15 speed Schwinn Mirada
 

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum, but it is a mid to late 80s bike. (Edit: found the date code. It's a 1986.)
I found this Schwinn in someone's garbage can a year or so ago, and they said I could take it. It seemed mostly original except for having Specialized Nimbus tires.
I didn't do much to it for a while, other than doing a basic tune-up, cleaning up some of the rusted chrome, and adding a water bottle holder.
I was riding it around this summer and I decided it was time to do some serious maintenance (though it still rode fine.) First I rebuilt the rear hub. I discovered that it's got a freewheel and not a casette, and I had to go to the LBS to figure out what the right tool was. (They were very helpful.)
Not too long afterwards I rebuilt the front hub.
Today I took the bike apart fully. I have a full set of Velo Orange colored cables on the way. I bought them mainly for looks, the old cables are spiral wound (including the shifter cables, shifters are non-indexing) with a transparent plastic coating. In photos the Velo Orange cables look pretty similar.
While the bike is apart I am also planning to either rebuild or replace the bottom bracket and coat the inside of the frame with Frame Saver. It looks like there's some rust in it and I want to keep it from becoming a problem, especially as the most convenient place for me to store this bike is in a shed.
I had a tough time getting the non-drive side crank arm off. I had noticed before that the dust cap on that side was crooked. It turns out that's because the threads for the crank puller are messed up. I had a tough time getting that side off. Maybe I should try using this to clean them up:
Amazon.com : Bicycle Research Crank Arm Thread Chaser, TC-8 : Bike Cranksets And Accessories : Sports & Outdoors
Here's a recent photo. I have some from when I first got it, and I'll take more once it's back together with new cables.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psgqb94uqu.jpg

Nice bike! Pretty fork, is it bi-plane? Look like that thread chaser might work. Let us know, I'm interested.

I agree nice early MTB! That isn't a bad tool especially if you plan on working on a lot of bikes. For a one time deal I would check with the LBS that 'pop' the FW off and ask them if they can chase the threads.

Thanks for the compliments! Yes, the fork is bi-plane.
Today I took the bottom bracket out. I need to decide if I will overhaul it with new bearings or replace the whole thing.
Also, the Velo Orange cables arrived today.
Does anyone know of a breakable link that will work on a 5 speed chain? Or, should I just use a chain breaker?

To be honest, on overhauls like this, I've re-used the bearings with great results. Unless, of course, the balls are messed up. The bigger problem is when the bearing races are scored or pitted.

I would remove the chain however you need to (chain breaker is probably the way to go), and replace it with a cheaper 6-7-8-speed chain. I've used a bunch of KMC chains at about $12 for this purpose over the recent years.

I would, and I may still, but the original chain still seems to be in great shape. It's not rusted, and according to my gauge it's not stretched either.
I reused the hub bearings because I didn't know what size the balls were and it's not much work to get into a hub. I was leaning towards replacing the bottom bracket bearings because it's considerably more work to get at. I want a bike that will be low-maintenance for several years.
I'll clean them up and see what they look like.

Edit: I just cleaned the drive side bearing and found a very deep gouge on one of the balls. I'm off to find replacements.

Welcome to Bike Forums and Classic & Vintage. This is a great place to come and learn about your old Schwinn and to become addicted :p to old bikes in general. Not only will we help you through the challenges and opportunities faced with riding a bike with a 5 speed freewheel and friction shifters, we'll encourage you to add to your fleet of C&V bikes. We can be really bad in this way! :innocent:

It does look as if you have everything under control, except maybe, and this is just a suggestion--- the saddle! :eek:

We all have our favorites and we each realize a saddle is a personal choice. But my 2 cents would be--- install a Brooks B17. :D I have one on my '87 Schwinn High Sierra. A honey or brown colored B17 would be the cat's pajamas!

http://www.brooksengland.com/images/...iddle_jc95.jpg

Thanks! I think I already am getting a little addicted. I was at a bike shop recently and I saw an old Schwinn road bike with downtube shifters and a bent wheel. I was interested, but the owner said it was junk and moved me along. Maybe I should see if they still have it.
I just cleaned the drive side bearing and I was almost leaning towards re-using it, most of the balls looked pretty good, but then I found one with a really deep gouge several millimeters long! I'm not sure how that could have happened.
This looks like it should work:
1/4 9-Ball Sugino/Tange Retainer
The crank is a Sugino VP, the balls are 1/4" according to my digital calipers, and the bearing looks exactly like that.
About the saddle: it came with the gel pad. I normally don't like a cushy saddle. It's dark green under the gel pad. I didn't like the saddle being the only dark green thing on the whole bike, but now that I have Velo Orange dark green cables that may actually match I'll see how it looks.

My bottom bracket didn't have a plastic sleeve. Is there any reason I can't add one?

Huzzah for the cat's pyjamas!

No reason at all. There's bunches of modern-y and period "upgrade" parts that would be totally fun on this bike.

That Mirada looks like fun! Does it have a special headbadge (with the model name on the bottom) like my High Sierra?

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...psis2uqxcc.jpg

no

Golden boy, yes it does! I like it. My paint is nowhere near as nice as your chrome though. (Black chrome finish!) My parents had a pair of model year 2000 Schwinn Sierras, and besides being totally different than the old ones the head badge just says "Schwinn Quality."

I just cleaned off the headset bearings. They look pretty good, I'll probably reuse them.
I'm also working on removing rust from a bunch of the parts that I couldn't before, like the headset bearing cups, locknut, derailleurs, etc.

For anyone who's interested, I found a date code on the head badge. It says "836", which I believe means the 83rd day (March 24) of 1986.
Edit: I looked at it again and I missed a 0 before. It's actually "0836", which makes more sense because I read date codes should be 4 digits. Same thing.

Yes, you read the date code correctly. That was actually the day of my sixth wedding anniversary, FWIIW! :p

I was all set to order new bearings for the old bottom bracket and then I took a look at the cups and realized they have a good amount of pitting and gouging.
So, should I use them as-is and not worry about it, replace with new cups (not sure where I'd get them), or just get the Velo Orange sealed cartridge bottom bracket in 124mm length?
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psvrhywfkl.jpg

I ended up reusing the bottom bracket. I just replaced the 9 ball cage with 11 loose balls.
I reassembled the bike yesterday morning. I replaced the cables, rebuilt the bottom bracket, coated the inside of the fork and tubes with Frame Saver, lubed the freewheel with some 5w30 synthetic oil I had laying around, and used coca cola with aluminum foil to clean up some more rust. I've ridden it 20 miles since getting it asssembled and adjusted. It feels great.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psipdv6suu.jpg

Here are a few more photos.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psucd73ybh.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...pshnh7bwod.jpg
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psioancswu.jpg

Very nicely done. Everyone needs to have a vintage '80s steel MTB in their collection.

Today I went for a 22 mile ride with this bike. An organized ride of guys on carbon frame road bikes came by halfway through, and I was actually able to keep up with them, thanks to drafting. No thanks to the fact that I keep spinning out on downhills. I wish this bike was geared a little higher. The bottom chain ring is really low, the top isn't really high enough.
The smallest cog is 14 teeth. The biggest chain ring is 48 teeth, the middle one is 38 teeth. The wheels are 26".
What would be the most cost-effective way to gear it up- new chain rings, move the front derailer up, and install a longer chain for the bigger rings?

I think he's caught ya'll.

N+1 would take care of that. Vintage road...

FYI, even if you did all that rearranging, when you finally ride with the CF crowd, they will ignore you, suggest you get a real bike or spend all their energy making sure they drop you.

I sound pessimistic, I know.

You have a great bike, I have enjoyed the updates. Thank you for saving an old Schwinn. I have several like yours.

I have an Orbea Marmaloda for trying to "hang with the carbon crowd," though it's broken right now (a long story that inspired my username) and this is my only bike for a few more weeks. They were cool about it, either they didn't try to drop me or they couldn't. I'm pretty sure it's the former. And I would love to have an old steel road bike, though it's hard to justify it when I have the Orbea. Someday.
I don't want to dump a ton of money into fixing what isn't broken, especially since I'm really enjoying this bike as it is. Maybe I'll shop around for a used 52/36 or some triple.
I know it's not really period correct (plus, there's nothing wrong with my crank- I'd be happy to just put new rings on it), but for $35 this is tempting:
http://www.bikewagon.com/fsa-tempo-t...FVOQHwod6IUGcg

I have a question. I was thinking about replacing the brake pads. They have plenty of material left but I'm pretty sure they're original. The rubber must have broken down by now. The braking power isn't great. I'm sure part of the problem is that the rear pads have a little too much toe in, but I can't seem to get them adjusted any better. But the bike does stop safely.
So, should I leave well enough alone or get new pads? If I do I'm thinking about these.
VO Adjustable Cantilever Shoes w/ VO Squeal Free Pads

Generally on mtn bikes the chain stays kicked out to clear the tire so there may not be clearance for a 52 tooth chainwheel.

That doesn't appear to be a biplane fork.