd like that if it's actually a lot of play.. when I was new to this game the standard play in freewheels bugged me too.

Darth Lefty 

It does seem technologically offensive, doesn't it?

bikeman715

Wobbling freewheel is normal . If it brother you too much you can always open up the freewheel by removing the cone clockwise and removing one or two of the spacer inside the freewheel ,then put the cone back on .

Paramount1973 

Not really a crap bike with 4130 double-butted main tubes and forged dropouts. These make good riders and commuters.

Wilfred Laurier

that is one sweet bike
it also looks a little smaller than the size you say
i would bet 52
but i could be wrong


but very nice looking bike
if i were 11 inches shorter i would find out where you live
and break into your house to steal it

you got lucky
this time

the nail polish aisle of your local giant pharmacy or x mart is your friend
if you cant find a close match to the paint there
then you arent looking very hard

Duane Behrens

Didn't you also think I'd purchased a braised-on FD for the Nishiki? :-)

Duane Behrens

The title alludes to the first few replies I received after buying a basket Nishiki. "It's a crap bike." "Don't spend any money on it." Etc. Well. I spent about $300 on it all told. Learned a lot, had fun, got me looking for another crap bike. Here's the Nishiki now:

Duane Behrens

. . . vs. its condition when I bought it:

bikeman715

Duane , your Attachment 362745 doesn't work .

Duane Behrens

Bummer. Mmmph: