Merlin Coffee

Hey,,, I am a beach cruiser nut. I have a schwinn “rolling rock” edition 6 speed. I put 50-100 miles a week on it. I have lost 120lb and am doing great. I am going to ride it on the Katy trail here in Missouri in the spring, 250 miles or so. My question is this, will the schwinn one piece crank and bottom hold up well enough or should I upgrade it to 3 piece. The other question is about wheels. I have worn out 2 rear wheels/bearings. Do you have a suggestion for a slightly more sturdy rear bearing/wheel?

Thanks in advance.

Merlin

gl1000honda3

Hello...A photo of my 1979 UE8M city/touring bike...Lovely colour and near mint condition. Belonged to an old friend that bougt it in Baden Solingen Germany at the US PX on the Canadian Air force base...he bought it because he lost his license on base and needed some transportation for 6 months...when he got the license back, the bike went on hooks and stayed there for 31 years. He thought of my vintage passion and passed this on...to a very god home. I love it, not because it's free..but because it was given to me from a friend...Priceless!!!! Thanks and sorry for the rant, take care.

753proguy

That's nice! Have you ever considered installing some hammered aluminum Honjo fenders on that bike? They would look way cool (and give you better coverage), methinks....

RFC

A great bike and a great story.

Elev12k

On the previous pages (31/32) I showed my Vittorio Strada. The bike is now halfway build. Some pics >>>





Hand made and prepared Jan Groot Alkmaar >>



Neatly prepared lugs with multiple cut outs >>



I've chosen for early Dura-Ace brake levers. The hoods are new canecreeks and they fit very well. The bar I opted for allows many hand positions, but -more importantly- also offers place for accessoires like light or navigation. The stem is a 100mm Nitto Technomic Deluxe from Hubjub in UK >>

[

sauze

such a neat bike, perhaps my fav of the thread.

robatsu

What bar is that, looks interesting.

Ciufalon

Elev12k, did you have that bike custom made for you? I really like both the Vittorio's posted and checked out the web site. Seems to be a very good custom outfit overseas. I have also only ever seen one used Vittorio for sale.

jbkirby

Beautiful bike! Thoes bars look very comfortable, where did you find them?

Roger M 

They look like Scott 'drop in' bars. I like Elev12k's idea of using them for accessory mounts.

Elev12k

Ussually a Vittorio like this is custom made. This one is also, but not for me. The name of the 1st owner is present under the bracket: S. Spierenburg '81. Vittorio is indeed still building quality steel frames for several purposes. Last week I were there and they were busy with a race tandem with 6 S&S couplings. In the jig a fillet brazed Strada with the same rear triangle construction as my frame. I would have thought that for the US market a Vittorio would possibly a bit too utilitarian, but maybe the mags and web in particularly show me the curly lug randonneurs on the NAHBS. I don't know. My English friend who were with me said they were Dutch pragmatic. We both enjoyed a tour through the shop. Vittorio has a nice collection of classics on display btw.

Elev12k

I think they are the same Nitto made(?) bars, but in this case branded Specialized. Team Z used them for example, as this pic in an old Panasonic catalogue demonstrates.

Elev12k

Thank you. I found 3 NOS ones at a bike shop in Groningen. The 3 were all they had. They had more nice old bars. I think I went home with 10 bars or so.

bikemanbob

Ciufalon

Elev12k, sounds like a great trip. I would love to tour Vittorio's facility. One day maybe. Your bike is looking beautiful.

The Golden Boy 

That Bridgestone is certainly execeptionally styley.

The Golden Boy 

Merlin- Congratulations on the weight loss- I think I've kept my weight down (after quitting smoking) with riding- but 120 pounds is AWESOME!

If you're riding the style of bike I *think* you're riding, as you mentioned- it's more of a "cruiser" and less of a "touring" bike. If so, it rides smooth as a 1972 Cadillac El Dorado- and almost as heavy. That's great in that it's a workout for you- but for the purposes of a long ride or a series of long rides- that 40 pounds of bike and lack of gearing (6 speeds vs. 10/12/18/21 etc..) makes the ride more difficult than most would want it.

If you've worn out two hubs already on your bike, you might want to move up to a more "professional" bike- something with 'bike shop quality' parts- something that'll let you get longer rides for the same amount of exertion.

cooper34

1984 Cannondale ST500. Mostly oringinal. Replaced the Modelos with Shimano 600 levers and Weinmann Carrera calipers. Replaced the seat it came with (women specific) with an Avocet touring. I have owned it since 88.

Bikedued

So I was thinking of posting my repurposed Schwinn Sierra here, and wondered if I would get told it doesn't belong. It started as a mountain bike yes, but now it has 1.5 Paselas, 31.8 drop bars, Shimano bar end shifters, rear rack, etc etc. It is vintage after all, it just didn't come with drops originally. About to take some pics, since the rain finally let up!....BD

"Finished" it Friday, but it's been raining since.

agobel

I built up this 1987 Specialized Stumpjumper as my all-purpose bike. I'm planning to do a camping tour this fall as the weather cools.



Aside from the fact that it is a hybridized vintage mountain bike, the snazzy new trekking bars are the tour-iest part of my build.



They provide many comfortable hand positions, as well as an aero posture I could never attain with my old barend setup.

Bikedued

Okay no one objected, so here it is! I took it on a ride around the complex here, and snapped a few pics. The ride is nothing short of plush! Super solid and silky smooth. No harshness even on the speed bumps. I could get used to this kind of comfort, hehe.,,,,BD

Just don't tell the Nishiki International that's on the way, haha...

1985(4?) Schwinn Sierra, 4130 CrMo
Wheels:09 Hard Rock, Shimano hubs and Alex double walls
Origin8 threadless adaptor, Giant stem, FSA Energy traditional bend 31.8 bars.
Pasela Tourguard 1.5 blackwall tires.
FD Late 80's Shimano Deore.
RD Mid 2000's Deore LX Grey.
Sakae CR triple crank, dig the swirl, hehe.
Early 90's Shimano 105 8spd shifters on pods. Brake levers from the same group, and Altus style cantilever brakes
Shimano Road SPD pedals, so I can walk when I get off the bike, lol.
Sram 8spd 11-32 Cassette.

illwafer

yo BD,

let me ask you about the 1.5 paselas. did you try to find them in skinwall? i'm not convinced they exist, but 1.75 do. would you have went with the skinwalls instead?

do the black ones feel the same? thanks.

Chris W.

[/QUOTE]

Beautiful bike
Looks like you could fit some really Phat tires with plenty of room to spare!
I wonder if the bottom bracket is too high for a 650B conversion?

Cheers,
Chris

Bikedued

Well, I missread the catalog codes on the tires. I thought I was ordering skinwalls, since it said BK/SK, but I got blackwalls. The 27 inch Paselas I've bought recently rode nicely, and these ride like you're on a cloud. I think either would ride about the same. I dunno about 650's. I went with 26" to have a plentiful tire choice almost anywhere. I am really wanting to do some touring soon. I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the rides I've done, even the Tour Lafitte, during which it rained the enire 40 miles. The MS150 was fun too, two 80 mile days of mostly uphill.,,,,BD

I also have my MTB, which has the identical rims but with Pana Fire XC Pro tires. I may slip them on tomorrow morning, and take a few more pics. The Sierra looked like very capable monstercrosser when I tried it out the other day.

simmonsgc

Hi, bike friends! I've been reading these forums for years, and have recently completed a resto project for a classic bike suitable for touring for my wife. So, finally a picture worth offering! We've been on two shakedown rides so far, and seeing her enjoy the bike, and seeing the bike perform so well both make me very happy. Hoping the image embed works and it's appropriately sized. Many thanks for all the knowledge I've gleaned from reading here over the years!