Scooper

That is very strange. My 1972 24" chrome P15-9 weighed exactly 26.36 pounds (11.96 kg) as shown with stainless steel fenders. The scale used was the "Ultimate Support" Alpine Digital Scale which has proven to be quite accurate.

abellanti

I agree...my all original, 1970 chrome P15 weighs a little over 25 lbs...and that's with fairly heavy tires.

crank_addict

^Given the saddle, mudguards to bar end shifters, thats impressive even to todays rigs.

Enjoyable thread and insight.

Scooper

Yes; mine are also heavy. They're Continental Ultra Gatorskins on mine with thorn resistant inner tubes.

jamesdak 

Yep, been thinking that too. I know from experience that some wheels can really hold you back. My Campione was like that with it's stock wheels when I first got it. Dried grease in bearing from years of sitting. The 600 hubs on the Paramount look great inside with fresh grease and feel good. But the rear wheel does feel heavy. And even though the drivetrain looks clean I should degrease and relube it all. I'm not sure of the history. But speed aside, this Paramount rides harsh compared to most everything I have which was the real point I was trying to make. Now if I had smooth pavement to ride on this might not matter but no such luck, LOL!

HTupolev

If by "rides harsh" you're referring to road buzz, that's something that should be fixable by tire configuration. Whats your weight, and what PSI are you running your different tires at?

Those particular Rubinos have pretty stiff sidewalls, so at the same PSI it's likely that they'd ride harsher than a GP4000SII.

Cute Boy Horse

Raleigh belongs to Accell N.V out of the Netherlands. They brought back the Chopper for kids, but other than that there's no continuity in design, naming schemes etc. Those who work for (more like on) Raleigh are mostly unaware of the heritage beyond that it's an old English bike brand.

What I do like though is that they bought and kept whatever department deals with accessories and spare parts. It's created this weird situation where nobody working for faux-raleigh knows what a 26" x 1 3/8 tyre is for, but they can sure as hell sell you a new one.

crank_addict

to to

Cute Boy Horse

captain kangaroo looks like he's not allowed to live near schools.

CliffordK

Tubular Rims

I did pick up a Duchess bike of that era that I was going to use for a project.
Extra small frame tubing that I think was spot welded together. Completely unsuitable for anything real.

So... at least Schwinns were SOLID.

jamesdak 

Well yeah, hence why I said I need to swap the tires. Sometimes you just can't get there though if the frame is too stiff and won't fit the tires you need and such. Like both CF bikes I sold that beat me up on our roads. The front fork clearance is close to maxed with the Rubino tire so hopefully a Conti will fit.

Bandera

Blame it on the requirements of American criterium racing being met by Schwinn designers.
Shorter wheelbase than the Classic P-13 , steeper frame angles and OS tubing make for a stiff response machine well suited to the high speed big watt efforts of intense shoulder to shoulder racing.

Pleasant ride quality on rough surfaces?
Maybe not so much if not riding on quality tubulars.

Schwinn catalogs, 1991 - 2000 (39 of 577)

noglider 

Aha, interesting. I had read the wikipedia page about Raleigh but didn't notice that Pon (is that another name for Accell?) had acquired it.

Cute Boy Horse

No, that's a different company, that doesn't own Raleigh they just licence the name for the German market.

That's what the Wikipedia page you read says.

jamesdak 

Yeah, right now I'm viewing this like my Trek 560 Pro Series. A great bike but not my cup of tea. I'm actually thinking of selling the Trek locally but never the Schwinn. It's beautiful and I think with the right saddle, wheels and Tires I can get it to work for me. Today I took out the Campione which rode well.

Bandera

Machines of the same generation & requirements: Criterium racing.
With no pave' or strada bianca gravel roads we racers of the era demanded a design that worked better for our American form of road racing with stiff sprint worthy frame-sets and quick precise handling: The domestic mfgs responded with suitable designs "back when".

Thanks Schwinn, Trek and Cannondale for giving us uniquely American affordable designs suited to our style of racing!

-Bandera

jamesdak 

NASCAR vs Le Mans?

Bandera

4 wheel motor sports and cycle racing have no useful comparisons that I can see that you reference.
There are/were No 24 hour road endurance events and racing on a closed oval was what the Velodrome was dedicated to with a time honored series of events on FG machines.

A bicycle road racing machine designed for the rough pave' and high altitude pass gravel roads of European racing was perhaps not optimal for the type of competition American club racers experienced in the '70's/80's. Uniquely American designs led by RRB and other domestic custom builders led to production machines suitable to our short sharp races "back when".

A frame-set designed for taking corners at full-chat w/o pedal strike, holding the line and just going where the rider is looking in a full-on sprint for the line is a good thing to have in my opinion, whether then or now.

Schwinn made lot's of them.

-Bandera

jamesdak 

LOL, well I thought it was funny. The crits I see around here are just one lap after another and after another, you know like NASCAR. And then LeMans is just one form of European road racing.

Bandera

Try lining up and pinning on a number to experience just how "one lap after another" is quite unique at pace inside the pack of a Criterium bicycle race.
There are no adequate analogies to the actual experience and standing around watching a race is not the same thing as being in it, as if that needed saying.

-Bandera

Wileyone 

And Pee Wee for the Win.

Attachment 556278

jamesdak 

Why, not my type of riding. I ride solo 99% of the time and just enjoy myself. To be at the mercy of a bunch of other riders has no attraction to me at all, LOL! They might wreck me and put a scratch on my pretty bike. What fun is there in that????!!!

When I do "pin on a number" it's usually for a 100 miler over the roads, hill and dale and all that stuff.
Over 7,800 miles last year and maybe 10 of those with another rider drafting or talking. Just the way I roll!

jamesdak 

And now we know the real answer to this thread, isn't Pee Wee riding a Schwinn? It's all his fault!!

WolfRyder

Just go easy on the double nickle clips down the big hill twists and turns. I think you have been listening to that Sammy Hagar song too much. Your not reckless and 22 anymore, salude

jamesdak 

Lol, I'm just waiting for the mountain snows to clear so I can this bikes stiffness to use on a climb and a FAST descent. :-)