Old frame, new gear
 

Hi everyone,

I'm building my first touring bike from an old Schwinn Sprint frame (ChrMo steel, old road frame). While the frame fits me perfectly, the current components won't do for a touring bike (it's used as my single speed commuter right now).

I'm handbuilding my wheels with Mavic A719 rims and Shimano 105 hubs. The frame hub spacing is 125mm, so the 130mm hub should fit.

Other components I've selected can be found in the attached picture. Will this all be compatible? What other measurements do I need to take on my frame to make sure this all fits?

As you can see, I've decided to go with a 9 speed drivetrain. I've decided on a 11-34t in the back with a 48-26t in the front, would this work for 2-3 week long tours (self-contained, so medium-heavy load)? Anything from flat to relatively hilly terrain. Using Sheldon Brown's calculator that'll give me gear inches from 116.8-20.5 w/ a 175mm crank arm, which seems pretty good. I realize that the 116.8" is a little speedy, but I'd love to use it as my commuter outside of trips, at least for a little while.

I've been having a hard time finding a crank set that will fit a tapered square bottom bracket. It seems that this would be easier to maintain/fix in the field. Any recommendations? Also, are there different sizes of bottom brackets, or is it one-size-fits-all? What do I measure for that?

Any feedback would be much appreciated!!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=218686

molochmaster, What is the rear drop out spacing? If 126 mm you can use a modern 130 mm rear hub. If 120 mm you may need to respace the drop outs. I take it the RD hanger, fender and rack eyelets haven't been hacked off?

I don't know of a 26-48 equpped crankset off hand, but I suggest substituting a mountain triple w/22-32-42/44 chain rings (may want to change to a mountain FD). Square taper BBs and cranksets are still readily available for 68 mm English threaded BB shells.

Brad

As bradtx said, there are still a lot of square taper cranks for sale, many being mtb cranks:

http://aebike.com/parts-accessories-...nsearch=Search

This one is very popular for touring although a little pricey:

http://aebike.com/product/sugino-xd6...r1030-qc30.htm

You should go ahead and "cold-set" (bend or spread) the dropouts so the 130mm hub will fit easier. Then have your RD realigned. You'll need your rear wheel built and true for your LBS to perform the alignment, since it relies upon the rim as a point of reference.

I'm not sure a Schwinn Sprint will make a decent tourer. I suspect this frame has short chainstays, which means you'll need small feet or small panniers (or both) to avoid heel-strike when pedaling.

You may also want to reconsider building up an old, perhaps poorly-suited frame for another reason - building with all new parts is expensive. You can sometimes buy an entire bicycle on sale for nearly the same cost. Your attached parts list with $90 added for a BB and cheap crank, plus another $25 for spokes and $30 for S&H totals $667. This leaves out the necessary seat post, saddle, 2 brakesets, stem, handlebar, brake levers, bar tape, bottle cages, which I assume you're recycling from the Schwinn Sprint.

Here's a few cheap touring bikes that that come to mind:

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...202339_202326_

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...an_turismo.htm

These are practically the same bikes - they have identical frame sizing. The NB has 105 brifters, while the BD has DA barcons, better gear ratio for touring, a better crankset and better wheels.

Thanks for the replies!
The RD measures 126mm, my LBS said just spreading the fork will work for fitting it. He did indeed offer to realign everything.

A friend of mine hand builds wheels for a living, so we'll get all of that worked out.

If I just measure from the center of my BB to the rear hub centre, I measure 45cm, which seems on par with something like a LHT for the chain stay. I should probably just put a back rack on there to check though...

@seeker333
That Gran Turismo looks pretty good, I like the components. They're very similar to what I was looking for. The only issue that I could find is the lack of braze-ons on the fork, though my Sprint frame has the same issue. Do you have any experience with them?

molochmaster, The spec sheet shows the GT has braze ons and fender eyelets. If you friend goes through the wheelset I'm sure either would be a reliable and dependable tourer. You also have a back up for your your SS commuter... Win-Win.

Brad

I was thinking the same thing, I'll need new wheels for my Schwinn frame regardless, so an extra set of wheels would be great!

No.

I suggest you email BD and inquire about the fork eyelets, and see what kind of response you get. I'd also be concerned about a lack of eyelets (I didn't notice this before my last post, thanks). The Nashbar model does appear to have double eyelets on the fork.

after a significant amount of frame spreading, ..
but while you are at it go the extra 5mm, hubs for MTB's feature better seals.

Quick email from BD:

Fork will take full front rack + fenders, so that issue seems to be resolved since last year's model. My size is still in stock, so this seems like an excellent option. Might eventually upgrade to a LHT frame, but for the first trip this should do!

Thanks for everyone's help!

BD bike seems to be really quite a good buy, even taking into account paying to get things sorted properly by a bike store. Even if the wheels or headset are just medium quality, if adjusted properly this really is an excellent choice for getting into touring, with funds left over to spend on racks, panniers, tent, etc etc

For those who may be interested, I emailed BD re. availability of Windsor Tourist in popular sizes (they've been out all year).

BD responded that they would have some WTs stocked in 4-5 weeks...

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/tourist.htm