Go ahead and let me have it, I do not mind forthrightness.
I'm working on a '71 Schwinn Super Sport, recently re-painted, for my son-in-law.

First, would it be totally hokey to use the silver/black offset seatpost in the pic below? My SIL has a real long torso so I want a seatpost with a lot of offset. It's well built but heavy, plus the quick-release adjuster is a little much for me but might be handy for him. I like the looks and quality of the silver one, but it is the wrong size.

Second, what would be a cool color scheme for this project? I found a thread titled "green bikes" but there are very few Schwinn opague green versions. The decals will be white, so what should I do for the handlebar wrap, cable housing, saddle, and toe straps?

Like I said, go ahead and tell it like it is...in your opinion.

Also, I am looking for a couple other components.
If you guys and your "tubs-o-parts" have either I would be glad to arrange a purchase.

1) An older silver seatpost clamp, with a recessed allen bolt.
2) A Shimano Sora left shifter, 2/3, to match the one in the pics.

Thanks!

I kind of like the idea of all bright blue accents.. might be garish but oh well.

My opinion in the seatpost is that you are going about this the wrong way. It is the biggest mistake to adjust saddle position when it is the handlebar that should be changed. You must find the correct saddle position relative to the cranks and start with that. Then you should change the stem and handlebars accordingly. This may mean a 130mm stem with the longest reach bars you can find. If his torso is proportionately long than his legs are proportionately short and a set-back seatpost will only serve to make the position even more awkward as it moves him further and further behind the cranks.

Re the seat post clamp, I used a DKG MO29S alloy clamp when I rebuilt my '73 Super Sport. It was $14.95 from Dave Garoutte, DKG CNC Services Machine Shop, 415-479-5482.

The MTE 100 is a cast part a broken thing under your Butt is uncomfortable
..and you may not have a frame seat tube ID to fit ..
what is the ID of it?

Road bike want long reach ?, the stem extension, forward, is where you get it.

you would desire setback if the Femur/thigh bone was freakishly long
for over all height..

Unless you were thinking ' sitting bolt upright on a Flat town Dutch Cruiser ..

The 70s fillet brazed Super Sports I've worked with have all used straight gauge 29mm O.D. chromoly seat tubes with 1mm walls (27mm I.D.) that take a 26.8mm seatpost.

I only know one racer who likes a lot of setback; he simply doesn't like weight on his arms.

Hard to achieve balance of weight distribution with that seatback, I'd think.
I'd either balance the setback with a stem reach, or tend it forward some.
If he doesn't have really long legs, he's losing power on the pedals that far back.

With that green, I'd go with black on everything else. Seriously.
The polished parts will provide the third color just fine.

White would remind me of a bottle of toilet cleaner or something....

That is a very nice-looking seat post clamp!

In addition, the same company make a mini-maglite holder...way cool.

https://www.dkg-cnc.com/maglite.html

Thanks for the opinions!

I'm leaning towards black, as white would be awful bright when combined with the lime green. Possibly a brown leather saddle, and maybe that elkhide bar tape like Pastor Bob's Sporty.

i like honey leather with green, not black.

Here's my opinion:

Donuts are good.

So there.

If those are the brakes you intend to use on the bike, I would prepare to get different calipers. Fillet-brazed Schwinns of that era typically used medium-to-long reach calipers, around 52-55mm with a 27" wheel. Those look like "short" reach, which max out at 49mm or so. If you build it with 700C wheels, you'll need another 4mm of reach also.

Pretty color. I'm a traditionalist- I would go with all silver components and either color-matched or black handlebar tape.

Everything read good except the seat post you need to go with longer tradtional post in the correct size for the frame. The 24inch frame pichered should be good for riders 5'9"-6'1". If the rider is a little longer in the torso go with a longer stem. As for color white on green looks good but yellow on green can really pop.

zukahn, what brand of stem is on your bike?
It pushes forward quite far, and looks sturdy.
(The I.D. diameter on an early Super Sport fork is 21mm.)

Jeff, I won't be using those brakes, they were a great price so I bought them.
Impulse buy...maybe I'll use them on a later project.

I no longer have the bike but I'm pretty sure the stem was a Origin 130mm with a standard 22.2 quill. The 21.0 on the Schwinn will limit your options quit a bit.

I have the opportunity to purchase one of two bikes. The first is a mid-90's Cannondale M300 CAAD1 in very nice shape. The other is a mid/late 90's Specialized HardRock. I plan to bike on neighborhood streets/light trails with my two young sons. Both are competitively priced around $150. Given the choice of the two, which would you take and why? My gut feel is this is a "no-brainer" -take the C-Dale. I'm looking for a "sanity check." Thanks and happy cycling!

BTW, I tried to upload photos of both, but the upload failed numerous times. I'll continue to try so you can see each consideration.

Specialized HardRock


C-Dale M300 CAAD1

While the C-dale is a nicer bike I would go with the Specialized. The CAAD frame Canondales are stiff and compact forget about running larger tires or fenders and peples can feel like small boulders when riding.

I'm going to have to second this notion. Honey/camel colored would look sweet.

That green needs gold and red. Depending on the proportions and style used it'll be:

a) christmas
b) rasta
c) gucci
d) tasteful

it's the wrong green for yellow or red. I know it is a modern combo, but I think that green is a modern colour... this is just a light touch of it, but I think blue housing would go really well with the green. You could got with white or black tape and saddle.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/deloren...n/photostream/

I just finished my green Schwinn project. Went with black because it's easy to match everything up.

cyclotoine, I just bought the WallyMart version of the BIKEE 1 pictured above for our 18 month old granddaughter. I think it is an awesome method to teach a child two-wheeling, and am anxious to see how it works with her. Training wheels are so counter-intuitive to actual two-wheeling, I believe they do more harm to a youngsters biking balance than good!

Agreed 67tony. I just googled blue and green bike to show that the colours look cool. I admit that this is more of a modern look, but I think the colour of the schwinn looks modern and it would be okay with just a hint of clue like the cables and maybe a water bottle cage or something.. just enough to make it pop and look good.