oglala_1927

Just picked up his and hers collegiate schwinns. Which is more better!!!! a collegiate or a suburban. I have no experience with schwinns. Could I part out the suburban and use the 5 speed set up on the collegiate or something more exciting like a 10 or 12 speed. Looking for any ideas. Thanks , oglala

mike

I never owned a suburban, so it is difficult to say BUT, the Collegiate is a nice machine. It is truly a sweet ride and it is a good looking machine.

It has a lot of chrome which gives it a sharp look.

I sold a Collegiate a couple of years ago for $125.00 which I thought was a good price at the time.

Scooper

The Suburban was a step above the Collegiate in the heirarchy. The Suburban had 27" wheels with 1 1/4" tires, while the Collegiate had 26" wheels.

In 1978, the ten-speed Suburban went for $159.95, while the five-speed went for $149.95.

The 1978 Collegiate only came in a five-speed version (single front chainwheel with 46T) and sold for $139.95.

The 1981 catalog also shows a Collegiate three-speed (Sturmey-Archer) version in addition to the five-speed.

oglala_1927

So far! Looks like I should keep the full dress suburban, part out the men,s SA 3 speed collegiate and fix up the ladies 3 speed collegiate and trash can the the men,s collegiate frame! The ladies has been ridden a lot more than the men,s. Will keep the tires, brakes and levers, moustach handlebars, seat and post. My Takara 3 speed is about the same as the collegiate!

mike

That is interesting information, Scooper. I like all the reference material based info you provide.

I guess in the 1970's, the Suburban was fancier than the Collegiate, but as a collector, I personally go for the Collegiate. Perhaps it is because the Collegiate is an anomaly with it’s 26” wheels and five (or three) speed.

Making a bike a ten-speed was so easy and had such a minimal cost, it is a wonder why Schwinn would bother with trying to market a five-speed.

Think about it; a five speed machine with a 26” wheel base. It is ideal for a commuter, especially as transport for the “Collegiate” coed. The 26” wheel base made it slightly more efficient for the stop-go of city riding. The slightly wider wheel base made for a slightly more stable ride, perhaps less prone to damage.

Perhaps even the five speed provided enough gearing for city riding, but with a simplicity advantage over the ten-speed.

mswantak

My guess is that it was a simple, inexpensive way to fill a market niche; a Collegiate is more or less a Racer with a Huret RD and freewheel.

And c'mon Frank -- where the pictures!?

Pompiere

My wife has a Collegiete that she got when she was in eighth grade (1978). She didn't ride it much since it is the larger frame (21"?) and she never grew into it. My daughters are getting bigger now so I might dust it off for one of them. It is a nice bike for around town, although a bit heavy. When the kids were small, we had a child seat on it.

oglala_1927

Of the collegiates or grand prix?

mswantak

Heck, we've seen the GP already; we wanna see the new toys.

oglala_1927

I'll try! I can get the pics into my computer and use advanced but what size?

Sierra

The file size has to be under 100k to attach them here. Otherwise you can put them up on a photo hosting website and provide a link here.

Crazy-B

640x480,72ppi

ollo_ollo

I found a green Collegiate 3 spd in near new condition some years ago. Someone added a set of chromed drop bars. I used it as a commuter one Winter, then passed it to my grand kids in TN. It has been handed down through 3 boys & they haven't been able to break it yet!

Scooper

...and they won't be able to break it in the future. As has been often repeated in these forums, the Schwinn electroforged frames are damn near bombproof.

oglala_1927

After trying to adjust the SA hub so it would shift correctly, turns out the previous owner didn't keep the right hand axle nut tight and it is stripped. No one in town has one, to old!!! I now must prevail upon anyone who has a junk box and has worked on Sturmey Archers may have an axle nut. Gotta be one out there some place!!!! Thanks, oglala

DynamicD74

I hate to see any old bikes, especially the super strong steel Schwinn frames "trashed." I love to see an old bike saved and fixed up! Would it be possible to fix the two collegiates AND the suburban up....over time? I have a varsity that's almost completely fixed up, and a suburban that is my long term work in progress, and they are both fun, smooth rides. Of course, from what I understand, my varsity is the suburban with drop bars. So, it's essentially the same bike with the bars changed to satisfy different markets.

mswantak

So did you get the hub adjusted, anyway? After all these years of regarding it as a black art -- like adjusting the points on a Triumph Trident -- I happened to read the instuctions on it in Fred Milson's Complete Bike Maintenance. Couldn't be simpler: Put it in second, look in the inspection hole in the axle nut, and turn the adjuster until the end of the shifting rod is even with the end of the axle. Took less than five minutes and the ol' Superbe has never shifted better.

Sierra

Actually, the Suburban is a small step up from the Varsity. It has the same tubular forks as the Continental, as opposed to the blade forks of the Varsity. Without checking the catalogs, I'm not sure if it had side the side pull brakes of the Varsity, or the center pull brakes of the Continental, but I would put the Suburban more as a tourist version of the Continental.

mswantak

They had Weinmann sidepulls, which are every bit as mediocre as their centerpulls.

If they'd only made a Suburban with the Super Sport's hand-brazed CrMo frame, an alloy crank and wheels, and a B66...

Hmmm; I'm starting to get an idea...

oglala_1927

Good Morning! My Suburban just needs a little tender care and a small amount of adjustment. My shopping bike! re: collegiates, If I can find the RH axle nut for the SA s3c and get it adjusted, they both will be in real good condition, just a few nicks in the paint. I don't intend to restore them. But what to do with so many bikes!!!!

Sierra

I've had a similar idea for a while. I've got a couple of early seventies Super Sport frames. My idea is to use one of these frames to build up a lighter weight version of the Schwinn Traveler(deluxe 3 speed model from the fifties and sixties) that I had as a 12 year old. Instead of the S-A 3 speed hub I want to use a Nexus 7 speed. Of course I will need your help to put the right decals on the bike. Hope your not too busy with your decal business. I'm still getting mine together to send to you. I have a bunch of decal work I need done for various bike projects that I want to do.

mswantak

Sure -- we can do something official-looking and folks will think you've got some long-lost prototype.

alanbikehouston

I found a "almost like new" ladies Collegiate from the 1980's. It was "made in Taiwan", and used a standard 26 inch tire and rim, not the hard-to-find Schwinn 26 inch tire of the 1960's. It had a three speed hub, which is perfect for a flat area, such as Houston.

I gave it to a friend who has several nice bikes, including a mega-buck mountain bike. But, the Collegiate has become her favorite everyday bike for riding to Krogers, or the gym. The fat 26 inch tires absorb road shock and are highly stable. The more upright position makes it easy to keep her head up to carefully watch for homicidal Houston motorists.

I saw a "Made In England" Raleigh ladies three speed Friday that was in equally good condition. It had the original metal fenders, painted to match the frame. And, the original lights and generator in working condition. The shop wanted $250, which reflected the fact they had re-lubed the bearings, tuned it up, and put on new tires, It appeared to have been ridden very few miles over the past forty years, and had been stored indoors. It had all the "nice to ride" traits of the Collegiate, plus a lugged steel frame and elegant and dignified black enamel finish with gold Raleigh emblems.

And, I found myself thinking: THIS is where the bike industry went wrong. They are making lighter and lighter mega-buck pseudo-racing bikes targeted at 20-somethings. And, the industry ignores millions and millions of women, especially thosed age forty to eighty, who would be much happier with a well designed, well made, comfortble to ride three speed bike.

"Part out" such bikes? Yikes. When I get my hands on a vintage bike that has all of the original components, I try to keep it as original as possible. When I replace something, I try to use either the original parts, or something similar from the same era. Of course, if you find a vintage bike that has few orignal parts, there is less reason to be concerned about such things.

oglala_1927

Still looking for a nut for the left side. Help!

Sierra

Oglala, is it just the nut that is stripped, or are the axle threads bad also?

Mike, those are great decal ideas! You are very creative. I think I will stick with stock decals though. I will send some originals for you to duplicate. I have a number of ideas for building up some Schwinns that Schwinn never actually produced themselves, but I think they should have. I will leave clues to the fact that they are not actual Schwinn models though.