bonsai171

Anyone know where to find a frame weight online for a Schwinn Letour? Its an '87 made of 4130 chromoly. The catalog says the complete bike ( with gears, shifters, etc) was around 25 lbs.

Dave

Broctoon

They don't generally publish weights for the bare frame sets.

It's just a rough guess, but I suspect it's seven or eight pounds.

SquidPuppet

Ask in the C&V forum. There are some Schwinn guys there that are like walking encyclopedias.

veganbikes

Have y'all tried a scale? Most bike shops have one! If you are worried about about the weight of an old Schwinn you probably don't want a Schwinn though. We aren't talking Paramounts here!

Arrowana

I'm not going to bother weighing my frame, but I've got an 89 LeTour that also is listed in the catalog at 25 Lbs. Converting to single speed with a new wheelset dropped it to 22.5 lbs, and now I'm trying to get it under 21 without buying anything expensive. I'll weigh it again next week once I've got a new set of brake levers and ditched the headset mounted reflector.

bonsai171

Just heard back from c&v. Based on some weights of the other guy's bikes, (a 22" frame and fork is a little over 7 lbs!), I figure my 20" is around 7lbs or a hare less.

Arrowana,

That was helpful, sounds like you might have a very similar frame. To your point, I should probably cut down on weight in the wheels. The back wheel is already converted (it's an Alex Track Flip/flop wheel) but has a chunky 700X35 tire on it. The front wheel is the original, and is a 36 spoke wheel, with a kevlar continental 27 X 1.25 tire on it. I'd like to go to something with a lower spoke count in front, and then go down to 700 X 25's (the bike is mostly used for road and paved paths-we are lucky to have a couple hundred miles of them here in ATL!). Think that will make a significant difference in weight?

Maybe it's time to bring it over to the lbs and see if they'll weigh it too (and get a baseline weight before upgrading!)

Dave

Arrowana

Wheels and tires are a good place to start. I went with Mavic Open Pros laced to a Dimension flip-flop hub and an XT front hub. 32 spokes per wheel, but still pretty light. For tires I had a set of Bontrager R4 in 700x25 in my parts bin. I'd look around at options for the lightest tires in your price range that offer puncture protection and don't have poor reviews. Nice tires will ride great, and weight saved there will be more noticeable than other places on the bike. The rear wheel you picked might be heavier than the stock one, weight could be saved there, but it might cost quite a bit to get something noticeably lighter. For the front I would have a look at craigslist and shops that sell used parts, and you will probably stumble upon a front wheel from a road bike that will be an upgrade.
I had a quick look at the specs for the 87 model, and I don't see any super obvious other things to upgrade for weight savings. I'd probably only upgrade other things if you are doing it for a reason like adjusting the fit or replacing something worn out, or if you find a nice part for cheap.

bonsai171

You must be in my head lol. I'm changing the front wheel to go from 27" to 700c, and will probably change the handlebars/stem/brake levers to get compact bars and a more comfortable position (I like riding with my hands on the hoods and the reach on these handlebars is way too far).

Dave