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Date: 20 Aug 2006 08:57:35
From: Bayou Self
Subject: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries. Don't
have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
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Date: 24 Aug 2006 18:34:00
From: wvantwiller
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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"Bayou Self" <mquin43@yahoo.com > wrote in news:1156089455.275523.50990
@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries. Don't
> have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
>
Just ditched a 70's Schwinn Sierra for a used entry-level Lemond, and for
the money you're better off finding a newer used bike at a local bike shop.
The old ones are heavy, the shifting is irritating at the least, and
discouraging of pedalling efficiently, and there are quite a good chance
you'll get stuck with some of the peculiar hardware Schwinn used back then.
I thought about upgrading or replacing a few things just to keep it as a
beater for bad weather, but everything is unique.
If you've not biked in a while, you really don't want to start out on that
kind of crude setup if you can find a decent newer bike.
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Date: 24 Aug 2006 18:55:40
From: wvantwiller
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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wvantwiller <wvantwiller@knickerbocker.com > wrote in
news:a5469$44ee2958$18ec69a4$28894@KNOLOGY.NET:
> "Bayou Self" <mquin43@yahoo.com> wrote in news:1156089455.275523.50990
> @h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
>
>> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries.
>> Don't have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
>> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
>> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
>> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
>> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
>>
>
> Just ditched a 70's Schwinn Sierra for a used entry-level Lemond, and
> for the money you're better off finding a newer used bike at a local
> bike shop.
>
> The old ones are heavy, the shifting is irritating at the least, and
> discouraging of pedalling efficiently, and there are quite a good
> chance you'll get stuck with some of the peculiar hardware Schwinn
> used back then. I thought about upgrading or replacing a few things
> just to keep it as a beater for bad weather, but everything is unique.
>
> If you've not biked in a while, you really don't want to start out on
> that kind of crude setup if you can find a decent newer bike.
>
>
Did I also mention the ergonomics are ginal at best, and if you're
anything larger than the average person you're going to find you rapidly
run out of adjustment, and might not have the option of easily replacing
parts that do cover the range you need?
Unless the person you buy from has changed the saddle and handlebars from
the originals, and I have never had to even after a decade of neglect in
the 80s, you'll also be on a rock hard seat with probably too narrow
handlebars. You certainly won't want to drape a more mature motive unit
over it for long.
For replacing the rear wheel, it took a few weeks (although I've ditched
that LBS) to get the right width non-freehub setup shipped in. You also
have to deal with the crotchety old mechanics because they're the ones
who end up working on the dinosaurs.
Furthermore, those shifters on the head tube also have parts that break,
like the spring washers that tension the shift levers; and parts that
strip while you try to adjust them, like the screw-down nuts for spring
washer nuts that you finger adjust to keep those non-STI shifters from
slowing slipping into another gear.
You spend so much time trying to get onto the right sprocket that you've
already dropped your RPM low enough to NOW have to shift once again,
assuming you don't have to drop too low because the ratios are so wide.
I'm riding with a lot of that scary new technology now that I've seen the
Future, and it works.
It was great in it's day, and seeing as it replace a schedule 80 Taiwan
import frame for me, but it's about as much fun to ride as commuting in a
1970s Chevy.
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Date: 25 Aug 2006 03:06:33
From: Bill Baka
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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wvantwiller wrote:
> wvantwiller <wvantwiller@knickerbocker.com> wrote in
> news:a5469$44ee2958$18ec69a4$28894@KNOLOGY.NET:
>
>> "Bayou Self" <mquin43@yahoo.com> wrote in news:1156089455.275523.50990
>> @h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
>>
>>> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries.
>>> Don't have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
>>> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
>>> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
>>> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
>>> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
>>>
>> Just ditched a 70's Schwinn Sierra for a used entry-level Lemond, and
>> for the money you're better off finding a newer used bike at a local
>> bike shop.
>>
>> The old ones are heavy, the shifting is irritating at the least, and
>> discouraging of pedalling efficiently, and there are quite a good
>> chance you'll get stuck with some of the peculiar hardware Schwinn
>> used back then. I thought about upgrading or replacing a few things
>> just to keep it as a beater for bad weather, but everything is unique.
>>
>> If you've not biked in a while, you really don't want to start out on
>> that kind of crude setup if you can find a decent newer bike.
>>
>>
>
> Did I also mention the ergonomics are ginal at best, and if you're
> anything larger than the average person you're going to find you rapidly
> run out of adjustment, and might not have the option of easily replacing
> parts that do cover the range you need?
>
> Unless the person you buy from has changed the saddle and handlebars from
> the originals, and I have never had to even after a decade of neglect in
> the 80s, you'll also be on a rock hard seat with probably too narrow
> handlebars. You certainly won't want to drape a more mature motive unit
> over it for long.
>
> For replacing the rear wheel, it took a few weeks (although I've ditched
> that LBS) to get the right width non-freehub setup shipped in. You also
> have to deal with the crotchety old mechanics because they're the ones
> who end up working on the dinosaurs.
>
> Furthermore, those shifters on the head tube also have parts that break,
> like the spring washers that tension the shift levers; and parts that
> strip while you try to adjust them, like the screw-down nuts for spring
> washer nuts that you finger adjust to keep those non-STI shifters from
> slowing slipping into another gear.
>
> You spend so much time trying to get onto the right sprocket that you've
> already dropped your RPM low enough to NOW have to shift once again,
> assuming you don't have to drop too low because the ratios are so wide.
>
> I'm riding with a lot of that scary new technology now that I've seen the
> Future, and it works.
>
> It was great in it's day, and seeing as it replace a schedule 80 Taiwan
> import frame for me, but it's about as much fun to ride as commuting in a
> 1970s Chevy.
You want to talk about riding dinosaurs, I rode an old 3 speed with a
Sturmey-Archer hub in a Century charity ride about 8 years ago, side
baskets and all. It was a 27" by 1 3/8" bike with the cruiser bars so it
was not a fast Century by way of sitting almost upright, but I rode at
the right speed to talk with a lot of the casual riders who were pushing
themselves to try to complete the ride. We didn't quite make the full
Century since us slower riders got nailed by a rainstorm and the SAG
wagon was picking up everyone who was not in yet.
It was a fun Fred ride even if not much over 12-15 MPH.
I guess that defines long SLOW distance.
Bill Baka
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Date: 25 Aug 2006 20:31:59
From: wvantwiller
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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Bill Baka <bbaka@syix.com > wrote in
...
>
> You want to talk about riding dinosaurs, I rode an old 3 speed with a
> Sturmey-Archer hub in a Century charity ride about 8 years ago, side
> baskets and all. It was a 27" by 1 3/8" bike with the cruiser bars so
> it was not a fast Century by way of sitting almost upright, but I rode
> at the right speed to talk with a lot of the casual riders who were
> pushing themselves to try to complete the ride. We didn't quite make
> the full Century since us slower riders got nailed by a rainstorm and
> the SAG wagon was picking up everyone who was not in yet.
> It was a fun Fred ride even if not much over 12-15 MPH.
> I guess that defines long SLOW distance.
> Bill Baka
>
I remember the kid on the block whose Dad owned the local Fur Salon had
something like that.
If you're going to indulge in that era technology, you might as well be
comfortable and enjoy the sights, ain't?
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Date: 26 Aug 2006 15:47:54
From: Bill Baka
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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wvantwiller wrote:
> Bill Baka <bbaka@syix.com> wrote in
>
> ...
>
>> You want to talk about riding dinosaurs, I rode an old 3 speed with a
>> Sturmey-Archer hub in a Century charity ride about 8 years ago, side
>> baskets and all. It was a 27" by 1 3/8" bike with the cruiser bars so
>> it was not a fast Century by way of sitting almost upright, but I rode
>> at the right speed to talk with a lot of the casual riders who were
>> pushing themselves to try to complete the ride. We didn't quite make
>> the full Century since us slower riders got nailed by a rainstorm and
>> the SAG wagon was picking up everyone who was not in yet.
>> It was a fun Fred ride even if not much over 12-15 MPH.
>> I guess that defines long SLOW distance.
>> Bill Baka
>>
>
> I remember the kid on the block whose Dad owned the local Fur Salon had
> something like that.
>
> If you're going to indulge in that era technology, you might as well be
> comfortable and enjoy the sights, ain't?
I enjoyed the sights, the people, everything. No blasting by at 25 MPH
trying to be Joe racer like some did.
Being a charity ride I do it every year, no matter what ride I have.
It is fun either way.
Bill Baka
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Date: 23 Aug 2006 07:24:21
From: David the Nationals Fan
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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Craig's list or somewhere (like Working Bikes in Chicago) that recycles
old road bikes. Three years ago I picked up a real nice late 1970's
Lotus for $50 at working bikes and put in about $50 worth of new parts.
It was a great bike until it got Pretzeled in an accident. I then
picked up a late 1970's Trek Road Bike on Craig's list for $120 that
needed no work beyond a tune up.
Both of those Bikes can blow the doors of a Schwinn Varsity or
Continental.
Bayou Self wrote:
> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries. Don't
> have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
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Date: 21 Aug 2006 21:15:04
From: Geoff
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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"Bayou Self" <mquin43@yahoo.com > wrote in message
news:1156089455.275523.50990@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries. Don't
> have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
> road bike?
Sounds good to me...but you know be careful about advice here... All else I
can say is ask on rec.bicycles.tech, try posting your question there with
ATTN:Jobst in subject line hes a guy that posts there that give you good
answer, or try on rec.bicycles.racing with ATTN:Kunich hes another
knowledgeable one... good luck
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Date: 21 Aug 2006 10:49:16
From: Art Harris
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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Bayou Self wrote:
> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries. Don't
> have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
The Varsity and Continental had indestructable frames meant for
teenagers to abuse. But they were REAL heavy and the components were
pretty rough.
Biggest problem will be the steel rim wheels. The wet braking with
these is terrible. And while the rims may weigh a ton, the galvanized
spokes are likely to rust and break under a heavy rider. I'm pretty
sure those bikes had center-pull brakes (or real bad sidepulls), which
don't compare with modern brakes.
For century rides especially, I think you can do better on Ebay. Look
for 1980s Japanese sport touring bikes from Fuji, Panasonic, Miyata,
Nishiki, or Univega. Down tube shifters and 27" wheels are ok. But get
a bike that fits right, has aluminum rims, and good brakes. New tires,
brake pads, and cables/housings will make a big difference too.
Art Harris
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Date: 21 Aug 2006 06:58:00
From:
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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Bayou Self wrote:
> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries. Don't
> have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
Modern STI/Ergo type shift-levers make a huge difference over old style
down-tube. I'd go with a more modern bike. There are plenty of
inexpensive new road bikes on eBay and at LBS'es that would be more
than good enough that don't cost $1000. If you are heavy 700x25 will be
a nice choice. 23's should work fine, but 25 allows more comfort by
allowing you to run slightly lower pressure. I weight 230# and when I
use 23's I have to use so much pressure to avoid pinch-flats that is is
a kind of rough ride. Depends on surface, YMMV.
But of course any bike will do the trick.
Joseph
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Date: 21 Aug 2006 06:26:36
From: catzz66
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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Bayou Self wrote:
> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries. Don't
> have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
>
Give it a shot if you want, but if you spend very much on it at all, or
have to replace many parts on it after you get it, you could easily be
close to the range of a new entry level bike. When you can get a new
entry level bike for under $600, it is worth looking into.
I was initially concerned about adjusting to riding a narrow tired bike,
after starting on a mountain bike, but riding on the 700X23 tires was
not that big of an adjustment for me. It is a little bit more harsh
than my first road bike, a steel framed 12 speed Fuji from the early
80s, I think it had about 1 inch tires on it, but I like the overall
feel of a little bit lighter bike. Riding a bike with the narrow tires
was not that hard for me to get used to. Now I have two bikes, both 700X23.
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 18:18:31
From: Colorado Bicycler
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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You don't need $1,000.
There are a number of decent entry-level road bikes for less.
Go to a few Local Bike Shops and check things out.
You said you are 50 and a clydesdale?
I am 66 and weigh 223 lbs.
One of the bikes I ride was a brand new Sora level bike from EBay at
$285.00. It works great for my "utility" road bike, and I wouldn't
hesitate to take it on a century. I did upgrade the wheels this year.
I also have a couple of other bikes - a better quality roadie and an
entry-level mtn bike.
Lots of folks ride centuries on "hybrids" such as the trek 7000 series.
They run about $450, and with the right tires will do quite well.
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 17:53:13
From: Mike Kruger
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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"Bayou Self" <mquin43@yahoo.com > wrote in message
news:1156089455.275523.50990@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries. Don't
> have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
>
An old bike can be an economical re-entry into road biking. When I returned
to road biking, I bought a Schwinn Sprint from about 1980. This worked well
for me.
Some things I have done with old bikes that might be of interest to you:
1. Replace the steel rims with aluminum. Steel rims have almost no stopping
power in the rain, and one of the purposes of having a cheap road bike is so
you can ride it through the rain without undue worry. Note most of the
braking power is in the front, so you could get a 27 inch wheel for the
front and achieve most of the advantage here. (roughly $50 for a new 27 inch
alluminum alloy wheel)
2. Find a shop that carries more than 1 model of 27 inch tires (a cheap
model and a higher model). This will indicate a certain familiarity with
these old bikes. Shops that used to have (or still have) "Schwinn" in the
name often have old inventory somewhere that they are pleased to part with,
and the mechanics may be more familiar with this type of bike.
Avoid bikes that require the proprietary Schwinn tires (such as S-7 or S-6).
These are hard to find and I don't think there are any higher performance
models of these tires made.
3. If possible, get a bike without "suicide lever" brakes. These are the
levers that you can use while your hands are on the top of the handlebars.
You can unscrew these levers and then hacksaw the nub off, but even with
this riding with your hands on the top of the brake levers isn't as
comfortable.
There's a reason these are nicknamed "suicide levers", and for that same
reason they are no longer found on bicycles.
4. The problem with Ebay is that you are buying without seeing. I'd try
Craig's list, so the bike will be local, you can avoid shipping charges, and
you can look at the bike before buying. No picture set is the same as
examining the bike. For one thing, you can tell if the tires hold air and if
they look like they will need immediate replacement. You can see if the
cables are rusty or not, etc. The prices people put on old bikes on Craig's
list tend to be optimistically high, but you can also bargain. You might be
able to get a friend to look at the bike with you.
5. Resist the urge to upgrade this bike much. If you are riding a lot and
feel the need for something better, then get something better; upgrading
gets expensive and you will still have an old Schwinn. The wheels and brakes
are an exception because of the safety issues.
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Date: 20 Aug 2006 16:08:35
From: William O'Hara
Subject: Re: 70's eBay Schwinn as first road bike?
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"Mike Kruger" <MikeKr@mouse-potato.com > wrote in
news:dk1Gg.14899$gY6.13588@newssvr11.news.prodigy.com:
> "Bayou Self" <mquin43@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1156089455.275523.50990@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>> I'm a 50-yr.-old clydesdale who wants to ride charity centuries.
>> Don't have $1000. How viable is buying a decent-looking Varsity or
>> Continental off of eBay, getting it tuned up, and using it as a first
>> road bike? Reasons: Cheap. Don't need light bike. Those 700x25 tires
>> scare me. I always thought those shifters on the head tube were cool.
>> Steel is strong. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Murray
>>
> An old bike can be an economical re-entry into road biking. When I
> returned to road biking, I bought a Schwinn Sprint from about 1980.
> This worked well for me.
>
> Some things I have done with old bikes that might be of interest to
> you: 1. Replace the steel rims with aluminum. Steel rims have almost
> no stopping power in the rain, and one of the purposes of having a
> cheap road bike is so you can ride it through the rain without undue
> worry. Note most of the braking power is in the front, so you could
> get a 27 inch wheel for the front and achieve most of the advantage
> here. (roughly $50 for a new 27 inch alluminum alloy wheel)
>
> 2. Find a shop that carries more than 1 model of 27 inch tires (a
> cheap model and a higher model). This will indicate a certain
> familiarity with these old bikes. Shops that used to have (or still
> have) "Schwinn" in the name often have old inventory somewhere that
> they are pleased to part with, and the mechanics may be more familiar
> with this type of bike.
>
> Avoid bikes that require the proprietary Schwinn tires (such as S-7 or
> S-6). These are hard to find and I don't think there are any higher
> performance models of these tires made.
>
> 3. If possible, get a bike without "suicide lever" brakes. These are
> the levers that you can use while your hands are on the top of the
> handlebars. You can unscrew these levers and then hacksaw the nub off,
> but even with this riding with your hands on the top of the brake
> levers isn't as comfortable.
I thought about buying the a new brakeset and lever set for
my old schwinn. With the right brakeset you could go for 700cc.
There are some cheap and decent 700cc wheels. The leversets
out there are supposed to be much better than those suicide
levers. I did take off my levers. Now, you see people with
the cyclocross levers. There was a need for the style, but those
things aren't too good.
I started pricing the thing out and it ends up to be 300$ before
you started riding the bike. The LBS is selling a nice entry level
Fuji sport tourer for 550. I would suggest something along these
lines.
I like my STI on my main road bike so much that I wouldn't want
to ride 100 miles on a 12 speed headtube job.
--
---
William O'Hara
www.N1ey.com - Amateur Radio and Railfan Blog
www.yahoogroups.com/group/illinoiscentral - premier discussion list re:
ICRR
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