shrinkboy

i put a silly low bid in on a 63cm schwinn 434 frame- and won, slap my face, before noting it needs an internal expansion, or quill type seatpost.

any of you c & v smart guys know anything about that, and what might be done to secure one, or maybe someone even has one lurking in their shed?

yer help appreciated

rhenning

Keep watching E-Bay and pray you get lucky. If you are a machinist they can be made. Roger

big_heineken

I think you could make on fairly easily.
What you need:
1. Correct size steel seatpost.
2. Donor 1-1/8" quill stem
3. Correct size washer

All you would have to do is cut the seatpost at the correct angle and length. A miter box, hack-saw, and clamp would make it easy to cut. Then take the bolt and wedge-nut and transfer them over to the freshly cut seatpost, using the washer to keep the bolt on top of the seatpost. Voila, quill seatpost!

shrinkboy

that sounds rather brilliant, BH, i can almost, but not quite get a pic of that in my largely (99%) liberal arts brain...i'm gonna think on that...any further elaboration would be a boon....

big_heineken

I had a similar problem, so I had already thought about it before. I had the seatpost, but I had to find a bolt long enough and wedge-nut large enough. I will try to take some pictures when I go home for lunch in a few hours.

big_heineken

Apparently you can buy them pre-made. Search google for "wedge seatpost". Good luck on finding the right diameter.

shrinkboy

BH-- thanx for hangin' in with me. i did the search for the wedge seatpost, found a crapload of stuff for bmx bikes, and looking at the gizmo's, i can't quite see how the seat affixes to the post....

wrk101

The ones on ebay usually sell for a lot, more than I pay for complete bikes. Unless you are in love with that frame, I would sell it and get one that is more conventional (and complete).

shrinkboy

here's the frame: https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...EOIBSA:US:1123

if i can't figger out a good solution here, pretty quick, i may just send the seller the $30 and tell him to not send it...that would quite possibly be cheaper than having it shipped to me and then trying to sell it...

norskagent

It appears there may be enough seat tube above the top tube to perhaps cut a slot in, and use a seat tube collar? Not sure.

wrk101

I think you are on the right track. I would contact seller, and maybe split the difference with him ($15). Seller can turn around and offer it to the next highest bidder, so he really will only lose $1. That would be a win-win.

shrinkboy

here is what i found doing BH's recommended 'wedge seatpost' search--https://www.danscomp.com/472101.php-- OK, howda heck does the seat affix to this thing? i don't get it....

miamijim

It uses a special seat.

shrinkboy

seriously? so the search shifts from special seatpost to special seat? ouch!

rhenning

It is a straight seat post and uses a seat post clamp as comes standard on a Brooks B-17. Roger

Scooper

The seatpost for the late 80s/early nineties Aluminum road models was made by SunTour, and is described as "Schwinn/SunTour Expander 27.2"... Length is 200mm, and Schwinn part number is 58-427. 1989 retail price was $22.75.

I think Roger's thought about keeping an eye out for one on eBay is probably your best bet.

shrinkboy

awesome info there, scooper. thanx. knowing what to search for, i went to the 'bay, and found exactly what i need, with a BIN of $219...ahem, uh, err, cough.

Kobe 

I had the twin to your frame, mine was a 63 cm too. I sold it for $175(paid $30) summer, so if you are interested in building up and selling it you will not even break even.

I actually thought it was a very nice bike, very light for it's size. And hey, it even had the Paramount sticker on it.

This was the way it looked , I think it was all stock. I think the quill idea was to save weight, and it did give it a nice clean appearance.




.

noglider 

Also, it removes one area vulnerable to wear and breakage.

big_heineken

This is a picture of the quill seatpost that I have.

noglider 

A tangent: In the 70's and 80's, expensive stems tended to have expanders, and inexpensive ones had wedges, like the one in the seatpost above. My feeling is that the wedge is a more reliable system than the expander.

shrinkboy

did you fabricate the one in the pic, BH? i get the picture on how its put together, now. i am almost 1/2 way tempted to give it a try; i now know that you need a 27.2 straight post, i have the old school seat clamp that came w/a brooks saddle i picked up. all i'd need is to find a quill stem in the right size, and....the final question is, would it be worth it? seems the answer is no, but it looks like such a great frame...aaarrggghhhhh!!

noglider 

I think it's worth it, if you can find a 27.2mm steel seatpost. I don't know how hard that is. This is one place where a shim won't help. I use shims on seatposts and stems frequently.

The downside to having this bike is that raising and lowering the saddle is a rather involved procedure.

shrinkboy

would it really need to be steel though?

noglider 

No, I guess not. I just haven't seen many aluminum straight seatposts. If you can find one, then great.