Davemutt

I'm about to take the SS plunge and this forum has been very helpful helping me figure how to go about this. I used to race BMX back in the day and still ride my BMX bikes most of the time. I don't ride them so I can hit the trails or skateparks - I just enjoy the workout and variety of riding SS. I think a SS road bike will better suit most of my riding.

I want a bike I can put bigger tires on so I can do some light trail riding. I'm interested in SS right now, but I want the option of FG so I can try it out. I was thinking of picking up a BD Kilo WT or Timeline, but I've decided to work with what I have.

Here's the victim. I retired this bike 3 years ago when I picked up a new road bike. My intention was to keep this bike for foul weather rides. I haven't ridden it in 3 years and I've come to the conclusion I don't like riding in foul weather. I figure I might as well configure it so I can get some use out of it.





Here's the clearances. I think the wheels are 19c or 20c (label says Wolber GTX). The front tire is 25c and the rear tire is 20c.

Front



Rear


Rear Chainstay


Right now the rear wheel is forward in the dropout so I may have a little more room depending on where I end up with chain tension.


So how big do you think I can go with wheels and tires?

The plan is for new wheels, tires/tubes, seat, and pedals. I'll keep the bar setup for now, but I may experiment later. The budget is $300 - $350, but I'm setting aside $80 for powdercoat, so that leaves only $220 - $270 for everything else. I'm thinking about some budget wheels from Velomine unless anyone has a better idea.


Comments, criticisms, suggestions, and random observations are all welcome.

muckymucky

get.the.wt.for.the.love.of.columbus.tubing.gods

TejanoTrackie 

Columbus Tenax ~ Reynolds 520, i.e. nothing special.

TugaDude

Not so sure about that. I was told that Tenax is actually Columbus SP that had some sort of cosmetic flaw and Schwinn contracted to buy tons of it and it was called Tenax. The Tempo that I own was listed at 22 lbs. in the Schwinn catalog and a World sport that I used to own had similar components on it and a 4130 frame and it was listed at 26 lbs.

TejanoTrackie 

4130 is just a grade of chromoly steel, that can be butted or not, which will have a significant effect on weight. Reynolds 520, will always be butted, and comparable in weight to Tenax. The strengths are about the same. Anyways, I'm just saying that there's nothing particularly exotic about the tubeset in the Op's Schwinn Tempo.

max5480

I agree. That is a sweet goodlooking roadbike. Plus, that short dropout will not make for good chain tensioning on a fixed/ss. I would definitely go with the Kilo WT, it is a sweet bike and a ton of people on this forum like it. And if you still don't want that schwinn, I bet you could get at least 100-250 for it depending on where you live.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...t-over-the-Pro

Davemutt

Yeah, this bike's pretty heavy. I took it for a shakedown ride today and it does ride nice. My new road bike is a CF Bottechia that is lighter, stiffer, and more stable at speed. But this old Schwinn sure is comfortable.

Davemutt

Shaved and stripped.



The second bike is a 27" Azuki that I started converting a few years ago but never finished. The plan for the Azuki is SS, 27" wheels, low gearing, riser bars, and big tires.

Dcv

I loved converting my road bike, was in same boat with a bike that I never rode. Now it's in the rotation and I love riding it. I like spending the time doing the work, ending up with a unique bike. I prefer fixed though.
Nice lugged frame.

Philasteve

Get the kilo wt, or a surly steamroller.

Davemutt

Making some progress on the Azuki: