Got sort of an oldie, need advice
05-25-07, 08:56 AM
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Got sort of an oldie, need advice
So browsing the Vintage forum I come upon this https://cgi.ebay.com/80-s-Schwinn-Sup...QQcmdZViewItem auction, bid and won the bike.
My question is where do I go from here? What do I need to go in order to make this bike tour worthy?
When should I stop putting money into this i.e. how much before I should just get a better bike? Would it be worth it to get it painted?
What are some good sites to find parts for this model and what do you recommend for upgrades?
Thanks
My question is where do I go from here? What do I need to go in order to make this bike tour worthy?
When should I stop putting money into this i.e. how much before I should just get a better bike? Would it be worth it to get it painted?
What are some good sites to find parts for this model and what do you recommend for upgrades?
Thanks
05-27-07, 03:20 PM
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Congratulations!
The great thing about touring and touring bikes is that the only important measure of success is how happy they make you. The bike may already be perfectly tour-worthy. The way to tell is to look in your rear-view mirror and see if you're smiling.
When the bike arrives, do what's necessary to evaluate whether you can fall in love with it -- that means getting it adjusted to fit your body and fixing anything broken enough to be an obstacle as you try to bond with it. If you don't know exactly what that entails, let a bike shop do this magic for you. A glance at the auction pictures indicates that you're only missing two necessary items: a rear rack and toe clips for your pedals. Get those. Then ride around for awhile -- gently, short trips now and again, over several weeks -- and try to establish some chemistry with the bike.
It may be love at first sight. Or you may find that it's all great except for the lousy seat, or your hands are getting sore and you want some fancier foam wrap on the handlebars, little things like that. Or you may find that the whole thing is generally discouraging. Anyway, you're trying to decide whether to invest in a relationship with this bike and the way to do that is to take it on a few dates.
If things aren't working out, get rid of the bike -- no amount of expensive parts-swapping is going to make you love it.
If things do seem to be working out after a month or so, the next step is to go back to the bike shop and let them rebuild the hubs, bottom bracket, and headset so that all the moving parts have new, clean lube. Buy the new seat or the handlebar tape or whatever it takes to get perfectly comfortable.
And then you're done -- it's a touring bike, and you're a bike tourist! Touring is not racing. Happiness, not speed, lightness, or gear performance, is the important thing. The challenge in touring is to be comfortable and content on your bike for ten or twelve hours in a day. That has everything to do with basic fit and adjustment and frame of mind . . . and almost nothing to do with the quality of components.
Upgrade a component only when there's something about it that is diminishing your happiness. But that's something you won't know about it until you and the bike are already in a good relationship and are discovering each other's ins and outs.
The great thing about touring and touring bikes is that the only important measure of success is how happy they make you. The bike may already be perfectly tour-worthy. The way to tell is to look in your rear-view mirror and see if you're smiling.
When the bike arrives, do what's necessary to evaluate whether you can fall in love with it -- that means getting it adjusted to fit your body and fixing anything broken enough to be an obstacle as you try to bond with it. If you don't know exactly what that entails, let a bike shop do this magic for you. A glance at the auction pictures indicates that you're only missing two necessary items: a rear rack and toe clips for your pedals. Get those. Then ride around for awhile -- gently, short trips now and again, over several weeks -- and try to establish some chemistry with the bike.
It may be love at first sight. Or you may find that it's all great except for the lousy seat, or your hands are getting sore and you want some fancier foam wrap on the handlebars, little things like that. Or you may find that the whole thing is generally discouraging. Anyway, you're trying to decide whether to invest in a relationship with this bike and the way to do that is to take it on a few dates.
If things aren't working out, get rid of the bike -- no amount of expensive parts-swapping is going to make you love it.
If things do seem to be working out after a month or so, the next step is to go back to the bike shop and let them rebuild the hubs, bottom bracket, and headset so that all the moving parts have new, clean lube. Buy the new seat or the handlebar tape or whatever it takes to get perfectly comfortable.
And then you're done -- it's a touring bike, and you're a bike tourist! Touring is not racing. Happiness, not speed, lightness, or gear performance, is the important thing. The challenge in touring is to be comfortable and content on your bike for ten or twelve hours in a day. That has everything to do with basic fit and adjustment and frame of mind . . . and almost nothing to do with the quality of components.
Upgrade a component only when there's something about it that is diminishing your happiness. But that's something you won't know about it until you and the bike are already in a good relationship and are discovering each other's ins and outs.
05-27-07, 04:10 PM
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Nice bike! I wish I owned an old vintage like that....
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05-27-07, 05:34 PM
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Nice. Probably the only "must have" for that ol' beauty is a rear rack, unless you are going the trailer route. Get one that has at least three supports on each side like a Jandd or old man mountain rack, maybe Tubus (more $), strap some stuff to the back and fly away. I recently restored an old mountain bike and I lubed everything up, adjusted a few things, new tires and tubes (the old tires weren't worn, they were cracked on the sidewalls) and one wheel trued and it is on the road. Get a comfy saddle (search the forums, there have been many threads on saddles) and let er fly. Agree with the above poster about getting everything lubed.
Have fun.
Have fun.
05-27-07, 08:49 PM
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Couldn't I do the lubing myself ? I do I really need to take it in to have the hubs rebuilt and all of that? Someone else recommended that I just replace the tubes and tires(if necessary). Maybe a new seat and some handle bar tape.
Though I do agree about riding it for a while before investing any money at all.
Thanks for all the help and keep it coming.
Though I do agree about riding it for a while before investing any money at all.
Thanks for all the help and keep it coming.
05-27-07, 11:06 PM
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Originally Posted by DonValley
The most important thing to replace is brake cables.
Even if they work ok? It probably is necessary since I will be using it on the road.
05-28-07, 05:17 AM
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Frankly, I'd replace the saddle, add some racks, tune it up and ride the heck out of it! I ride a 20 year old Schwinn Passage for a touring ride and it does quite well. Getting used to the downtube shifters will be your biggest hurdle, in my opinion and that's easy! The basic simplicity of this bike is a big part of why it will be a great touring bike.
Carry an extra brake cable with you, extra tube and patch kit and put some new rubber on the old girl and you will have an excellent touring bike! Older doesn't mean obsolete.
saddle suggestion: Brooks B-17 or Conquest
Get some padded cycling shorts as well if you don't currently have any.
www.aerotechdesigns.com
Carry an extra brake cable with you, extra tube and patch kit and put some new rubber on the old girl and you will have an excellent touring bike! Older doesn't mean obsolete.
saddle suggestion: Brooks B-17 or Conquest
Get some padded cycling shorts as well if you don't currently have any.
www.aerotechdesigns.com
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. “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”- Fredrick Nietzsche
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05-28-07, 06:04 AM
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Originally Posted by Freud
.
My question is where do I go from here? What do I need to go in order to make this bike tour worthy?
When should I stop putting money into this i.e. how much before I should just get a better bike? Would it be worth it to get it painted?
What are some good sites to find parts for this model and what do you recommend for upgrades?
Thanks
My question is where do I go from here? What do I need to go in order to make this bike tour worthy?
When should I stop putting money into this i.e. how much before I should just get a better bike? Would it be worth it to get it painted?
What are some good sites to find parts for this model and what do you recommend for upgrades?
Thanks
05-28-07, 10:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Takara
Congratulations!
The great thing about touring and touring bikes is that the only important measure of success is how happy they make you. The bike may already be perfectly tour-worthy. The way to tell is to look in your rear-view mirror and see if you're smiling.
When the bike arrives, do what's necessary to evaluate whether you can fall in love with it -- that means getting it adjusted to fit your body and fixing anything broken enough to be an obstacle as you try to bond with it. If you don't know exactly what that entails, let a bike shop do this magic for you. A glance at the auction pictures indicates that you're only missing two necessary items: a rear rack and toe clips for your pedals. Get those. Then ride around for awhile -- gently, short trips now and again, over several weeks -- and try to establish some chemistry with the bike.
It may be love at first sight. Or you may find that it's all great except for the lousy seat, or your hands are getting sore and you want some fancier foam wrap on the handlebars, little things like that. Or you may find that the whole thing is generally discouraging. Anyway, you're trying to decide whether to invest in a relationship with this bike and the way to do that is to take it on a few dates.
If things aren't working out, get rid of the bike -- no amount of expensive parts-swapping is going to make you love it.
If things do seem to be working out after a month or so, the next step is to go back to the bike shop and let them rebuild the hubs, bottom bracket, and headset so that all the moving parts have new, clean lube. Buy the new seat or the handlebar tape or whatever it takes to get perfectly comfortable.
And then you're done -- it's a touring bike, and you're a bike tourist! Touring is not racing. Happiness, not speed, lightness, or gear performance, is the important thing. The challenge in touring is to be comfortable and content on your bike for ten or twelve hours in a day. That has everything to do with basic fit and adjustment and frame of mind . . . and almost nothing to do with the quality of components.
Upgrade a component only when there's something about it that is diminishing your happiness. But that's something you won't know about it until you and the bike are already in a good relationship and are discovering each other's ins and outs.
The great thing about touring and touring bikes is that the only important measure of success is how happy they make you. The bike may already be perfectly tour-worthy. The way to tell is to look in your rear-view mirror and see if you're smiling.
When the bike arrives, do what's necessary to evaluate whether you can fall in love with it -- that means getting it adjusted to fit your body and fixing anything broken enough to be an obstacle as you try to bond with it. If you don't know exactly what that entails, let a bike shop do this magic for you. A glance at the auction pictures indicates that you're only missing two necessary items: a rear rack and toe clips for your pedals. Get those. Then ride around for awhile -- gently, short trips now and again, over several weeks -- and try to establish some chemistry with the bike.
It may be love at first sight. Or you may find that it's all great except for the lousy seat, or your hands are getting sore and you want some fancier foam wrap on the handlebars, little things like that. Or you may find that the whole thing is generally discouraging. Anyway, you're trying to decide whether to invest in a relationship with this bike and the way to do that is to take it on a few dates.
If things aren't working out, get rid of the bike -- no amount of expensive parts-swapping is going to make you love it.
If things do seem to be working out after a month or so, the next step is to go back to the bike shop and let them rebuild the hubs, bottom bracket, and headset so that all the moving parts have new, clean lube. Buy the new seat or the handlebar tape or whatever it takes to get perfectly comfortable.
And then you're done -- it's a touring bike, and you're a bike tourist! Touring is not racing. Happiness, not speed, lightness, or gear performance, is the important thing. The challenge in touring is to be comfortable and content on your bike for ten or twelve hours in a day. That has everything to do with basic fit and adjustment and frame of mind . . . and almost nothing to do with the quality of components.
Upgrade a component only when there's something about it that is diminishing your happiness. But that's something you won't know about it until you and the bike are already in a good relationship and are discovering each other's ins and outs.
