# 1975 Sky Blue Schwinn Sports Tourer



## Schwinn499

Pick up this beauty today, my first Sports Tourer. Looks pretty OG and will clean up very nice. Wheels will need new spokes which is common to this era. Switched out the saddle that was on it for a Matex I had. I would like to put barcons on itn and a set of black wall tires. Already have NOS bar tape and a set of shorty fenders for it. Just need some Sky Blue lever covers and ill be set to get started on it once I finish up my 61' Continental project.


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## Metacortex

Very nice! Look forward to seeing it with your magic applied.


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## schwinnman67

Nice!! Looking forward to seeing it done!


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## GTs58

Very nice looking 41 year old. Was that ST a Cali resident?


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## Schwinn499

Yes sir, La Habra bike tag for 74-75


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## Eric Amlie

Sweet. I wanted one of these for a long time. Never found one. The Sky Blue ones seem to be pretty rare. I like your idea for the barcons. I've never been a fan of the stem mounted shifters, at least on a bike with a drop bar. They just seem awkward to me. Nice for tourist style bikes though.


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## Metacortex

I think the Twin-Stik shifters are nice if you ride on the tops, the extremely long levers allow you to precisely select a gear with ease. The Schwinn Approved (SunTour) barcons are excellent when riding on the drops. The precise ratcheting action allows for precise gear selection even with a very short lever.


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## Metacortex

It looks to be original right down to the correct reflectors used that year. Because it looks so original and the '75s seem to be fairly rare (I have only one and have only been able to document a few others) I'd really like to document some of the components if you don't mind:

Frame date
Bottom Bracket stampings (underside, if present)
Fork (mfg. and date code on steerer)
Saddle type and date code
Hub types and date codes
Skewer lever types, logos and nuts
Rim logos and date codes
Pedal logos and date codes
Freewheel sprocket cutouts (round or large triangular)
Handlebar date code
Stem date code and height marking if present
Brake lever QR tab logos (Compe or Schwinn) and lever date codes
Brake extension lever logos and date codes
Brake calipers (Compe or Weinmann)
Kickstand stamping ("///349\\\" or similar if present)
Nervar crank bolts (plain or Nervar engraved)
Nervar crank dustcap type (thin or thick hex hole)
Chain (Sedis, Union, etc., any letter codes?)

From my research there were some changes in these components for '75 so when I see an original bike like that it is a good chance to verify or deny what was going on back then. If you need any help finding the specific codes let me know. Thanks!


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## Dale Alan

That is a real looker .I have a frameset that is a little rough,always wondered what it would like as a whole bike.I really dig that crankset.


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## Metacortex

Dale Alan said:


> I really dig that crankset.




I do as well. That is a custom Nervar 5 VIS (5 PIN) crankset. I say custom because Schwinn had Nervar make them with a special inner guard acting as a shift ramp between the chainrings. While the outer chainguard was an option available to others only Nervar cranksets produced for Schwinn had the inner guard. The attached pics show the standard and Schwinn custom Nervar cranksets.

Schwinn used both custom TA and Nervar cranksets interchangeably on the Sports Tourer in 1971 through 1974 but for 1975 (last year for the Sports Tourer) only Nervar cranksets were used. Schwinn continued to use custom Nervar cranksets on the Superior in 1976 through '78, however they dropped the outer chainguard on those.


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## momo608

Probably the coolest looking Schwinn crankset ever. I'm doing a 73 I think, that has that crankset. The inner ring is rather worn so I'm going to replace it with a Takagi 41 tooth 130 mm BCD. It's on the way to me so I hope it works. I'm debating if I will cut out the addition spokes on the Takagi to make it look stock. I'll have to see it first. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351621392343?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT


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## Metacortex

momo608 said:


> The inner ring is rather worn so I'm going to replace it with a Takagi 41 tooth 130 mm BCD. It's on the way to me so I hope it works.




Unfortunately that ring will not work. The Nervar cranksets had a unique 128mm BCD 40T inner ring. Those rings are very hard to find individually. 

The even more rare version of this crankset used by Schwinn on the early to mid-'71 Sports Tourer had a 90mm BCD inner ring with only 36T:


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## momo608

well that sucks! I did measure it but that requires some eyeballing. I guess I need to get my eye ball calibrated. Thanks for the bad news I guess! Unfortunately not the first time I had parts coming that I knew were wrong before they got here.


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## Schwinn499

Here are some pics I snapped while tinkering yesterday.

The middle saddle is the one that was on it with two saddles off of 77 and 78 Superiors that I now have B15s on.


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## momo608

Were these cranksets anodized? Mine sure looks like it wasn't.

I have been spoiled on most of my bike projects so far, found NOS chainrings or the steel ones I had all looked very good as far as wear. I did a google search on worn chainrings. What I have looks pretty good compared to what I'm seeing as examples of worn chainrings. A excellent 40t chainring for this is going to be hard to find. I wonder if it was a Schwinn only size?


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## Metacortex

momo608 said:


> Were these cranksets anodized? Mine sure looks like it wasn't.




They were not anodized and as such can be polished up very easily.



> A excellent 40t chainring for this is going to be hard to find. I wonder if it was a Schwinn only size?




That same crankset (less the "Schwinn only" inner guard) was available from Nervar and was also used on other makes and models, You can see the Nervar catalog page for that crankset here: http://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?g2_itemId=5844





From the catalog page you can see that the inner ring was available with 38 to 48 teeth (Schwinn and many others used 40T) and the outer ring was available with 46 to 54 teeth (Schwinn used 54T, most others used 50 or 52T).


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## Eric Amlie

Thanks for that catalog link Metacortex.
I have a Nervar Star crankset that I've been looking for a 50t ring to replace the 52t that's on it now. All that I've seen on Ebay are 52t rings so I was beginning to think that that's all that were available. Now I know that a 50t was available. I will keep looking.


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## momo608

Eric Amlie said:


> Thanks for that catalog link Metacortex.
> I have a Nervar Star crankset that I've been looking for a 50t ring to replace the 52t that's on it now. All that I've seen on Ebay are 52t rings so I was beginning to think that that's all that were available. Now I know that a 50t was available. I will keep looking.




We're kind of stuck on the chainring size so they look right with the guards. You wouldn't think a one or two teeth difference would change the size much but it does.


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## Metacortex

momo608 said:


> We're kind of stuck on the chainring size so they look right with the guards. You wouldn't think a one or two teeth difference would change the size much but it does.




Very true. One option is to simply eliminate the guards. Schwinn deleted the outer guard on the '76-'78 Superior. The inner guards can be replaced by spacers as found on the standard (non-Schwinn) Nervar cranksets. With the guards deleted any of the available size inner and outer chainrings could be used.

However if the guards are desired then there is some flexibility since the guards were built in two sizes. The Schwinn-only inner guards were produced in versions for 36T (1971) and 40T (1972-'78) chainrings, and the outer guards were produced in 52T and 54T versions:



 

Unfortunately the guards might be harder to find than the chainrings!


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## momo608

Good advice, but it kind of ruins the best looking crankset ever thing. Those guards are what makes it. I have a 42t coming, I'll put up a photo of it in place when I get it.


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## Metacortex

momo608 said:


> Good advice, but it kind of ruins the best looking crankset ever thing. Those guards are what makes it.




i agree, I absolutely love the look (and function) of the chainguard rings on both the Nervar and TA cranksets used by Schwinn on the Sports Tourer. I was disappointed when they removed the outer guard from the crankset on the Superior.

In addition I believe that the inner guard (between the inner and outer chainrings) was not just there for looks but also to act as a ramp to enhance shifting, especially when they were introduced in '71 with 54-36T wide-range rings. However even with the inner ramp ring Schwinn cited shifting problems across that large a gap when it replaced the 36T inner chainrings with 40T rings on the Sports Tourer late in '71.

'71 Sports Tourer TA 54--36T crankset w/inner guard "shift ramp" ring:








'71 Sports Tourer TA 54-36T crankset w/inner guard ring removed (replaced with spacers




These cranksets definitely look bare without the inner guard ring. It is interesting to note that the picture of the Sports Tourer in the 1971 catalog shows it without the inner guard ring. That pic was taken in Sept. 1970 and would have been a prototype built before the inner guard ring had been added.


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## Schwinn499

There we go! Ill take the TA cranks over the Nervar any day. Such a nice looking crankset.


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## Metacortex

I think most people would consider TA Pro 5 vis cranks with Cyclotouriste rings to be one of the most iconic vintage cranksets out there. However over the years the Nervar crankset has grown on me as well. The TA does have the advantage of a much greater selection of chainrings and one can much more easily make them into a triple than you can the Nervar. 

When Schwinn introduced the Sports Tourer I believe they originally intended on using only TA cranks, however due to potential supply/demand problems they quickly added Nervar as an alternative. 

From Schwinn Service Clinic Bulletin 10, March 1971:





In 1971 it was rare to see a Nervar crankset on a Sports Tourer, but from '72 through '74 it seemed that both were used relatively equally. In 1974 the TA crankset was discontinued and only Nervar cranks were used on the Sports Tourer and Superior from '75 though '78.


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## momo608

This what the Nervar looks like with a 42T replacing the original 40T


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## Schwinn499

momo608 said:


> This what the Nervar looks like with a 42T replacing the original 40T View attachment 283650 View attachment 283651



Looks to have the holes for a triple setup as well.


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## Metacortex

Those 90mm BCD holes were used to mount the 36T inner sprocket on that crankset for the 1971 Sports Tourer. Even after changing the ST from a 36T to a 40T inner sprocket in late '71 Schwinn continued to use up the Nervar 54T sprockets with those holes until inventory ran out well into 1972. You could use those holes to make it a triple, but good luck finding a 90mm BCD ring to match!

Unfortunately the 42T replacement ring doesn't match up well with the inner guard/ramp designed for a 40T ring.


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## Schwinn499

Had this bike for a while now and never touched it. Forgot I even posted this thread. Finally got the new shop setup and have space and time to work on a bike for myself. Will hopefully get this project wrapped up tonight.


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## Schwinn499




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## Eric Amlie

Your bikes are always in such nice condition. You just don't see them like that in my area.
That one looks to be darn near a museum piece.
The Sky Blue seems to a rather rare color on the Sports Tourer...I love it!


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## Schwinn499

Eric Amlie said:


> Your bikes are always in such nice condition. You just don't see them like that in my area.
> That one looks to be darn near a museum piece.
> The Sky Blue seems to a rather rare color on the Sports Tourer...I love it!



I've been weeding through the crusty ones the last decade or more, I find plenty of beaters, just get lucky sometimes I guess. I had to re-spoke the wheels on this one, they were beyond bringing back. All fun stuff for me, having them turn out so nice is just the icing on the cake. Been cranking out projects to sell the last couple months. Nice to work on a keeper for myself.


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## BLK80SLT

Schwinn499 said:


> I've been weeding through the crusty ones the last decade or more, I find plenty of beaters, just get lucky sometimes I guess. I had to re-spoke the wheels on this one, they were beyond bringing back. All fun stuff for me, having them turn out so nice is just the icing on the cake. Been cranking out projects to sell the last couple months. Nice to work on a keeper for myself.



Your bike is beautiful!  I'm in the process of restoring my 78 Superior that had some corrosion on the spokes. I used a brass brush which did a decent job but they don't shine anymore like new ones do. How do you know if the spokes are safe to be used after a cleaning? None of them were real rusty, just a little surface rust.


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## Schwinn499

BLK80SLT said:


> Your bike is beautiful!  I'm in the process of restoring my 78 Superior that had some corrosion on the spokes. I used a brass brush which did a decent job but they don't shine anymore like new ones do. How do you know if the spokes are safe to be used after a cleaning? None of them were real rusty, just a little surface rust.



I've heard it from both sides, some say pitted or surface damaged spokes are unsafe, but have seen and personally rode some pretty crusty wheels with plenty of faith. Personally I'd say they were plenty safe. I put many miles on the original wheels on my 77 superior, crusty spokes and all.


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## BLK80SLT

Schwinn499 said:


> I've heard it from both sides, some say pitted or surface damaged spokes are unsafe, but have seen and personally rode some pretty crusty wheels with plenty of faith. Personally I'd say they were plenty safe. I put many miles on the original wheels on my 77 superior, crusty spokes and all. View attachment 673874



I cleaned them up and have been riding it with no issues.


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## hopkintonbike

Looking at a July 72 ST today and here is the spider with the 90 bcd hole drilling pattern shown as being used up in this year, as Metacortex mentioned, I should introduce myself as I have made a few postings here in the past few days and have failed to do that, I am from Massachusetts, turned 60 this year, and in addition to fooling around with the 1970s lightweights I could not afford when I was riding then, I also deal pretty intensively in the vintage fishing tackle market, focusing on fly fishing and bamboo fly rods and related items specifically, what amazes me is that like on the Clarks Classic Rod Forum where I spend a lot of time, the wealth and depth of information you guys have here is fantastic, look forward to participating and contributing in any small way I can, Thanks, Todd


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