3speedslow

Very nice double shot of the preludes you have there ! What's the story ?

jjames1452 

Thank you very much.
One is set up for friction.
The other index.

Finding both color options was pretty cool as well.

For whatever reason the Prelude frame fits the best. I can ride either all day with no pain.

cratz2

The bike that's been seeing the most use lately:



Bought this one to flip:



And I forget what year this one was, but it was a pretty nice rider. It came with 27" steel wheels but I swapped on a set of newer Mavics and I quite liked it. If it was in a bit better cosmetic condition, I probably would have kept it and not bought the LeTour.

kookaburra1701

Another '87 Tempo to add to the pile. The dude at the bike shop who got it ridable for me said all the components are original, which makes me feel kind of guilty for someday wanting to try out a brifter set up.

The story: I hadn't been on a bicycle since middle school, but I moved to a small town that's mostly flat and about 5 square miles in area. I felt really silly driving everywhere because it was so small, so I started looking at bicycles and saving my money. I was thinking a Trek Navigator or something. My boss heard that I was looking for a bike, and dug this one up out of her garage and gave it to me. I was really intimidated by the drop bars and downtube shifters, as I'd never ridden a road bike before. But I got it fixed up, and my BFF (who is really into racing) took me out for a spin - me on this one and her on her Madone, ha ha. I was beat after 7 miles, but when we came back, we got a tailwind going down a gradual grade, and she kept telling me to shift up - finally I figured out how to do it and the bike LEAPT forward - I felt like I was flying. We kept going faster and faster (I didn't have a computer yet, she said her Garmin reported ~25 mph) until I couldn't shift up anymore.

Ever since then I've been hooked on these crazy contraptions.

Headbadge shot:


Here it is right now, with all commuter gear stripped off. (I finally got a dedicated bike for commuting.


Oh, I tell a lie - it's got a white Cardiff Cornwall saddle on it right now, instead of the Selle Italia Diva. The Cornwall is a bit wide for the racing geometry of the Tempo, but so is my butt.

3speedslow

Kookaburra,

Very nice looking bike ! It must be the 19" frame, tiny headtube ! Great story also. You are lucky to have a friend that would take the time to get you started off right. Cudos to the boss lady for the killer bike giveaway too !

Those Tempos are great examples of the Schwinn reputation. I would have bought one of those just as fast as I got the Super Sport, also an 87. Kinda my favorite year all around. Great things happening for me at that time.

Saddles get changed all the time. My 87 Traveler in winter mint,aka celeste, runs with a Bontregar affinity2 . Very comfortable and light. The 87 SS is currently still carrying the original San Marco Leather saddle. Feels okay for shorter 20+ trips but have not put serious distance miles on it. Looks just right but I know is heavier then the affinity, tempted to switch saddles.


Are you keeping the pedals stock or adding cages or switching out to clip-ins ?

Regards

dparks

1989 Schwin World Sport
Largest frame bike I have ever purchased at 27" ($40 at a thrift shop and boy was it in bad shape!). It cleaned up very well - trying to find a good home for it now.

kookaburra1701

Thanks! Yeah, it is pretty tiny, and the big CamelBak bottles make it look even smaller. Fits me perfectly (actually feels too big sometimes) and I'm not THAT short (5' 3"). I've already switched out the pedals. I still have the stock ones, but these are Shimano PD-M324s with platform on one side and an SPD receiver on the other. I got them so I could use the platform side for commuting, but I think I'm going to keep them instead of switching out for double sided pedals because they look "right" on a vintage bike.

The stem and seatpost are pretty scratched up. Maybe someday I'll either hire someone to polish them up or get nice shiny Nitto components.

Someday, if I ever get myself into a condition where I won't completely embarrass myself I'd like to race it.

kookaburra1701

If we got my bike and your bike together, they might make one normal sized bike.

peazweag

Heres my 89 traveler

3speedslow

Yea,

I saw one of those in the shop I hang out at. Nice bike, I likes the components on it. Is the crank the only thing you have changed out ? What do you think of the ride quality ?

3speedslow

Kookabrra,

Race it !

RaleighSport

I love it! Be sure to make sure your boss understands profuse thanks on your part.. :/ I wish mine had looked like that.

kookaburra1701

She does - she says that the big goofy grin I get whenever I talk about the rides it takes me on (and the extra garage space) makes her glad she found it a good home.

Here's another picture - this time with the current Cardiff Cornwall Saddle.


So far I'm pretty pleased with the Cardiff - it's very hard (but I've never had another leather saddle, so I don't know how it compares) so my butt is sore after riding it, but it's a good sore, not an "important bits have been without blood flow for a little too long" soreness, which is what I've gotten with all the other saddles I've tried. I'm eventually going to put a Brooks of some sort on my upright commuter bike. When I do so we'll see how it compares.

3speedslow

Kookaburra,

What a wonderful place to ride a bike ! How long of a riding season do you have there ?

Speaking of the ride, how does the bike handle the different roads there ? With the saddle being new and leather, have you treated it with anything ? There's a lot of good info here on the BF site.

Regards,

kookaburra1701

It is really beautiful around here - I ride year 'round, but you get nice weather usually from mid-June to mid-October. We don't get snow much (and when we do, it doesn't stick around) so if you're willing to brave the wind and the rain (and here on the coast the wind can get pretty wild) it's a 365-day cycling spot. The Tempo handles great, I guess - I'm new enough that I don't have much experience with various bikes. It's responsive, but I've never felt like it was going to throw me off if I moved it the wrong way too fast or anything. There's lots of really rough chip seal roads here, and lots of pot holes, big cracks, etc, but even when I've hit patches like that going full speed, as long as I've let my elbows and wrists absorb the shock and kept a firm grip on the handlebars, it's gone straight through lots of nasty stuff without ever feeling like it was going to buck or fall.

I haven't conditioned the saddle yet, I'm still getting a feel a for it. It came with tensioning tools and stuff, but I haven't fiddled with those. I figure I'll get my butt used to it for a bit, then start experimenting.

KZBrian

My new daily rider. I just took my first ride this morning on it. Much more comfortable ride than my Cannondale SR400, more agile, and a little stiffer than the Proteus touring bike I have been riding. The Shimano 600 components seem to work very well. This is my first experience with Biopace rings. No opinion yet on those.

rivas7200

I posted this bike sometime last year but have since made a few changes. The original idea was to change the bike into a retro-rodie with STI but I couldn't bring myself to switch the DT shifters to STI's. It has a new wheelset - basic Alex wheels. 9-speed SRAM cassette and a carbon fiber FSA SLK crankset.
This is my favorite bike and the bike I ride the most. Unfortunately it has crashed twice. The first time was when I was hit by a car at low speeds. The second crash was a few weeks ago when I was carving a corner at 20mph and hit a patch of grease on the rode. The bike slid out from under me and down I went.

RaleighSport

Heh.. I could never ever ever put a big heavy leather saddle on my 87 tempo.. I do like the way it looks on yours though. Is that frame too small for you? Just looking at the stem height....

3speedslow

KZbrian,

That is one nice Super Sport ! Red with black stays is a great colour combination. How did it come into your stable ? I have those biospace rings on my 87 SS too. Can't say I have noticed any difference in the crank action myself.Is that the size frame that works for you ?
Hope you didn't do what I did on my first run with the bike and cooked myself in the heat.

Enjoy it ! 3SS

kookaburra1701

Nah, the frame is the right size, my gut is just too big. As it shrinks the stem gets lower and lower...

KZBrian

Thanks 3SS!
I had a bike that was too small for me, so I put it on Craigslist with a price and the offer to trade. The person who owned this contacted me, and we agreed to a trade. This size is good. It is a 56cm and I traded away a 52cm. I used a tall stem on the 52. Now the seat and bars are nearly level.

rccardr 

Just completed this '87 Tempo resto, with some modest updating. New Origin8 saddle, Shimano woven stainless cables, Jagwire housing, Nashbar gel tape, Michelin Pro3's (these are an interesting mix of Digital Blue and Tabac) but pretty much everything else is factory. Wish I could find a better match for the teal paint...the ride on these biikes is so awesome! This is the second one of these to pass through the Lab this season, and I think there might be one more on the way.

3speedslow

rccardr,

Nicely done restoration ! How do you come up with the Tempos ? Is this one of the bikes you keep ? Those tires made me take another look. I thought for sure you had coloured those too.

Great job !

rccardr 

Thanks. When I see a nice one in a reasonable (to me) price range, I figure out a way to buy it and have it shipped. This one was facilitated by fellow BF member ChrisinMiami. The next one is being picked up by a co-worker who will bring it down to DC thenext time he travles here on business. Patience and ready cash are the keys.

This bike (along with about 10 others including the other Tempos) will be sold in the spring during Crazy Bike Buying Week.

PedalTraveler

Not nearly so nice as many of the bikes posted here, but I found this 87/88 Traveler for a mere 5 bucks at a garage sale! I put some new tires and did a serious cleanup, it should make a nice commuter. Perhaps a repaint in the future, or at least a touch up.