Early 1970s Panasonic Sport Deluxe
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Very cool @molleraj. 3rd pick from last on the big post is exactly where I was parked yesterday at 6am taking my little nephew twins out paddleboarding. That yellow looks awesome ngl.
Last edited by DonkeyShow; 08-06-22 at 04:27 AM.
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Bro I think I'm in ur picture! Lake shot, that's my brother in law in in the wheel chair I think...I'm the ****** in the blue tank or least that's what I normally wear out there. I happen to live like 1 mile away.
Last edited by cb400bill; 08-06-22 at 10:16 AM. Reason: added pic
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Ha! Wow, nice! I see you now. Sounds like I should be making a return trip some time soon. It's not bad at all getting there from North Potomac. Thank you White Ground Road.
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Very nice vintage find and great photos !
If you plan on riding it regularly, I'd suggest investing in some basic bike tools that will allow you to replace all of the bearing grease of the bottom bracket, headset and hubs that have surely deteriorated over the past 50 years.
If you plan on riding it regularly, I'd suggest investing in some basic bike tools that will allow you to replace all of the bearing grease of the bottom bracket, headset and hubs that have surely deteriorated over the past 50 years.
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Very cool @molleraj. 3rd pick from last on the big post is exactly where I was parked yesterday at 6am taking my little nephew twins out paddleboarding. That yellow looks awesome ngl.
Nice! That sounds like a ton of fun. I myself was thinking of getting an inflatable kayak, carrying it on my back on a folding bike, and then storing the folding bike in the inflatable kayak, but too expensive and renting out a kayak a few times would be good enough. I was thinking of doing this on Seneca Creek but it doesn't seem deep enough to be navigable the whole way to the Potomac. And meh water haha.
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Very nice vintage find and great photos !
If you plan on riding it regularly, I'd suggest investing in some basic bike tools that will allow you to replace all of the bearing grease of the bottom bracket, headset and hubs that have surely deteriorated over the past 50 years.
If you plan on riding it regularly, I'd suggest investing in some basic bike tools that will allow you to replace all of the bearing grease of the bottom bracket, headset and hubs that have surely deteriorated over the past 50 years.
Let me do some reading up on that. I will need grease and a bottom bracket-specific wrench for starters.
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Man, that bike really gets around!
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Ha, it does! It probably has 200 of my miles on it now. Definitely 100 miles since purchasing. Also moving to upcounty Montgomery County (Maryland) has really helped as it's much friendlier to biking than MoCo near DC.
Last edited by molleraj; 08-06-22 at 11:52 AM.
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It's in this year's clunker thread #8. I normally just go to germantown or clarksburg. I'm good for about 30 miles before I get bored. Would like to venture towards Dickerson but the cars are super sketch on Barnesville rd.
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Yes, Dickerson is nice but MD 28 gets sketchier the closer you get to Frederick County. I'd be happy to show you the way to North Potomac and Gaithersburg via Riffle Ford Road if you wanted.
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Just checked the hubs and bottom bracket for play or grinding and didn't feel either. I was thinking of repacking the bearings in all three, but now I will wait. I will use the Schwinn Collegiate and Capri Cordova as practice (ha!). I just ordered the bearings (BC Precision, Grade 25, assorted sizes in bags), grease, and toolset needed to overhaul each.
Tonight, though, I did another worthwhile upgrade. Bar end blinkers with push button activation! The metal accent even matches the bike's color (brushed golden yellow matching amber paint). Now I have blinkers and taillights combined. I was thinking of a remote control rear turn signal but it probably wouldn't mount to the rack or seat stays well.
Back home after riding to NCI Shady Grove
NCI Shady Grove at Medical Center Drive and MD 28
At the door facing away from MD 28
Bar end lights turned on with continuous setting
Another view of the bar end lights on by the shed
Tonight, though, I did another worthwhile upgrade. Bar end blinkers with push button activation! The metal accent even matches the bike's color (brushed golden yellow matching amber paint). Now I have blinkers and taillights combined. I was thinking of a remote control rear turn signal but it probably wouldn't mount to the rack or seat stays well.
Back home after riding to NCI Shady Grove
NCI Shady Grove at Medical Center Drive and MD 28
At the door facing away from MD 28
Bar end lights turned on with continuous setting
Another view of the bar end lights on by the shed
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Just did another repair - replacement of the downtube decals with new ones from VeloCals. I had a very hard time removing the old decal until I found the hand sanitizer + old credit card trick from Schwinn Bike Forums (I only had tried old credit card before that). The i and c at the end are a little smushed in the new decal, but whatever. I am also considering touching up the rust on the seat stays, but if I can't find an exact match I will just wax it.
New decal after allowing to dry for 1 hour and removing backing paper
Freshly applied decal on the drive side
Hand sanitizer worked wonders for pulling up the old decals. I then cleaned the surface with very lightly soapy water and isopropyl alcohol before applying the new decal.
Worn drive side decal
Another view of worn decal
New decal after allowing to dry for 1 hour and removing backing paper
Freshly applied decal on the drive side
Hand sanitizer worked wonders for pulling up the old decals. I then cleaned the surface with very lightly soapy water and isopropyl alcohol before applying the new decal.
Worn drive side decal
Another view of worn decal
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Today I got around to pinstriping and possibly touching up paint. I chose not to touch up as my paint (Testors Gloss Yellow) was too bright for the faded yellow of the bike. I will probably just wax over the rusty bits and keep all the patina.
How do you all like the new pinstripe ;pops? I chose cobalt blue 1/4" Oracal vinyl pinstripes as cobalt blue should be opposite Panasonic yellow on the color wheel.
Drive side view
Note slight bends in the top pinstripes, but even enough I hope
Close up opposite drive side
Zooming in on main triangle
How do you all like the new pinstripe ;pops? I chose cobalt blue 1/4" Oracal vinyl pinstripes as cobalt blue should be opposite Panasonic yellow on the color wheel.
Drive side view
Note slight bends in the top pinstripes, but even enough I hope
Close up opposite drive side
Zooming in on main triangle
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Panasonic built excellent bikes. Some have said that Schwinn helped them in that regard. Their bikes were made well throughout their line, and had good geomentrey. One of the joy's that I get out of the bicycling hobby is taking low end but good frames and mating them with good wheels to make great bikes. A Panasonic Sport Deluxe or a Schwinn World are good starting points. Both are well built, both have good geometry and both also have some Schwinn influence. Without Schwinn influence, there are plenty of bike makers that got this right and the first road bike that deserves mention is the Peugeot UO-8 and it variants. There were others before it but Peugeot sold so many of these bikes, that they became common. Add some good wheels to this bike and you have a great bike.
There are plenty of others. I have a Lampert that surprised me. And my Schwinn Continental with aluminum wheels is a joy. This is fun stuff.
There are plenty of others. I have a Lampert that surprised me. And my Schwinn Continental with aluminum wheels is a joy. This is fun stuff.
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Panasonic built excellent bikes. Some have said that Schwinn helped them in that regard. Their bikes were made well throughout their line, and had good geomentrey. One of the joy's that I get out of the bicycling hobby is taking low end but good frames and mating them with good wheels to make great bikes. A Panasonic Sport Deluxe or a Schwinn World are good starting points. Both are well built, both have good geometry and both also have some Schwinn influence. Without Schwinn influence, there are plenty of bike makers that got this right and the first road bike that deserves mention is the Peugeot UO-8 and it variants. There were others before it but Peugeot sold so many of these bikes, that they became common. Add some good wheels to this bike and you have a great bike.
There are plenty of others. I have a Lampert that surprised me. And my Schwinn Continental with aluminum wheels is a joy. This is fun stuff.
There are plenty of others. I have a Lampert that surprised me. And my Schwinn Continental with aluminum wheels is a joy. This is fun stuff.
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Very nice vintage find and great photos !
If you plan on riding it regularly, I'd suggest investing in some basic bike tools that will allow you to replace all of the bearing grease of the bottom bracket, headset and hubs that have surely deteriorated over the past 50 years.
If you plan on riding it regularly, I'd suggest investing in some basic bike tools that will allow you to replace all of the bearing grease of the bottom bracket, headset and hubs that have surely deteriorated over the past 50 years.
Tourney drive side crank removed
Fixed and variable cups. Note the existing pasty, dry grease.
The bottom bracket is super nicely sealed from the seat and down tubes. I was expecting some plastic spacer thing.
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Sadly I had bad luck trying to repacking the remaining bearings tonight. The front hub was sealed on both sides, so that's probably fine for a good while. The rear needed a freewheel removal tool I didn't have, so I ordered a special 20mm Shimano freewheel removal (Bike Hand YC-120B IIRC). Finally, the headset seemed to be locked tight, so I will wait until I can get an adjustable wrench wide enough to handle it. The good news is I could tighten the brakes way down and overhauling the bottom bracket seems to correspond to a 1 mph increase in average speed in my rides. In addition, I did a great 36.6 mile ride today to the National Capital Trolley Museum, getting me up to around 400 mi total (392 now) on the bike. I will try and just pass 400 miles tomorrow.
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Great luck tonight finishing overhauling my Panasonic! Thanks to the new YC-120B the freewheel came off, though with some torque due to a tad of thread rust. I was very impressed with myself once I could get it off, lol. I then repacked the bearings, tightened down the cones just enough to remove play, and put the rear wheel back together. Then I overhauled the headset, which was quite an experience. The cups were loaded with *free* bearings that promptly fell out. Fortunately I managed to get all 22 on each side counted up and cleaned. The original headset grease was either hardened or disintegrated, so it was thoroughly removed with WD-40 and paper towels. Thanks to new grease, all the cleaned bearings stayed in place. After mixing up the side the handlebars were supposed to go on (I mean I got the cable housings on the wrong side), I removed the fork again and turned around the handlebars/stem relative to the fork. I then put everything back together and adjusted the front and rear brakes. I noticed the brake cable and center pull cables were on the same side (grrrr!!) so I flipped the straddle wire carriers around and reassembled/readjusted the brakes. Everything felt great after a test ride.
I forgot to mention I also used clear nail polish to cover the rusty spots and it looks great! I also put a gel cushion over the saddle and the ride is much more comfortable.
Lots of pictures soon.
I forgot to mention I also used clear nail polish to cover the rusty spots and it looks great! I also put a gel cushion over the saddle and the ride is much more comfortable.
Lots of pictures soon.
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Molleraj, you've gone full velo-nerd so I predict the saddle cushion will soon be gone and a new saddle will be on your Fuji. 😉
All good,
BT
All good,
BT
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Here are the photos as promised! I tightened down the rear hub cones a tad more today and adjusted the rear brakes to reduce squeaking.
Middle of an eight mile ride near home at Darnestown Heritage Park
Close up at Darnestown Heritage Park
Bottom headset cup after cleaning
Newly inserted drive side bearings (lodged in red lithium grease)
Dork disc and Shimano old style freewheel
Non drive side cup before cleaning
Bearings and cones out for cleaning.
Middle of an eight mile ride near home at Darnestown Heritage Park
Close up at Darnestown Heritage Park
Bottom headset cup after cleaning
Newly inserted drive side bearings (lodged in red lithium grease)
Dork disc and Shimano old style freewheel
Non drive side cup before cleaning
Bearings and cones out for cleaning.
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Awesome motivational thread! Haha
I should do more of this, just get on and ride! Great photos! Thanks for sharing
I should do more of this, just get on and ride! Great photos! Thanks for sharing
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