Merry Christmas to all Just became aware of this site and just joined today after Googling my ride and noticing a flurry of commentary on the Schwinn Super Sport on this forum. Also many of the posters seem to be knowledgable in-depth on the subject and that is impressive. I had a question regarding the BB on my ride. It seems but I'm not sure that the bearings may be worn. In some gears while the bike is upended there is a decided rumbling feeling if your hands are on the cranks turning them, but in other gears the rumbling is not felt. On the road all gears are smooth except the largest when I'm trying to build speed on a flat or decline course. On those I can feel a roughness to the cranks and there is a rumbling noise. I have recently upgraded to Shimano Clipless pedals and the LBS installed them carefully and they work perfectly. But I think the bike has had the rumbling characteristic for some time. If I need to replace the BB what is recommended for this bike? Any suggestions on a high quality replacement would be appreciated. Thanks for the privilege of posting here. It is appreciated.

Bike is as follows:

Serial #4I00995
Purchased 1987 new
Decal states "Made In Japan For Schwinn"
Color: Pearl White
BB Shell measures 68 mm
NGC 400 brakes
Tange Champion No.2 Extra Butted Tubing
Tange Headset
Avocet Saddle
Sugino Cranks
Suntour Cyclone M-II Derailleur
Araya Rims
Tires upgraded to Michelin Krylion 700x23 last month
Original Tire 700 x 20 lasted 20 years
Sakae Champion Bars

Hi MM, it sounds like a lovely bike! I'm going to ask the moderators to move this to C & V, where you will meet the fearsome East Hill who is always demanding photos.

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

Thanks for your reply. Yes I can post some photos if I can find a suitable background first.

I apologize for the repeat postings. Don't know how that happened. I was getting messages saying I had not logged on and needed to do so, so now I'm showing three threads. This is very embarrassing.

I'll move it. And Mike, that thing you mentioned, it's fixed.

Cheers,

Brian

Probably just those ghosts of Christmas past . Don't worry, Brian's fixed it, and you're good now.

Just let us know when you have photos.

East Hill

Welcome to BikeForums. Looking forward to the photos.

So is do you hear/feel the rumbling only when the bike is under its greatest load? Have you tried to spin the bottom bracket/cranks without the chain on to see if you feel anything odd?

Given that you're experiencing this problem in only some gears, I'd suspect your freehweel before the bottom bracket; if some freewheel cogs are worn, you might experience that roughness.

Neal

Guys thanks for the responses. Where do I download the pics? Here?

As to the rumble, I have to confess-- I've been using WD40 on my chain and gears for a long time. This afternoon in desperation I doused the whole chain and all of the gears with Turbo-Oil, a vegetable based high friction lubricant designed for model railroad engines. When I took the bike out for a test ride for an hour--all the rumble was gone!

to post images hit "go advanced" below the comment entry box. Youll see that there will be a button called "manage attachments". Should be self explanatory from there.

128 thanks for the directions. My files are JPEG 1.02 KB's while the site takes maximum 1.00 KB's. I tried a compression file, still wouldn't accept.

if you have photoshop go file:save as web. alternately you cold try another photo hosting site like flickr or photobucket.

If you use MS XP, try here and dl the image resizer
https://download.microsoft.com/downlo...ertoySetup.exe

Picture 230_edited (Small).jpg

Picture 232 (Small).jpg

Thanks OFG-- the image resizer worked. Tried Photoshop 3.20--couldn't get anywhere with it.

How worn are the chainrings/cogs? im wondering about there only being this rumbling feeling being only in certain gears. if you want a new bb, id think a shimano un72 should inexpensively fit the bill...

Mike,

Welcome along. It also sounds as if you have not really done any PM to your bike in a long time. If so, the time is right to disassemble and clean all the bearing surfaces, especially the bottom bracket and replace it with a cartridge BB, if needed. Also, your freewheel probably needs a good scrubbing, and then lube liberally with oil. Replace the chain. Clean and grease the wheel bearings.

See, nothin' to it. And we got a drive-side photo on the first try. Nice-looking ride, too.

But around here, most people ride their C&V machines. You won't see much bragging about a set of tires lasting 20 years.

Good looking Schwinn, Mike.

That 'Tange 2' frame material is some fairly good stuff from what I understand. Lots of good info about Tange tubing here on C & V. Just do a search on the subject and you'll be good to go.

If you've been using WD-40 on your chain for a while, I suggest getting a new chain and use a bike specific lubricant like 'Pro-Link'.

Welcome to the forums.

Pastor Bob and Wino--

Thanks for the good advice. I have been remiss in PM. Looks like I'll be buying a few bike tools to take care of the overdue maintenance. Why would there be a recommendation to purchase a less expensive bottom bracket? Did Schwinn put a cheap one in to begin with? I know some BB's are described as cartridges--others are not. Sounds like the cartridges are basically throw-away and you can't maintain them. Whereas the ones that aren't cartridges can be maintained indefinitely by the user. Just asking. I'm not heavy into bike mechanics. But I don't mind spending money on this bike to keep it up to standard. It has given me years of service. I expect years more.

Cartridge BB run the spread from ok to fantastic (under $20 to well over $100). In many cases it can be challenging to match up a new standard BB to the original, so the cartridge becomes the easiest solution. Your BB might just need a good cleaning, possibly new bearings, and grease, and if so great. But you will want to PM your normal BB every 1000 miles or once a year. Best of luck.

Welcome! And very nice looking bike, I might add. You can get a cheap Shimano cartridge bottom bracket for $20 or so and it should last quite a while. I've been using the same one in my commuter bike for nearly a year and a half and it's still as smooth as it's always been, even after regular riding in hard rain and actually being submerged once. Of course they're not the smoothest bearings in the world, but for the price they are great for a bike that you don't want to have to tinker with very often. A good old cup & cone BB is great too if you enjoy repacking bearings occasionally (which I do!). C&V is a great forum and I've learned an astonishing amount from the many knowledgeable people here.