I see many of you with great looking, and apparently great riding Schwinns. High Sierras, Le Tours, etc. You've meticulously rehabbed them into riding form and seem to really enjoy them. I rode a 1976-77 Schwin Le Tour from the age of 13-21, until it was stolen, then bought a 1960's Schwinn cruiser that I rode for another several years (didn't get a car 'til I was 24). Anyway, even then I know that things like tire sizes, etc were Schwinn specific and not easy to get.
My first ever CL purchase last summer was a '70's Motobecane and as I worked on it I learned all about proprietary tubing, dropout tabs, and the dreaded French threaded bottom bracket fixed cup! Not that it was bad, but for my first ever bike project it wasn't easy.

So do Schwinn bikes still have proprietary parts? If not, what time period did they switch over to more universal components? I see Schwinns (like late '70's & '80's) on CL that look interesting but don't even give them a second look because I think I'll have to hunt for parts. At this point I don't want to have to look too far for parts so I've been leaning more toward mid-'80s- early '90's Japanese bikes (Univega, Nishiki, Centurion, Lotus, Shogun, Miyata, etc) so I can find parts more easily.

So please assuage my fears.

Some Schwinns NEVER had proprietary parts. Basically, the higher you go, the less oddball stuff they had. In addition, most (but not ALL) of the imported Schwinns used standard parts. I have at least 10 Schwinns in the keeper fleet right now, all the way back to 1973. All used standardized parts, most but not all are imported (Japanese).

The lack of standardization is model and year specific, and made by evaluating the particular bike.

It depends on the kind of bike you're interested in. The "ten-speed" style bikes are not as much trouble as the upright types. If you don't buy the electroforged frames, you'll be good. And if you do buy electroforged, the non-standard parts are the stem, stem shifters, seat post, and various hardware such as seat binder bolt.

[MENTION=109949]wrk101[/MENTION]- when you say "the higher you go" do you mean higher in year or higher in bike quality? I think you mean higher model/quality.
[MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION]- I can look it up, but for kicks could you give me a primer on "electro forging"?

Thanks for the quick replies.

[MENTION=355580]Velocivixen[/MENTION]: Chicago Schwinns

Yep, you should fear them like the devil they are! Especially the '80's Tempo's, Pelotons, and chrome Voyagers! If you see a Paramount, then run like the dickens!

Naa- actually they're fine bikes, up there with the Japanese steel bikes you mention. Completely compatible and easy to upgrade. A simple rule I follow: If it has baloon tires or you can't pick it up with less than two hands or it came from a big-box store in the last 10 years or so, then it's not the Schwinn to buy.

Another warning, stay the hell away from 80's Schwinns especially circuits, premis', etc especially since everything is industry standard so no "fun" hens teeth or otherwise oddball parts...and the thin frame tubing... dangerous give me a 40lb varsity any day over that

Paste this in your Craigslist search - the | character is OR, and the * character is a wild card that will get you le tour, tourist, world tour, etc.

I made this because I'm looking for a nice road bike project but you could add the MTB's as well. Here's one for Japanese bikes - click the title button with this one.

You're so funny! I know enough to know that Paramounts are highly regarded, as well as others. lol I just wanted some group expertise to guide me.

For the most part, I think those active in the C & V group enjoy scoring bike purchases well below FMV and sometimes free bikes too. While there are lots of over priced Schwinns on CL, it's easier to find Schwinn deals than most other makes because there were so many sold. Other than a Waterford Paramount, all the other Schwinns I've bought as keepers or flips have cost from as low as $25 for a 1987 Columbus Tenax Super Sport to about $135 for a minty mid 1980's PDG Series 40 MTB.

Okay, so how about something like this? Special sizing/threading? :

Schwinn Le Tour Fifteen Speed 30 yr old

Thanks for that, I wasn't aware of those search commands.

That's going to be a normal bike.

Somewhere in the neighborhood of the 1982 LeTour: https://bikecatalogs.org/SCHWINN/1982...LL/1982_11.JPG


That stem is really cool- it's a short reach SR Custom- The one that I swiped off my sister's old World Sport has gone on two different bikes for me.

That's a good deal, I've paid less, but that's after selling off the generator light set (photo is as purchased). Your prospect qualifies as a petite size mixte too. They are not lightweight. Nothing special about it, just looks like it needs an overhaul. Occasionally, the shifter cable ends are the disc style rather than the barrel style.

Fear the Varsity! Especially when lifting it.

What size/height are you Velocivixen?
I retrieved a 1985 Schwinn Super Le Tour frameset of Columbus Tenax and made in USA. It's grey and IIRC, 50-52cm.
It was one my ex-wife selected but never did get restored.
A nice project with a sweet frame as a basis.

The later offerings and higher models are all pretty much standard industry specs.
Quality and design also better.

PM me if you're interested.

If you lack the knowledge to determine whether a Schwinn bike is decent versus one of the myriad oddball ones they made, then I think your decision to focus on mid 1980s made in Japan bikes is a good decision. Realize sellers often get age wrong, and there are some Japanese bikes from the 1970s with oddball parts as well.

$65 mixte in Portland market??? Should be long gone. The one above needs quite a bit of work, still a great deal (to someone with the time/tools/aptitude to do the rehab themselves).

When I was first getting back in shape.. I was using my '67 Schwinn Racer Deluxe as my starting bar weight

[MENTION=101025]WNG[/MENTION] - I'm 5'6" with longer legs & shorter arms for my height. I usually ride 52, but think some 50's might work better. I've got my pink GT trying to sell, so I won't be buying any bikes soon. Thanks though. Sounds lovely.
[MENTION=109949]wrk101[/MENTION] - you're right on that! I would definitely have to do my research before going into uncharted waters. That's why I don't buy Peugeots, because I haven't done enough research to know what's what. My comfort zone is definitely the ones I've mentioned.

Thanks!

I'd be on that so fast it would make your head spin. A good Chrome-moly mixte (granted, it's 4130 not some exotic Reynolds 5xx Chrome-moly) for less than $100? The threading will be perfectly compatible with modern stuff, but you might have to cold-set the rear end to fit a 8-9-10 speed hub back there.

That Le Tour is hi-tensile steel not cro-moly. I'm pretty sure of that as I was looking into one locally.

[MENTION=101025]WNG[/MENTION] - so Cr-Mo is better than high tensile steel? I get that impression but haven't researched it much.

Yes, it's the recipe that goes into the metallurgy of the steels, which yield stronger alloys, and of course, added cost.
The industry standard recipe # for most hi-tensile steel is 1020, 1030. It has less tensile strength, and softer and more malleable. More material is required to achieve the the same strength per application....which adds weight.
Chrome-molybdenum steel, is # 4130 which contains Chrome and Molybdenum as its main alloying elements.
Tweaking the standard requirements gives you the boutique tubing choices, ie. Columbus, Tange, Vitus, True-Temper, Ishiwata, etc.
Reynolds 531 is another steel alloy with Manganese-molybdenum as its main components.

In between hi-ten steel and cro-moly or manganese-moly, are less expensive alloys which are stronger than 1020 by adding Manganese only. Tange Mangalloy tubing being one, and I think Fuji Valite too.

The higher strength the steel, the lighter and more lively the frameset, Butted tubing yields further weight reduction by removing material at less stressed locations.

That's the Schoolhouse Rock version of a steel tubing lesson.

[MENTION=101025]WNG[/MENTION] - great explanation. I did a bit of research within the last couple of hours. Thanks!

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