koganator

Hey guys,

I had a question for those of you in the know—so I have this frame and fork that fell into my possession and nothing else. Building it up would be optimal and I was thinking about turning it into a functional, upright bicycle. Now I have no bike expertise and no measuring tools; all I want is to assemble the parts I need and take it to a bike store to have it assembled.

Do any of you know what sizes I need for the:

Headset:
Crankset
Hubs + wheels:

Would be a big help if you know.

Best regards,
Koganator

Chris Chicago

You should post a picture or two of the frame fork. Do you know he brand or model?

Jeff Wills

He notes it's a Schwinn. The model will help determine wheel size, but a couple models of Schwinn bikes used 24" wheels on very small frames and 27" wheels on larger frames.

My two cents: most Schwinn bikes of that era used similar or identical size parts interchangeably. These parts are harder to find now since standards have changed. If you have your heart set on this particular frame, your easiest/cheapest route is finding a complete similar Schwinn bike from the '70's and strip it for parts. Buying new or NOS parts is going to be very difficult and expensive.

FWIW: I am in the process of restoring a 1976 Schwinn Superior. I bought the frame/forke without wheels, and I stripped the rest of the parts. I'm in the process of building it back up, but I have a 30-year accumulation of bike parts and experience in making them work. No way can I justify this economically- it's a labor of love and fun.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ohpv/s...57642470085394

koganator

That's unfortunate... posting a link of the frame won't help, it's completely unmarked and just says schwinn.

Maybe I'll sell it on craigslist then. I didn't think it would be that complicated to find parts for.

oddjob2

Some of the foremost Schwinn experts on this planet can ID almost any Schwinn with decent photos.

koganator

Alright, then I'll give it a go.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_B...ew?usp=sharing

cb400bill

daf1009

Might take a few close up pictures as well...

pastorbobnlnh 

Looks to me to be a 5 Speed Suburban, Collegiate, or Speedster. All three came in Campus Green in '72. Notice the eyelets above the bottom bracket and on the right chain stay near the dropout. Those are for a chain guard.

Do you have the fork? A tubular fork would make it a Suburban and 27" wheels. A flat bladed fork would make it a Collegiate or Speedster and 26" (597mm) wheels.

EDIT:

Just noticed one more clue. The cable wheel on the top tube near the seat tube for a Sturmey Archer AW IG hub. You have a Speedster.

reshp1

Definitely a speedster, I'm looking at mine right now and its a spot on match. The bad news is scwhinns used non standard parts all over. Good news is the bikes are very plentiful and so are parts if you know what you need.

More info and upgrade components here:

Parts for older American Bicycles

koganator

Damn Pastorbob... you are good.
And thanks for the link reshp1.
If they're 26" does that mean I can use any mountain bike wheels or no?

That link is kind of overwhelming, which parts could I order for the speedster?

pastorbobnlnh 

You are welcome.

The short answer is no, most likely not, unless you also use a creative brake work around. As mentioned earlier, a Speedster took the 597mm diameter rims, or Schwinn's version of 26" wheels. Most of the English 3 speeds used 590mm as their 26" wheel. And the MTB version of the 26" wheel is 559mm!

Believe it or not, there are two more 26" sizes in different mm diameters.

Your best bet, since you need so many parts, and since you are dealing with Schwinn sizes, is to be on the lookout for a Schwinn to take parts from. Your best bets will be Travelers from the '60s (not mid '70s and newer), Racers, Speedsters or women Breezes, and Collegiates (male or female) from the 1960s until 1979. Women's Schwinns usually sell for a lot less on Craigs List.

For instance this Schwinn Racer on NH CL should work: https://nh.craigslist.org/bik/5141198822.html

Your frame basically needs everything, so this is an overwhelming project, especially, if you have no or only limited experience. Finding a complete bike of this vintage, cleaning and servicing it, locating a few replacement parts, might be a better "first" project. You can always save this frame for later.

In Classic and Vintage, you just can't have one!

reshp1

I think your best bet is to find your local bike flipper and call them and let them know what you're looking for. If you're not attached to this particular frame, you could even trade it toward a complete bike.

You can find bike flippers on craigslist, they're the ones with dozens of listings and when you show up they have a garage literally full of old bikes and bike parts.

Or do like pastorbob says and just put the frame aside for now.

Jeff Wills

I agree 10¹°° %. That frame & fork would be an overwhelming project for me, and I could put that bike together blindfold.

Kogan, hang the frame on your wall as "art" and start over with a complete bike.

Lascauxcaveman 

Old, used, complete bikes are cheap; bicycle parts are expensive.

Never, ever let someone give you a bare frame to build up with purchased parts unless you want to spend way more that the bike will be worth when you are done.

carbomb

WOW!!! This forum never ceases to amaze me.

I know nothing of Schwinns but I'll parrot the sentiment that you're far better off starting with a complete bike.
Real nice 60s Schwinn speedster all original
Doing this part by part I imagine you'll spend half as much as the bike listed here on shipping alone if you do eBay.