Hello all, first post here.

I picked up this guy at a yard sale for 10 bucks. It needs new tires, probably tubes, and the rear wheel trued. Everything else is in working order, albeit a bit rusty. I did some googling, and from the serial number, I believe it was made in 1979. No stickers, except for a bike permit from Aberdeen, SD. (Note - I am in southwest Florida.)

I found the 1979 Schwinn catalog online, but the pictures were far too small for me to discern different features.

Any help? Anything I should post? Thanks!

Yes, you should post pictures of your bike. The details on the Schwinn catalogs on line are second to none, and Schwinn did a great job dating their bikes. I would take a closer look at the on line catalogs, rather than focus on the pictures, compare components and parts. A lot of their models looked similar to each other, but there tended to be quite a difference in parts, weight, etc.

I guess the pictures no-showed in the first post.

I looked at the specifications for the bikes in the tables, but the catalog I was looking at was very hard to read. I'll keep googling, thanks.

I'm thinking you have a Schwinn Continental there, but others may know better than me!

I'm not too well versed on old Schwinns, but it looks very similar in construction and parts to my '79 Varsity. Does it weigh like 40 pounds?

Yeah, I'd ballpark it at around a ton.

Can you post pictures of the junction of the seat tube, top tube, and seat stays? My guess also is a Continental. Are the wheel rims steel? They look to be. If so, it is definitely a Continental.

They have a good amount of corrosion, so I'd guess they are steel. Also center pull brakes, which, if I remember correctly, was different on different bikes.

This pictures nails the ID. Electro Forged Continental. Skinny seatpost. Rusty steel seatclamp and steel rims.



Heavy, nearly indestructible, and if you want to drop a few dollars and learn good wrenching skills, they make the perfect candidate for a makeover. Many of us have had a lot fun doing so.

Here's my '62.

Sweet! Thanks!

Definitely a Continental-with the chrome fork and the center pull brakes.