My first "vintage" Schwinn; 1963 Superior
#27
Uff Da!
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,148
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 50 Post(s)
Liked 123 Times
in
65 Posts
I think so, but I don't claim any expertise in these.
AFAIK, there was no difference in the derailleurs used on doubles and triples.
That said I ran into an interesting situation this past summer. I put a TA Pro 5 vis triple crankset on a '62 Superior. I have the original f. der. on the bike and it takes nearly all the shifter travel to shift across the 3 rings. I have another '62 Superior with the stock Ashtabula triple on it, and the shifter uses less than 3/4 of it's travel to shift across the rings. It's got me scratching my head. I'll figure it out eventually, but I'm not too worried about it as it least will make the shifts. I'm more worried about the rear derailleur's inability to reliably drop the chain onto the smallest cog of the freewheel.
AFAIK, there was no difference in the derailleurs used on doubles and triples.
That said I ran into an interesting situation this past summer. I put a TA Pro 5 vis triple crankset on a '62 Superior. I have the original f. der. on the bike and it takes nearly all the shifter travel to shift across the 3 rings. I have another '62 Superior with the stock Ashtabula triple on it, and the shifter uses less than 3/4 of it's travel to shift across the rings. It's got me scratching my head. I'll figure it out eventually, but I'm not too worried about it as it least will make the shifts. I'm more worried about the rear derailleur's inability to reliably drop the chain onto the smallest cog of the freewheel.
#28
Freewheel Medic
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: An Island on the Coast of GA!
Posts: 12,423
Bikes: Snazzy* Schwinns, Classy Cannondales & a Super Pro Aero Lotus (* Ed.)
Mentioned: 124 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1158 Post(s)
Liked 1,349 Times
in
628 Posts
Originally Posted by Sierra
I'm more worried about the rear derailleur's inability to reliably drop the chain onto the smallest cog of the freewheel.
Any ideas?
__________________
Bob
Enjoying the GA coast all year long!
Thanks for visiting my website: www.freewheelspa.com
Bob
Enjoying the GA coast all year long!
Thanks for visiting my website: www.freewheelspa.com
#29
Uff Da!
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,148
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 50 Post(s)
Liked 123 Times
in
65 Posts
The only idea I have so far is the design of the freewheel.
On my Superior, the original Atom freewheel was flush across the back. The newer Suntour freewheel that I'm attemping to use has a flange of the body protruding about the width of a cog extending out from the largest cog. This would seem to shift all the cogs over to the right by about a cogwidth. Seems odd that the r. der. wouldn't have enough adjustment for this.
I think I checked the dropout alignment, I haven't had the derailleur hanger alignment checked yet. That's probably the next step.
I've already removed all the washers from the left side of the axle, moved them to right side to shift the wheel to the left, and redished the wheel. It helped, but didn't completely cure the problem.
More head scratching to do. Probably should check overall frame alignment also.
On my Superior, the original Atom freewheel was flush across the back. The newer Suntour freewheel that I'm attemping to use has a flange of the body protruding about the width of a cog extending out from the largest cog. This would seem to shift all the cogs over to the right by about a cogwidth. Seems odd that the r. der. wouldn't have enough adjustment for this.
I think I checked the dropout alignment, I haven't had the derailleur hanger alignment checked yet. That's probably the next step.
I've already removed all the washers from the left side of the axle, moved them to right side to shift the wheel to the left, and redished the wheel. It helped, but didn't completely cure the problem.
More head scratching to do. Probably should check overall frame alignment also.
#30
Junior Member
Thread Starter
I have another '62 Superior with the stock Ashtabula triple on it, and the shifter uses less than 3/4 of it's travel to shift across the rings. It's got me scratching my head. I'll figure it out eventually, but I'm not too worried about it as it least will make the shifts.
#31
www.theheadbadge.com
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Southern Florida
Posts: 27,910
Bikes: https://www.theheadbadge.com
Mentioned: 105 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2098 Post(s)
Liked 3,327 Times
in
1,688 Posts
I'm having this same trouble with my '71 Paramount. I'm running a Suntour 6 speed ultra spaced freewheel. Originally it was a problem with the Rally RD. So after cleaning last week and upon reassemply I decided to mount a Sachs-Huret Eco Duopar RD. Same problem (at least on the stand). I can manually tug on the RD, pulling it outward, and the chain drops to the smallest cog and stays. But only about 10-20% of the time would it shift to the smallest cog without me intervening.
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
-Kurt
#32
Freewheel Medic
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: An Island on the Coast of GA!
Posts: 12,423
Bikes: Snazzy* Schwinns, Classy Cannondales & a Super Pro Aero Lotus (* Ed.)
Mentioned: 124 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1158 Post(s)
Liked 1,349 Times
in
628 Posts
All straight-parallelogram RDs are prone to this. I've resorted to backing off the low limit stop on these RD's just enough so that the derailer has an opportunity to overshift onto the lowest cog - but not enough so that it overshifts into the gap between the dropout and the cog.
-Kurt
-Kurt
Interesting. I did run the high limit screw out further than the RD needed in order to reach the smallest cog. I'm curious to try a 5 speed normal spaced freewheel when I return home next week.
__________________
Bob
Enjoying the GA coast all year long!
Thanks for visiting my website: www.freewheelspa.com
Bob
Enjoying the GA coast all year long!
Thanks for visiting my website: www.freewheelspa.com
#34
www.theheadbadge.com
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Southern Florida
Posts: 27,910
Bikes: https://www.theheadbadge.com
Mentioned: 105 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2098 Post(s)
Liked 3,327 Times
in
1,688 Posts
Just today, I took the Superior out for a pre-spin for our get together; sure enough, it's giving similar trouble. That and I believe I wore out the Cyclo-Pans freewheel already - I'm probably going to swap it to a Suntour 5-speed before the day is out.
-Kurt
#35
Newbie
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 21
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
My 1963 Superior
Time ti kick start this thread. Just wanted to post pics of my 24 inch Schwinn Superior 15 speed road bike. It appears to be original but for the seat and tires. The shifters have been relocated to the stem but everything else seems to be all there. I want to try and sell it but am not sure how much the paint, or lack of, affects what I can ask for it? Any comments or criticism's are welcome. Thanks. Not sure why pics are inverted.









#36
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Alta California
Posts: 12,699
Mentioned: 370 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3189 Post(s)
Liked 2,051 Times
in
1,433 Posts
-----
thanks for posting
good to see an example in red; usually see the blue ones for some reason
a collector would want to return it to the original shift levers & saddle
the correct cast aluminum threaded dustcap which is missing for the Atom 440 pedal was last current in 1970; for 1971 Maillard changed it to the smooth chrome press-in dustcap
scratched up original paint is certainly preferable to a poor respray for the person with an historical interest
-----
thanks for posting
good to see an example in red; usually see the blue ones for some reason
a collector would want to return it to the original shift levers & saddle
the correct cast aluminum threaded dustcap which is missing for the Atom 440 pedal was last current in 1970; for 1971 Maillard changed it to the smooth chrome press-in dustcap
scratched up original paint is certainly preferable to a poor respray for the person with an historical interest
-----
Last edited by juvela; 05-19-21 at 06:09 PM. Reason: punctuation
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: PDX
Posts: 12,161
Bikes: Merz x 5 + Specialized Merz Allez x 2, Strawberry/Newlands/DiNucci/Ti x3, Gordon, Fuso/Moulton x2, Bornstein, Paisley,1958-74 Paramounts x3, 3rensho, 74 Moto TC, 73-78 Raleigh Pro's x5, Marinoni x2, 1960 Cinelli SC, 1980 Bianchi SC, PX-10 X 2
Mentioned: 240 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3816 Post(s)
Liked 4,500 Times
in
2,691 Posts
-----
thanks for posting
good to see an example in red; usually see the blue ones for some reason
a collector would want to return it to the original shift levers & saddle
the correct cast aluminum threaded dustcap which is missing for the Atom 440 pedal was last current in 1970; for 1971 Maillard changed it to the smooth chrome press-in dustcap
scratched up original paint is certainly preferable to a poor respray for the person with an historical interest
-----
thanks for posting
good to see an example in red; usually see the blue ones for some reason
a collector would want to return it to the original shift levers & saddle
the correct cast aluminum threaded dustcap which is missing for the Atom 440 pedal was last current in 1970; for 1971 Maillard changed it to the smooth chrome press-in dustcap
scratched up original paint is certainly preferable to a poor respray for the person with an historical interest
-----

#38
mycocyclist
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Monkey Junction, Wilmington, NC
Posts: 2,091
Bikes: 1964 Schwinn Paramount P-13 DeLuxe, 1964 Schwinn Sport Super Sport, 1972 Falcon San Remo, 1974 Maserati MT-1, 1974 Raleigh International, 1984 Lotus Odyssey, 198? Rossin Ghibli, 1990 LeMond Le Vanquer (sic), 1991 Specialized Allez Transition Pro, +
Mentioned: 23 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 840 Post(s)
Liked 606 Times
in
362 Posts
Pantopallooza
Most examples of the early Superiors have the "Super" inscription on the stem. Most '64 Sport Super Sports feature the same stem and bars.
I don't know for certain it was intended by Schwinn, but I suspect it was?
Schwinn didn't seem to be big on marking their frames?
#39
Newbie
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 21
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
My 1963 Superior
I bought the bike from the son of the original owner and the only modification was the seat and shifters. The bars and stem I think are original. The stem is embossed " Super" on the top center. Color is terra cotta.



Last edited by Millhouse56; 05-19-21 at 07:19 PM. Reason: add info
#40
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Alta California
Posts: 12,699
Mentioned: 370 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3189 Post(s)
Liked 2,051 Times
in
1,433 Posts
-----
one thing unique regarding Titan stem and bar stock is a clamp/bar centre size of 27.0mm
cycle's fork crown is NERVEX pattern Nr. 6
design of Weinmann centrepull brake calipers changed about on year later
original saddle was Brooks B15 (IIRC!
)
original shift levers were Huret braze-on downtube controls
Schwinn Superior model history -
https://bikehistory.org/bikes/superior/
catalogue entry for 1963 model year:

-----
one thing unique regarding Titan stem and bar stock is a clamp/bar centre size of 27.0mm
cycle's fork crown is NERVEX pattern Nr. 6
design of Weinmann centrepull brake calipers changed about on year later
original saddle was Brooks B15 (IIRC!

original shift levers were Huret braze-on downtube controls
Schwinn Superior model history -
https://bikehistory.org/bikes/superior/
catalogue entry for 1963 model year:

-----
Likes For skydog6653:
#43
Junior Member
Thread Starter
#44
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Berea, KY
Posts: 1,044
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 326 Post(s)
Liked 216 Times
in
146 Posts
Awesome. I spent the day reading a new book called “Play All Night-Duane Allman and the Journey to Fillmore East”. I had to listen to the album as well. I have been a fan since the mid 80’s.
__________________
Andy
Andy
#45
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Alta California
Posts: 12,699
Mentioned: 370 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3189 Post(s)
Liked 2,051 Times
in
1,433 Posts
-----
1963 Schwinn Dealer Catalogue pages for the Superior model -


-----
1963 Schwinn Dealer Catalogue pages for the Superior model -


-----
Likes For juvela:
#46
Newbie
Fillet-brazed Superiors
I have a 1977 Schwinn Superior. It’s a bit on the heavy side but it has a great ride.

I found a pair of 27” cyclocross tires on eBay, and I use my Superior for gravel rides-on level ground…🙄

I found a pair of 27” cyclocross tires on eBay, and I use my Superior for gravel rides-on level ground…🙄
Likes For Kabuki12:
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
TheHuth
Classic and Vintage Bicycles: Whats it Worth? Appraisals.
0
08-23-15 11:07 AM