fiataccompli

I guess this is a piece of American cycling history....I found this bike advertised with a picture of it hanging upside down and zero detail. It turned out to be complete and generally functional, actually. I thought i'd share some pictures of it. Sorry, it's not a piece of beauty like some of the other Continentals I've seen here, but it's on it's way to be well-loved even if it keeps it's natural patina. Someone commented that the rear derailleurs on these were often replaced (maybe a recall or something?). This one is a Simplex (like the front) and it happens to be the same as one I have on another bike (and was original to a 1982 Peugeot). The cable stop plastic housing is broken on the one on the Conti, so if this is indeed the correct rear derailleur for the bike, I suppose that means I'm looking for one. If not, I probably have a semi-appropriate '70s Suntour that will do the job just fine. Here are pics of the bike:














(notice the stylish addition of modern zip ties to render the rear derailleur functional for the 5 gears....)

oldbobcat

That's a purty durned old Continental--definitely pre- bike boom.

At least from around 1969 on, Chicago Schwinns came with Schwinn-badged Huret Allvit derailleurs. In my opinion the Simplex Prestige is an upgrade.

auchencrow

I can't answer your question on the originality of that DR , fiataccompli, but whether or not it's original I'd still be looking for an original replacement. I would suggest some gumwalls on this bike. Panaracers have lovely color and are not expensive.

BTW - did I tell you this is a really cool bike? I love the "patina" and the decals and the gold paint. I had an early 60's Schwinn (not a Conti) in the same color and still enjoy seeing it . I think that Ashtabula crank is a thing of beauty too, and a great design in its day.

Grand Bois

I think that a Simplex Prestige is the correct derailer. You shouldn't have any trouble finding a replacement. You might want to buy a spare. They don't last long.

I love the graphics on that frame.

jacksbike

My opinion is that it came with a Huret rear derailleur. It is a little bit before my time, but I do not think that Schwinn used Simplex. Otherwise, love the bike !!

DavidW56

Very nice! Love that color! I'd be tempted to add chrome fenders.

sonatageek

If it were mine and I was going to be riding it, I would upgrade the RD to the Suntour unit.

That has to be what, a 1960 model?

pastorbobnlnh 

That Simplex RD is not original. I have a '62 Continental and it came with an early version of the Huret Alvit. As you can see, the chrome on mine is in poor shape. Currently it sits in a spare parts box and I use a different RD and FD on mine.

Bob Hufford's Details on the 1960 Continental read:
It looks as if you have made a great find that is nearly original!

Mos6502

The early 1960 bikes came with pull chain simplex derailleurs. By 1961, Schwinn had switched to Huret.

Here's some pics, of an original setup: https://bikeville.blogspot.com/2009/0...erailleur.html

I don't believe that Schwinn ever used a parallelogram simplex, even though they work better than the Huret alvits usually.

dit

In a couple of my posts I have alluded to a gold colored Continental that my best high school bud rode. I don't remember details of the bike but it sure looked like your find. He thought the frame was aluminum. I do know that the Continental was lighter than his brothers red Varsity in 1960 and it did have 27" wheels.

fiataccompli

THanks for the info on the RD. I'll probably do the suntour option from my parts bin. I love that Simplex RD....the other one I have has migrated through two bikes now. It's just smoooooth....very French feeling, I guess.

On this bike, the stem & bars (and brake levers/housings and brakes) are aluminum. I also have a '73 Conti & the bars & stem on that bike are also aluminum...but by then it was all 'Schwinn Approved' stuff and had stem shifters, safety levers and a seriously (IMHO) ugly huge front crankset w/ a guard.

Oh....should the '60 have a form of quick release hubs?

Mos6502

nope

iab

Sweet bike.

I have used the Huret Tour de France RD. Basically an exact copy of the Simplex that Mos6502 posted. Like the Simplex, it is a chain pull and not a parallelogram RD. It is the worst POS I have ever experienced. I switched it to a Campagnolo Gran Sport and I will never go back.

Your shift lever looks original. Do you have a better picture of it?

bernardmarx

Hey Fiat, love that bike! So cool that you're keeping the seat-tube rod-actuated front derailler and half-step front rings. +1 on the Panaracer gumwalls - I love them on my Miyata. You know, they make aluminium Ashtabula cranks now (for the BMX market). When you have to rebuild the bottom bracket (which requires no special tools on this bike) it would be an easy upgrade. So nice to see such a beautiful example from a time when Schwinn was keeping the flame for adult cycling.

Grand Bois

If the bike originally had a Huret RD, that means that either the FD is not original or that Schwinn mixed brands on the same bike. I know that the Simplex FD is original because I remember them well. It's not likely that they mixed brands.

fiataccompli

That's kinda what I was thinking. I'd like to keep it as original as possible. I don't need it to be a 'do everything' bike so I plan on enjoying it for what it is (or, what it was in 1960, I guess). I might put an aluminum rim in front and I suppose a bit of function over form for the RD would be in order & ultimately, the plastic "Grand Prix" seat that must have replaced the original Ideale leather seat would likely be replaced with something leather (I have a Belt from a '76 Fuji, but putting a Japanese part on it just doesn't seem right), but otherwise, it's cool with me as it is. Getting it lighter by great expense or input of work doesn't make sense when I have a dozen wonderful riding lugged steel bikes that are 20-30 years newer that give me the 21lb fun rides to keep up with the folks on their 17 lb modern machines.... All that said, thanks all of you for the thumbs up & input/info. Rest assured this one won't be recycled.

sykerocker 

I'm not terribly good on the individual derailleur model names before the late 60's (hell, back in the early 1960's, I didn't even realize that Schwinn made anything but the balloon tyred middleweights - then again, I wasn't even a teenager at that time), but I'm certain that Schwinn used some version of the Simplex pull-chain derailleur on the rear. I'd start seriously looking for one. From what I understand, they aren't the greatest shifters in the world (Campagnolo's Gran Sport was miles ahead of the competition at that time), but I've seen them for sale, and while not cheap they aren't prohibitively expensive.

You've got something rare enough there that going back to original would be almost mandatory. And I'd love to see what it looks like after a disassembly, gentle cleaning and polish, and reassembly. That's the kind of bike you want to take to shows!

sailorbenjamin 

I think I have a Huret like PastorBob's but with the Schwinn logo on it. It's off a 70's bike i think but you can have it if you want it.
That double Ashtabula is way classy. I haven't seen one like that.

cudak888 

For reference, a mostly original 1960 Continental w/Simplex Competition FD and Simplex TdF chain-operated RD:





-Kurt

Mos6502

Those chainrings were made by Stronglight, if I'm not mistaken. I have a single on my 1963 Columbia Sports Pacer, which since we're on the subject of Simplex and Schwinn, I'm going to bring the discussion off on a tangent:


This Columbia uses a Simplex Raidexport derailleur, and recently I corresponded with the guy who runs the Disraeli Gears website about this odd and rare piece of derailleur history, and he related this information to me:

Basically, Simplex designed the Raidexport to try and keep Schwinn's business, but they decided to go with Huret anyway. So Columbia stepped in and bought up the Raidexports which apparently weren't going anywhere since Simplex also had just introduced the plastic Prestige.

fiataccompli

Kurt - very cool....I like the black. Is that yours? (is that Miami? looks like a place....Coconut Grove?...I went to for a parade somewhere around Miami about 3 years ago, actually....but that's probably coincidental).

Out of curiosity, do these bikes fetch any serious bucks when they're for sale? (and, no, mine's not for sale)

I'll see what I have in the way of an appropriate or semi-appropriate RD for now. The one on that black one looks very much appropriately archaic to match the front setup...and, again, I'm OK if I don't win the Tour de France this year riding my Continental, so being a little crappy on the shifting is OK as long as it basically works.

cudak888 

That one belongs to Mack Cycles. I only brought two machines to this show.

Close to the Grove; try Sunset Drive. The bicycle show was a one-day addition to the Volksblast event running the same week.

Parade in the Grove? King Mango Strut?

-Kurt

fiataccompli

Interesting......I'd not really considered "showing" bikes in a serious way (I assume that sounds seriously dumb on this forum, but c'est la vie), but rather using them for social rides with family, local organized bike stuff, etc.

Yes, that's the one....some good friends moved (back) to Miami from Knoxville in '06 and my wife and I made an impromptu road trip to spend the holiday there in December. Being the hillbilly that I am I couldn't imagine biking regularly in a place so flat, but we're ready for another trip there as soon as we can work it in.

sailorbenjamin 

Hey, look. There's one on Ebay right now. I'm thinking his price is a little high but what do I know about old bikes? Funny, he doesn't have the right derailler either.

fiataccompli

Sounds like a straight description. Is that price even ballpark realistic? Nice shots of the front shifter...mine looks the same but doesn't have the simplex script...as far as I can tell...need to look closer tomorrow!

So, when these were new (or relatively new), were these bikes that people put serious mileage on? I've read about people going on tours on their first bikes...like Varsities or something....but was this common & how would something like this Continental compared to bikes that were really being ridden at the time? It still looks crude compared to European touring bikes from the decade prior, but it also looks (and is) like it's built like a tank...maybe the LHT of it's time?