the other day i passed a yard sale and saw some bikes outside they had a world traveller but it was to big for me and this continental. they sold it to me for 5 bucks. it was a impulse buy.

im trying to figure out the year and what i should do with it.
it has some surface rust on the frame and the paint is starting to rub of. im sure it needs new components too since they are all rusted over...

so what should i do with it trash it or spend time on it.

The LG in the serial number decodes to November, 1971, which would make it a 1972 model year bike. It's certainly worth what you paid for it, but probably not worth putting a lot of money into restoring it. They're made of 18 gauge (straight gauge) 1010 carbon steel, and are pretty heavy by today's standards. OTOH, they're bombproof.

The chrome on Schwinn bikes of that era is amazing stuff and hard to kill. Spray the chrome surfaces, wheels, chain guard, etc., with a generous dose of WD 40, wait a few seconds and then scrub them with a brass scotch pad or wad of aluminum foil. I've brought back wheels and chain guards most people would have thrown in the trash. You will be amazed how nice it cleans up.

I suspect you could replace the cables, brake pads and tires (if they're trash) and have a nice riding old bike for $30 or so invested. A good washing and a generous application of car wax will make the paint look reasonable.

If you have the skills, I would recommend regreasing all the bearings, including headset, bottom bracket and wheels.

In good riding condition with fair paint they're only worth around $100, so I wouldn't spend any real money, if it were mine.

Or, post it for sale on Craigslist. I bet you could sell it in a day or two for $30-$40 as is.....

Hello JamesJ,

Thats a great deal for a fin.
I'd pay tenfold that easily.
Hopefully I'll find a nice one
this spring in that size.

Best of luck with it.

Cheers.

For a $5 deal you have a great Continental to start with. Everything on metal the bike, except the steel rims is worth saving. You will be amazed at how well the paint can clean up. Give it a bath, rub down the paint with Meguiars Scratch X (be careful on the decals), and follow up with good automotive polish and wax. The chrome can be restored with bronze wool. The aluminum brakes, levers, and hubs will shine like new with metal polish.

For good measure replace the brake pads and cables. Best of luck.

Good catch for $5.00. Clean it up and give it some grease and take it for a ride. I would not assume the parts need replacing, but if you are going to keep it as a rider, you might want to get some alloy rimmed wheels.

Try scrubbing chrome with a toothbrush & Naval jelly (chrome cleaner, Barkeepers Helper, whatever). Coating it first with WD-40 first sounds like a good idea. The steel wool (the stuff you use for furniture refinishing?) idea sounds a little dangerous... a wet, soapy Brillo Pad followed by a good hosing down sounds more like it. A Brillo/SOS pad is probably the type of steel wool James "the Tinkerer" was referrring to. Many Brillo pads have probably been applied to Schwinn chrome over the years. For $5 ... if you don't like it... somebody else seeing it on Craig's List will.

Back when I worked in a Schwinn shop*, we used "Quick-Glo" to clean the chrome on any and all chromed parts. As long as the chrome isn't bubbling and flaking, it'll remove all the rust and restore the shine. It's still around (I have a jar in my garage) but I can't remember where I bought it.

*And dinosaurs roamed the Earth.