Old Schwinn Worth Updates?

In article ,
says...
I have an older Schwinn World Sport I bought used for about $100 13
years ago. I believe it's from the mid 80's, but not sure. It's
burgandy and has block lettering if that helps anybody date it. I
used it for about a year before I got my driver's lincense and havn't
used it since. 4 years ago I got back into biking but as a mountain
biker. Sometimes now I think it would be fun to have a nice road bike
too but I don't want to spend a lot of money. I saw the old Schwinn
sitting in my parents garage and it got me thinking...

Is that a decent bike to start with? It's in great shape (for its age)
but is pretty outdated and needs some updates.

I'm also wondering what upgrades would be needed and how much cost I'm
looking at. I definately need to upgrade the brakes and levers. New

New brake pads are always a good idea, but what's wrong with the current
levers?

tires, probably new rims and a new seat are other areas I'm looking
at.

The rims should be fine unless they're severely bent or badly rusted. If
they're just a little crooked, then true them up and ride. My 1979
Schwinn LeTour is still on its original rims, and I just swapped off the
first new tire yesterday.


I think it has 27 in wheels (not sure, since it's back at my parents'
place). Is that a problem these days?

Usually not. You don't have quite as wide of a selection of tires as
with 700c wheels, but you can still find them. My LBS had some Conti's
in both 27x1-1/4 as well as 27x1-1/8, in stock. And you can certainly
find them by mail order from Nashbar, etc.


I'd also like indexed shifting but realize what that involves. From
looking around this site it seems that many of you still have the old
style shifting and maybe that will work fine. Just not what I'm used
to.

You might as well get a new bike if you are certain you want indexed
shifting. It would probably be cheaper than the new shifters,
derailleurs, hub and cluster.


I've also seen the term "suicide levers" around here. I'm assuming
that's the extended levers to use while your hands are on the top of
the bar? Just curious why they are called that or if I'm thinking
correctly. They seem pretty handy. And no, I don't plan on keeping
them. Just curious.

I'm not sure how often I'd ride it, if it works well maybe once a week
about 30 miles or so.

Then do the basic safety upgrades (brake pads and maybe tires if they
need it), and see how you like it. Then you can do a little at a time if
you can't afford to do it all at once.


I'm pretty unfamiliar with road bikes, so any comments or advice would
be appreciated.

Thanks,

Phil Lundberg


--

"Where was the ka-boom? There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering ka-
boom!"
- Marvin The Martian

In article ,
(Phil) wrote:

I have an older Schwinn World Sport I bought used for about $100 13
years ago. I believe it's from the mid 80's, but not sure. It's
burgandy and has block lettering if that helps anybody date it. I
used it for about a year before I got my driver's lincense and havn't
used it since. 4 years ago I got back into biking but as a mountain
biker. Sometimes now I think it would be fun to have a nice road bike
too but I don't want to spend a lot of money. I saw the old Schwinn
sitting in my parents garage and it got me thinking...

*snip*

I, too, have a model of WorldSport and was thinking of upgrading it
until I can have about $6,000 in the bank. Kidding. I asked Sheldon
Brown of his opinions. At the time I thought of it as a tri-bike, but I
guess I won't. But, here's what he told me. Hope it helps.

In my experience with my commuter, I have to say that the weight savings
plus the pedal change makes the bike more rideable. I am looking forward
to working on this bike as a project, if nothing else to learn to get my
hands all dirty.

Good luck!

---

From my recollection of that model, you would be unlikely to be
competitive on such a bike. If your intention is to try to _win_ a
triathlon, you'll need something faster unless you're in
substantially better condition than the other competitors.

If your intention is to _ride_ the triathlon, have fun and do your
best, that could work. If you wind up getting into doing tris
regularly, you'll certainly want something snazzier.

If you go for it, take all all excess junk, install "clipless" (lock
in) pedals, and practice, practice, practice.

My recollection is that that model had lousy brake levers, the type
with the bolt-on extensions so you can brake from the top of the
bars. I'd suggest losing those, get a pair of the nice Tiagra
levers. They'll let you use the comfortable top-of-the-hoods riding
position, will make your bike look much less goofy, and will
considerably improve braking. See:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakes.html#leversdrop

I have an older Schwinn World Sport I bought used for about $100 13
years ago. I believe it's from the mid 80's, but not sure.

Refer your serial number to the tables on this page to date your Schwinn:
http://www.firstflightbikes.com/schwinn.htm

I'm also wondering what upgrades would be needed and how much cost I'm
looking at. I definately need to upgrade the brakes and levers.

Brake pads for sure. The brake hoods may be dried out as well, and you
probably do want to get rid of the extra levers.
You may be able to get new hoods cheaply -- or maybe not --, and I've heard
that on some brakes you can just remove the extra levers. I don't know that
I'd "upgrade" the brakes as just "replace" them if you need to. You may be
able to find another used 27 inch road bike as a source of spare parts.

tires, probably new rims and a new seat are other areas I'm looking at.

Don't forget tubes, and possibly new rim strips.
If the rims are aluminum, this advice is good (I have the original rims on a
1976 Super Le Tour):

The rims should be fine unless they're severely bent or badly rusted. If
they're just a little crooked, then true them up and ride. My 1979
Schwinn LeTour is still on its original rims, ...

If the rims are steel, though, they are deathtraps when wet. You will have
surprisingly little braking power.

I think it has 27 in wheels (not sure, since it's back at my parents'
place). Is that a problem these days?

There's a narrow selection, but still adequate. My local bike shop (Amlings
in Niles, IL) still has all this stuff; some shops don't have any.


I'd also like indexed shifting but realize what that involves.

Yeah. I wouldn't put that much dough into an old Schwinn (and I own 3).
On the other hand, I live in a flat city; I've done centuries without a gear
change.

Also, on a bike that hasn't been ridden in 13 years, you will want to
overhaul (replace the grease in) all bearings.

Is it worth it? If you ride it, yeah. In 1999 I bought an old Schwinn at a
rummage sale. I hadn't ridden drop bars in years, and thought this would be
a cheap way to see if I could still ride them. I figured I'd ride the bike
2000-3000 miles until I knew the answer. I replaced pretty much the same
stuff mentioned above -- new rims were the most expensive single item
($140). I now have over 7000 miles on the bike and it should be a good
commuter bike for years to come.

"Mark" wrote in message
om...
Ok, you've set the standards: you want a decent road bike,
inexpensively. You can rebuild the Schwinn, but I think you'll replace
so much stuff that you'll end up spending $4-5 hundred easy. Knock a
hundred off that if you don't paint it, and another $150 if it had
alloy rims. So, from my experience, and I've done a couple of these, a
best case scenario is swag $200-250. And then there is the time
involved.
Now some other thots: I think your bike probably has steel cranks.
I've known some riders who've kept riding such vehicles into current
time. Not just the cranks, but all the rest - brakes, levers, etc. You
can keep them running, and they may serve you well. I put many miles
on a Panasonic from a few years earlier with steel rings on alloy
cranks. It was strictly a commuter/fun bike tho.

If the rims are straight and alloy (not chromed), they should be fine. Tires
for 27" are hard to find, but you can always order them from a place like
nashbar if the local shops won't order them. A paint job can be done for a
few dollars in supplies (sandpaper and paint) and some effort on your part.
Lose the secondary levers and the main levers will work fine. A new set of
hoods for those levers costs $10 and should be available from your LBS
(local bike shop). A new chain and some new cables will set you back a bit,
but they are well worth it. For polishing up those old-looking metal pieces,
grab a can of wadding polish like Eagle One Nevr-Dull (their spelling, not
mine).

I have rebuilt several old Schwinns this way and none of them have cost me
more than $100. Just clean up the old hardware, replace the parts that get
old (tires, chain, cables, brake pads), and start riding. So far this year,
two of my older bikes (both at least 20 years old, and both rescued from
near-death) have tallied up more miles than my two newest bikes. And yes,
both of those old bikes are in near-stock condition with the exceptions of
pads, tires, paint and cables, three of which are considered consumables
anyway.

Good luck playing Dr. Frankenstein. It's loads of fun.

-Buck

"Buck" j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m wrote in message
...

Good luck playing Dr. Frankenstein. It's loads of fun.

That's probably the most compelling reason to fix up the old bike.
If you find out it's not fun for you, then forget about it.

"Mike Kruger" wrote in message ws.com...
"Buck" j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m wrote in message
...

Good luck playing Dr. Frankenstein. It's loads of fun.

That's probably the most compelling reason to fix up the old bike.
If you find out it's not fun for you, then forget about it.

Yep, I love tinkering.

Thanks for all the advice guys! I don't know if you made things any
easier though ; ). I think I'll just try to tune it up the best I can
for now, then see how I like it. I don't think it would be worth it
to spend a lot on, but a few upgrades may be ok. I'll have to see.
My main goal is to have a road bike capable of going on some moderate
group rides. I don't care if I'm first, I just want to keep up.

I found a website with some info on it if anybody has any more
comments or just wants to look at some old bikes. It must be older
than I thought it was (told it was), as it looks just like this 1980
model:

Pictu http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn/198003.jpg

Specs: http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn/198004.jpg

It also seems to be not as good as I thought, which is why I'll
probably just tinker a bit.

(Phil) wrote in message . com...
I have an older Schwinn World Sport I bought used for about $100 13
years ago. I believe it's from the mid 80's, but not sure. It's
burgandy and has block lettering if that helps anybody date it. I
used it for about a year before I got my driver's lincense and havn't
used it since. 4 years ago I got back into biking but as a mountain
biker. Sometimes now I think it would be fun to have a nice road bike
too but I don't want to spend a lot of money. I saw the old Schwinn
sitting in my parents garage and it got me thinking...

Is that a decent bike to start with? It's in great shape (for its age)
but is pretty outdated and needs some updates.

I'm also wondering what upgrades would be needed and how much cost I'm
looking at. I definately need to upgrade the brakes and levers. New
tires, probably new rims and a new seat are other areas I'm looking
at.

I think it has 27 in wheels (not sure, since it's back at my parents'
place). Is that a problem these days?

I'd also like indexed shifting but realize what that involves. From
looking around this site it seems that many of you still have the old
style shifting and maybe that will work fine. Just not what I'm used
to.

I've also seen the term "suicide levers" around here. I'm assuming
that's the extended levers to use while your hands are on the top of
the bar? Just curious why they are called that or if I'm thinking
correctly. They seem pretty handy. And no, I don't plan on keeping
them. Just curious.

I'm not sure how often I'd ride it, if it works well maybe once a week
about 30 miles or so.

I'm pretty unfamiliar with road bikes, so any comments or advice would
be appreciated.

Thanks,

Phil Lundberg


I got one for my son this spring at our local police auction. He
likes it 'cause it's black. (Teenagers.) I put on new tires, new
seat and handlebar tape, a little cleaning and lubrication and that's
about it. He has been riding it around town and we went on a 5-day
loaded tour with it, worked fine. Actually not a bad touring
geometry, although a bit heavy. As for the suicide levers, he loves
'em, I've never tried them myself, I am not sure why they are so
decried.

As others have said, its a perfectly decent getting around bike, I
wouldn't spend a lot fixing it up though.

27 inch tires are easier to find than everybody says,
if you lower your standards. Specifically, Wal Mart
has 27 x 1 1/4 tires, which are narrower than they
sound; they seem about the same width as some 25c
tires I have, though I've never compared side by side.

They are cheap and take 95 psi. They ride and handle
suprisingly well.

When I salvage old ten speeds, if they need tires
and I don't have any, these Wal-marts are what I
use. They don't suck.

Granted, I wouldn't use them on a serious racing
bike, or on anything where I expect high performance,
but they're fine for the riding you'd do on, for
example, a 20 year old Schwinn World Sport.

--
Rick Onanian