Dostoy

Hello all,

So, I've noticed this neglected Schwinn Super Sport in the basement of my apartment building. It's sort of a mint-ish green color. There is a sticker above the BB that says Tenax Columbus. The components seem to all be Shimano 600. Is this thing worth considering as a project bike?

luker

sure! what's your goal? A minty restoration is probably a little silly, but the bike was a good one for riding. Tenax is a seamed version of columbus tubing, the bottom of the columbus barrel, but as someone said a few weeks ago, the columbus barrel isn't very deep, so its good stuff. Sneak a picture and someone can guess what its worth for you.

el twe

I have a '72 Super Sport in that same (rare) green. Opaque Green it was called. Mine has all Schwinn Approved parts, and the tubing is generic CrMo. Rides like a dream (only a little bumpier). It'd be great to throw a few bones into it and make it a nice ridable bike again. And yes, pics.

alanbikehouston

It is likely that this bike was made between 1986 and 1989. The Schwinns with Columbus frames and Shimano 600 are superb bikes, after being cleaned up and tuned. The best were the 88-89 models with SLR brakes...the best combination of modulation, feel, and stopping power I've used. The shifters and gear changers work quickly and precisely in the index mode, and in the "friction" mode, they will work with any cassette or freewheel...five speed, six speed, seven speed, Shimano, Campy, Sun Tour...they all will work well.

Tenex tubing was used extensively on Schwinn bikes during that era. According to Columbus, it was identical to the most expensive Columbus tubing in those same gauges, except it was delivered to the frame maker without a final "polishing" of the tubing. So, the frame maker had to do his own final finishing while preparing the bike for painting.

The only "flaw" in my own Super Sport from that era is a bit of light surface corrosion near the bottom bracket. It appears that the the metal in that area was not well prepped for painting after the bottom bracket was brazed. I noticed the identical thing on a Super Sport pictured on E-Bay. The surface corrosion is not a real problem, but it is unusual to see a "finish flaw" on a Asian-made Schwinn: both their Panasonic and Bridgestone partners were known to be rather fussy about finishing and painting.

Point

From my recollections (and the Schwinn Heritage board), the Tenax tubing used by Schwinn in the mid-late 80's was essentially SP guage main tubes without the surface finish, as alanbikehouston said. The stays and fork were Tange. So these frames weren't the bottom of the barrel steel.

The few I've ridden (Supersports, Tempos, LeTours) with the Tenax seem to be solid frames, and tend to have some nice details like bottle cage reinforcements, stainless(?) dropout faces, etc. I tend to keep my eye out for them since one can find them at garage sales and thrift shops for next to nothing.

Dostoy

Thanks for all the info gentlemen...

What I'd like to do is fix this thing up for my girlfriend. I'm not really looking to undertake a complete restoration at this point, but I'd like to see this bike back on the road where it belongs.

I guess the next question is an ethical one: How long does a bike need to sit with flat tires and a busted, rusty chain before one can just snatch it up under the assumption of abandonment?

peterbarson

Thats what I would like to know, I live in suburban Chicago and see loads of bikes at the train stations that are obviosly abandoned. But still have useble parts, at what point do you bring a bolt cutter to the rescue of an abused bike, and make some room at the train bike rack?

austex

So, how many apartments in your building that you could knock on doors and just ask...?

Dostoy

I think there's at least 100+ apartments in this complex. That's a lot of door knocking.

peterbarson

I have seen the police put tickets on bike telling the owner that if it's not moved in a week they will cut the lock and remove the bike, donating it to charity. could you try something like that? "Dear Bike owner, I would love to purchase this lovely peice of ...... if you are interested contact me in apt #.......," mabye put a sign or 2 near the central mail boxs?. With a sign you might make contact with other people who want to unload old rides.