Sculptor7

Number is 3552

(Number stamped on headbadge)

ColonelJLloyd 

That means it was assembled on the 355th day of 1982. Probably an '83 model.

BikeTales 

Hey Noah, I've never seen that type of mounting for downtube shifters. Is that how the bike came or what is that?

Fast Cloud: Tree Fort Bikes has red cable housing (with cables) for $12. I just got some. Honestly, I don't need it and I'll swap you for some new black housing which I do need. PM me if interested.

Sculptor7

Is that really the way it is indicated? Interesting.

I notice there are certain nice features such as a brazed-on rectangular platform for the kickstand so the chainstays are not damaged. Also there are some clips on the front wheel dropouts. Guess those are safety clips to prevent the quick release from not failing.

ColonelJLloyd 

Yes and yes. They're often referred to as "lawyer lips". I fear for the human race when I think that there are people who can ride bikes but not figure out a quick release skewer.

Noah Scape

Yep, they're self-trimming Suntour Symmetric shifters.

Johnny Rebel

I just found a Yellow Le Tour in a ditch 1/4 mile from my house. Actually, it was thrown about 25 feet from the side of the road. If it wasn't such a bright yellow I would've missed it, probably. Miraculously, it looks to be my size. No wheels, the handlebars are trash, the cranks and chain seem pretty worthless, too. I might be able to salvage the stem, and the fork looks OK. The brakes look chintzy. Lots of rust on this bad boy. We'll see how it looks after I've stripped it and dealt with some of the rust. Who knows how long it's been there... This is very fortuitous because I've been trolling CL for a similar project frame. I'm thinking of converting it to 700c wheels (so I can switch tires and front wheel with my other, modern Bianchi), and I might give it a single-speed treatment. This is too cool.

Anyone know what size tires these might be able to clear?

Sculptor7

Label on headtube says "4130 chrome-moly main tubes and stays"
Bike is a 12 speed.
So, I am a little confused. It looks like most models in the Schwinn catalogs were 1020 steel.
The decals are really shot but it definitely is a LeTour but I don't see any sign of it being a deluxe LeTour although it is 12 speed.

Jeff Wills

It came stock with 27 x 1 1/4", so 700 x 35 should fit without a problem. 700 x 38 might fit.

Here's my "Mississippi Schwinn" Le Tour, currently reconverted to single-speed:
https://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/...tour%20004.htm

BattleRabbit

That's mine! It's a 1981 model, so it's an early-ish Japan bike. Rides really nice with the Suntour/Shimano/No-name gruppo I made for it! Since then I swapped the front wheel out for a Weinmann front wheel with a bit of dish. Looks a bit nicer and the hubs are in better shape than the ones on the wheels that were on it. I am putting a nice old Shimano 600 hub on the rear wheel with a new 6-speed freewheel. Should feel like a whole new bike then!

Johnny Rebel

Jeff W.,
Thanks for the info. So many nice versions of this bike out there. Mine isn't one of them.

My abandoned find really is a rust bucket. It's a '74 Japanese-made "Schwinn Approved" model, which I gather is the least desirable of these frames. I stripped the few parts still fused to it and it seems like the frame and fork might hold up. They're straight, at least. Everything else was rusted junk. It had dirt inside the head tube at least 6 inches deep... it still smells like the bottom of a swamp! I'll probably sand all the paint off and repaint it. I don't really want to put a lot of $$ into this thing, thinking it'll be a grade D beater with a coaster brake. It probably won't see the before/after drool-inducing pics treatment!

I'm glad all the parts came off, it was sooo rusty and that part took a lot of elbow grease. Two of the cable guides are bent inwards and the one on the chainstay is totally wasted away, so I might have to find a solution for that... I'm thinking I'll sand sand off the cable guides completely. Is that even advisable? They're just tetinus magnets right now...

Sculptor7

Making progress. Straightened out the small chainring and adjusted the derailleurs so shifting is already pretty nice even with the old rusty chain. Will probably replace it anyway.

uncle uncle

I have a red Le Tour II from 1977. Except for seat (which was missing when I purchased it) it is all original, down to the black plastic handlebar tape and silver cable housing. I replaced the steel seat post with a no name alloy one and replaced the stem shifters with down tube ones. I also purchased a set of 700cc wheels and tires (I may have the original hubs relaced to alloy rims). It's a little heavy, but so am I, so I don't think I have room to complain. It's old, but then again, so am I. It's been my rider lately.

sailorbenjamin 

Um, here's a free LeTour mixte frame in NJ;
https://newjersey.craigslist.org/bik/2336119245.html

Roll-Monroe-Co

If you look at the specs for this model across the years, you'll set it changes drastically over time. (see trfindley.com) earlier it had forged dropouts. Dramatically better and worse equipment from year to year. At some point the Le Tour had a steel crank and steel rims. Our is one of the better equipped years (aluminum hubs, rims, brand name saddle, etc.). The nice one was the Super Le Tour. It had fancy everything.

Anyway, this model year, seemingly out of the (opaque) blue, it had a chro-mo frame. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how the lower-end models were equipped, nor consistency across a model name.

Sierra

I've heard that before of bikes that came out of the Greenville MS plant. Apparently they had some problems there.

treebound 

Here's my 1989 LeTour, finally got around to taking some more pics of it today.

700c wheels, downtube shifters, sort-of-indexed shifters, two bottle cage mounts.
I believe the computer on it may be original from when the bike was purchased new by someone.
I got the bike at a garage sale three blocks from our house, just needed tires and grease and bar tape.

cthai89

hi im new here and new to road bikes just picked up a le tour II mixte from the flea market for 23 bucks. was hoping to learn a little more about it. here are a few pics it needs some TLC but so far i've cleaned and lubed the chain surprisingly it wasnt all rusted and looks pretty clean. I also cleaned up the frame a little bit but it still needs a bit of work and bought some new tires.
i was hoping someone could help me confirm the age.





after some cleaning/polishing


definitely needs new tires
sorry if i thread jacked

BestSportEver

Two LeTours I rehabed.


_MG_0810 by individual image, on Flickr

_MG_0262 by individual image, on Flickr

Bikedued

Here's one I fixed up a while back. I tore it down and left the frame in Houston. Wish I had kept it now. One of the best fitting/riding bikes I've ever owned.,,,,BD

Sculptor7

Just noticed this thread again and these are certainly some beautiful bikes, nicely restored. Here is the way mine ended up after an overhaul, new chain, bar tape, tires, cables, etc. Sold it through Craigslist and I think the fellow was happy with it. Made enough to cover my costs and around $100 for my time so it ended up successfully although part of me misses it. It really was a nice handling bike that fit me well. Just have enough room for those I already have.

SkinnyTireSteve

When this thread was started, no I didn't have one, but....picked this up on the way home. Spotted it beside a house and the owner made me a deal. Now just trying to figure out what to do with it. Appears all original except for the saddle. 1979 Le Tour IV based on the helpful info from you C&V guys.

Plymouthfan

My newly acquired 74 Le Tour. It's in amazing original condition, except for new tires... too bad it's too big for me.

DavidW56

I've had two early LeTours pass through my hands, a '73 and a '74, both yellow with black trim. Beautiful bikes, very smooth handling, and if they had been my size, I'd still have them. Turned a good profit on both.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Plymouthfan, I just got the same one a couple weeks ago