MikeinBuffalo

Every week or so I volunteer at a small charity group that collects donations and send them to Nicaragua for the poor there. Recently, I noticed a very nice bike in a pile of other crappy ones (huffys, mongooses, etc). It stayed there for a couple weeks before I decided that I didn't want to see it there anymore. I talked to the woman who runs the charity and she let me have it with no questions asked (apparently we don't send many bikes anymore due to shipping costs, so it was gonna sit and rot for a while).

So, I am now the proud owner of a 1978 Schwinn Le Tour III. I know its not exactly the fanciest of vintage bikes, but it was in wonderful shape! The original tires hold all the air (ill probably replace them though), it shifts gloriously, and rides nice too. I gave it a good scrubbing and afterwards washed some of the parts with vinegar and a light rub with a billo pad to remove some surface rust. This week I will have the rear brake cable replaced and the whole thing greased up. I think I will use it as my "fun bike" for just cruising around the block or bike trail, while my hybrid stays my main bike for long hauls.

Without further ado-



Serial number




Shining in the sun



My hybrid (Giant Escape) and the Schwinn



head badge. I got the date from a thread I found here- 0338 means 33rd day of 1978 right?



I'm happy I saved this bike, even though its not the fanciest thing out there. Once I get it greased, a new cable, and a new seat, I think I will have some fun with it.

tarwheel 

Love the color

Drillium Dude 

Nice! Those were hot in my neck of the woods when I was in the market for my first 10-speed. Nice save. Pretty big, too (it seemed every one I saw bitd was big); your size?

Should be a fun bike; enjoy!

DD

The Golden Boy 

@Metacortex should be able to tell you everything you wanted to know about the LeTourIII!

Congratulations!

T-Mar

That's my understanding but it's in conflict with the dropout numbers, which appears to be a Matsu****a (i.e. Panasonic) format indicating April 1978.

gugie 

Matsu@$)!a, my favorite brand! Gotta love those auto-censors!

Hey, did you hear that Dick Van **** sang at a Denny's recently?

jonwvara 

You beat me to it. That auto-censor is a work of genius.

MikeinBuffalo

wow you'd think the censor would be the other way around there!

Kdogbikes

Nice save,mike. Cleaned up really nice. And the reflectors are there. Great color. Enjoy!

jade408

That looks like my Dad's 10 speed from when I was a kid.

Doohickie

That's just freakin' gorgeous.

Jeff Wills

Sweet Mother of Elvis! That's one of my grail bikes.

OK, OK... one of them. I had a 25" Le Tour III back then... my first 10-speed, and the first bike that I wasn't to big to ride. (I grew fast in my teens.)

It looks to be 100% stock, down to the wheel reflectors.

I've been looking for one for a while, just to complete a collection of bikes from my misspent youth. If you ever tire of it, I'll fly to Buffalo to take it off your hands.

qcpmsame 

Good job on this save, I always liked Schwinns in that colouway. Looks like your newest acquisition won't need a whole lot of work to be nearly new appearing, and running as well.

Bill

John E

I am glad it went to someone who appreciates it and apparently is tall enough to ride it.

ratfink76

I found one that was not in such good condition so converted it to Shimano STI with some beefy 38mm tires.. here's the before and after:





It rode like a tank (not heavy wise, but strength wise... it felt very well built and took curbs and lite off road like nothing!)

jefnvk

I'm still looking for an orange in my size (23") to match mine:



Really gotta get a better pic of it one of these days! I have "better" bikes, but nothing that gets ridden as regularly as this one, I love it!

Mine was the 81st day of 78.

Darth Lefty 

They were sold in 2-inch (not 2-cm!) increments, so you got the biggest one you could stand over, and if that was too big, the rando bars and turkey levers and stem shifters brought the controls back to your hands.

The catalog for this year also shows a monster 27" size. I bet they sold nearly twelve of those. I'd go googling for a photo but since they all have 27" tires I don't know how successful it would be.

MikeinBuffalo

Shes a monster all right. I'm 5' 8'' and she fits nicely with the seat all the way down. Reminds me of an old Cadillac or chevy- big and heavy.

Thanks for all the kind words, I'll post another picture when I get a new seat and a tune up.

Jeff Wills

Schwinn offered a number of models in 27" frames. I recall that we sold a couple during tenure in the local Schwinn shop. They went to people taller than me- I'm 6-foot-4.

There's a 27" frame Voyageur for sale near Portland: Vintage Schwinn Voyager 11.8 12 Speed Road Bike/Very large Frame

MikeinBuffalo

I cant imagine a 27 inch model- this one is a 25 inch and just barely fits me!

MikeinBuffalo

interesting question- how do you read that serial number? Its a format I'm not familiar with.

Metacortex

It would appear that either the dropout or headbadge stamp is incorrect. For comparison I have a '78 Le Tour III and it has a dropout stamped D8xxxxx (April '78) and an 1158 badge stamp (Tues. April 25th '78), which jive and seem perfectly legit. On mine note how the month letter precedes the year digit, which is backwards from how it appears on the OPs bike.

Here is another example where the frame (8Bxxxxx = Feb. '78) and badge (3407 = Tue. Dec. 6th, 1977) don't seem to add up, and it also has the year digit first in the dropout stamp just like on the OPs bike: Budget Bicycle Center - 1978 Schwinn Le Tour III Road Bicycle 22"

I know that Schwinn stamped dropouts and headtubes with serial numbers before they were even welded or brazed to the frames (not sure if Panasonic did that as well), and there is little doubt that the badges were also stamped before being screwed or riveted on the bikes, so either could have been held in inventory before actually being used. I would have thought that the badge stamp would be the most trustworthy but here are two examples with dropout stamps apparently *later* than badge stamps. Of course badges can be replaced but these examples are riveted on and I doubt they had ever been replaced in the past.

EDIT: Here is another example of a Japanese Le Tour badge post-dating the dropout: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ur-ii-age.html

francophile 

Either way, what an awesome color. But at 5'8", that thing looks huuuuuuuuge for you.

thumpism 

This one looks like a 27" frame.

T-Mar

It's well known that Schwinn sourced bicycles through both Bridgestone and M-a-t-s-u-s-h-i-t-a. The myxxxxx is the Bridgestone format, while ymxxxxxx is the M-a-t-s-u-s-h-i-t-a format. Of course, there is always the possibility that the serial number operator mixed up his stamps but that seems far more remote than two sources, especially when the format variance matches that of two confirmed sources.

I suspect the badges were pre-stamped prior to application. It's possible that Schwinn may have supplied the badges to the contractor. Badges could pre or post date the serial numbers depending on the coordination between Schwinn and the contractor, transoceanic shipping times, lot sizes, etc.