Hey everyone, first time poster!

I just bought my first (used) bike yesterday. According to the seller, it's an old-school (circa 80s) Schwinn 12-speed. I've owned other bikes, but mainly mountain/bmx. I need some help/suggestions because judging by the looks and ride, it needs some work.

I was thinking of painting it (best options?), ripping off back break, converting it to a SS/FG, new tires? The guy said if I took some steal wool, it'd clean up the bike real nice. But like I said I'm pretty new to these bikes. Thanks!

Without flash (actually looks decent):


With flash (yikes):

if you're running SS keep your back brake. and get new wheels. rusty spokes = trouble.

no seatpost, eh?

Please don't repaint it, it looks like it's in very good condition.

Goddamn. WAY too big pics.
Do not repaint that. It's nice. I would ride it SS. It would look real classy as a single speed. Brooks seat, leather bar wrap, new wheels etc etc.

I'll just echo others' urging not to repaint. The current paint job is really nice, and it's quite expensive to achieve a repaint as durable as the factory finish.

Holy Jesus, yes. Your missusing the Internets. No larger than 640x480 for web forums.
Use this to post normal sized pics!

And yeah, don't paint that thing. It looks sweet.

Yea, sorry about the huge pics, I was in a bit of a rush today.

I just resized and uploaded.

Anyways, thanks for all the input. I'm now really considering not painting it. But yeah, wheels are now a priority. Can someone give me insight on how to choose wheels and give me an idea of how much its going to set me back?

Thanks again!