A year ago, I found a NOS fillet brazed Schwinn Superior frame on eBay. I am going to be building up this frame soon using a mix of new and old Campy components. The frame was painted black at the factory, and I'm not too crazy about the color. In addition, I'm going to take this frame to a welder friend so he can can reposition the brake bridge ( make it lower for 700c wheel) as well as add some braze ons (water bottle bosses and the like). That means the paint will have to be removed, so it's going to need a repaint after the brazing. This is not a restoration, so I'm not trying to make it look like an original 1970's Schwinn Superior.

I narrowed down the color choice to either a candy orange, or a candy lime green.

Here is what the candy orange looks like.


Here is the candy lime.


What would you choose?

Get a late eighties lugged schwinn that already has 700c wheels and paint that one.

and then go lime.

Lugged Schwinns from the late eighties were made in Taiwan, the Paramount being the exception. The Superior frame I bought was made in Chicago in 1978. I like the fact that it was handmade in the US. I also like the retro rounded look.

BTW, so far it looks like orange is the runaway favorite.

Not anymore.

That green reminds me of the old Varsity.

I'm not usually one to make the argument of the preservationist, but in this case I will. The Superior is a relatively rare frame, and to have found one NOS is even more rare. From a collector's viewpoint, I think it would be a shame to modify and respray an NOS frame.

I might understand if there is some outstanding element in ride quality and sizing that can't be found in other available frames, and you want to modernize it...but it's NOS!

Okay, enough preaching. It's your frameset, it's America. Have at it.

It's not a frame set, it the frame only, no fork -- frame with headset cups installed. It came in its original box with the shipping papers to the Schwinn dealer.

I've seen complete Superiors, in pretty good original condition, sell in the $200 to $300 range. I don't think there is tremendous collector demand for them. Besides, hunting down an original NOS fork and components would be impossible. The retro look and the fact that it is CroMo and handmade in the US is what appeals to me.

Candy Lime.

I need to read more carefully. I automatically assumed it was a lugged "Baby Paramount" version.

Still, it's NOS...

Orange! Everyone should have at least one orange bike.

Neal

p.s. I did my Super Sport in candy blue powdercoat.

EDIT: Thought it was a overstock Paramount Superior for a second there...

-Kurt

That's nice, where did you get the clear cable housing? Not to nitpick, but you've got the wrong quality seal on the seat tube, the fillet brazed frames are Chicago made, not imported.

BTW, do post some more pics.

Originally, the fillet brazed bikes where called Super Sport and Sports Tourer. The Sports Tourer was renamed Superior for the last couple of years of production. The Sports Tourer/Superior differed from the Super Sport in that they had a small threaded BB and forged Huret dropouts with integral dérailleur hanger.

I think that housing came from Velo Orange, but I don't remember for sure. And on the decal, if I wanted to do an authentic resto, I wouldn't have had it powdercoated candy blue!

Not quite up-to-date pics here; I've since installed Dia Compe brake levers and blue Schwinn grips.

Neal

Nice. How does she ride?

Let's have a photo of this superior.

I say you paint the Velo Orange.

Actually, I like both colors. Good luck with the project.

That candy orange is all over the place around here, on cars and small trucks. How common. Go with the lime.

Funny.. I get this extreme urge for blue hard candy

I don't think you could go wrong with either color but I voted for the candy lime.

The Orange looks very close to "Radiant Coppertone."

The Green looks very close to "Flamboyant Green."

Pick a really different color from all the different ones Schwinn used on their '60-'70s fillet brazed bikes and go to town! I like your creativity! Reminds me of my efforts to give "Sporty" a second life. This is not the best picture, but the latest one. Schwinn never sold a fillet brazed Super Sport in a version of red. But now I have one!

While pastorbob's argument is persuasive, if you are set on one of the two, I vote for the orange.

John

That's a nice job. I admit that the candy green looks a lot like a stock Schwinn color, but the orange doesn't look anything like "Radiant Coppertone". Coppertone was more brown than orange. The candy orange I'm thinking about is more of a bright, stab-you-in-the-eye shade of orange. I already have a blue bike, and another that's dark metallic green and silver. The only other color I'm considering is candy purple.

Here is the source of trick auto paints that I'm going to use.

https://www.alsacorp.com/index.htm

What's wrong with black?

OK.

Here is the frame as I received it, minus the headset cups. I had a machinist friend make me some aluminum reducing shims for the head tube so I can install a standard 1 inch headset. The seat binder came with the frame.


Head badge.


Handmade fillets. Retro!


Small threaded BB.


Forged Huret dropouts with integral dérailleur hanger.