# Matching Set World Travelers



## schwinnbikebobb (May 31, 2016)

My buddy bird dogged these for me this w/e.  Not the get the pulse pumping level of bikes but still pretty cool to find a pair. Makes you wonder what the story was, brothers? husband/wife and the wife did not want a girls bike? Sold here in town and the city licenses are sequential. The M in the serial number is puzzling as I thought they only went to L on these. Look original to me. The cyclometers show 1 at 900 miles and the other at 700. The downtube decals are not close to the same position, one being higher on one bike than the other.


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## momo608 (May 31, 2016)

The 2M16114 was repainted. Yellow peeling paint revealing yellow underneath hence the decal BIG location difference? So what are these, Japanese frames with Ashtabula cranksets? 

I had a few early 80's Conti's at one time to compare against each other, the decals were all over the place. Sure would have liked to see the assembly line technique of waterslide decal installation. Unlike me I doubt they would have used up half a day putting them on one bike.


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## Metacortex (May 31, 2016)

The 2Mxxxxx serial most likely indicates a Dec. '72 frame.

These had Japanese made clones of Schwinn's ashtabula cranks with "Schwinn Approved" clones of the Schwinn double-plateau chainrings and spoke protector. They used only Schwinn Approved Shimano-built components including GT-100 rear and GT-150 front derailleurs and Model J freewheels. They were basically considered a lugged Continental and cost $9 more than the Continental in '72 ($113.95 vs. $104.95).








These were the very first imported "Schwinn" (the World Voyageur followed 4 to 6 months later), and were first announced to dealers in the Oct. 1971 Reporter:


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 8, 2016)

schwinnbikebobb said:


> ...Makes you wonder what the story was, brothers? husband/wife and the wife did not want a girls bike? ...]




My daughter has a bike with a mixte frame and a bike with a diamond frame.  I think she doesn't like the "girl bike" stigma, but her Team Fuji diamond frame is simply a cool ride.  Diamond frames are lighter, and feel sporty and responsive - they simply work better.
There are mixtes, and then there are mixtes.  Good ones take a lot of thought, well-designed lugs and high-grade butted tubing.
The better ones are Italian, Miyata and customs - Mercian, Rivendell - though the current crop of steel frame mixtes (Linus, Public, Velo Orange) have learned all the right lessons




Everything about the World Traveler shows it targeted imported Raleigh Grand Prix (or Record) as its market competition.  I can also tell you Grand Prix mixtes were dogs, while the diamond frame bikes are still sought out for riders today.


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## momo608 (Jun 8, 2016)

Girls wearing dresses is like boys using the boys bathroom. A relic of the past, LOL


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 8, 2016)

Mixtes actually aren't for girls, hence the name.  They are step-through frames and the people hunting out quality mixtes today are seniors, not necessarily men or women in skirts. 

But in 1972 bike boom, women who wanted sporty bikes bought diamond frames, as they do today.


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## Eric Amlie (Jun 8, 2016)

I wonder if the mixte frame would feel better if you put a drop bar or straight bar on it.
My experience is that it's the upright riding position that holds me back more than anything else.
I just can't put good power on the pedals from that position. I need to be leaned over further with my hands further ahead which both a drop bar and a straight bar facilitates.


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 8, 2016)

wrong bike, that's the Miyata example that belongs to my buddy's wife. My daughter's upright is a straight-bar bike.  My daughter is so fast on it she flipped it on the front V-brake one day.  At 12 y-o she out-paddled 3 grown men 5 miles into the wind across a coastal estuary.  She charges at everything and this past wrestling season was a seed for State as a sophomore.

I have a drop-bar road bike, semi-upright moustache cockpit bike, upright, and they're all 3 long distance bikes.  The key with an upright is getting your saddle far enough back to get your knees in front of you.  I've been out 88 miles on this bike, and I ride 60-80 mi every week - some weeks over 100


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## Eric Amlie (Jun 8, 2016)

bulldog1935 said:


> The key with an upright is getting your saddle far enough back to get your knees in front of you.  I've been out 88 miles on this bike, and I ride 60-80 mi every week - some weeks over 100




Yes, getting the seat back further would essentially accomplish the same thing.
I notice that your handlebar does not sweep back very far like most of the tourist type bars. That backwards sweep is a big part of what cramps me up in the cockpit and keeps me from leaning forward as much as I want.
Any sources for a seatpost with a lot of setback to fit a Schwinn electroforged frame?


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## Metacortex (Jun 8, 2016)

Eric Amlie said:


> Any sources for a seatpost with a lot of setback to fit a Schwinn electroforged frame?




This guy makes a killer one, but it is $85: http://www.genuinebicycleproducts.com/parts.html
Here's another not as nice but much cheaper: http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/321323914566


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 8, 2016)

Eric, I'm kinda hating to hijack this thread and don't mind sharing the info publicly.
The bars are 615mm Ahearne Map bars.  http://www.ahearnecycles.com/shop/ahearnemap-handlebar
It's one of the modern Alt bars derived from the angles of the Jones H-bar.
Comparable bars in other widths include Jitensha touring  (Nitto 2522) as the narrowest, and On-One Mary Bars as the widest.
(Here's the definitive review of Alt bars:  http://oldglorymtb.com/round-up-alternative-or-alt-mountain-bike-handlebars/  )
80mm Nitto Technomic stem gives me the right reach.
The longest-setback seatpost available is Nitto S-84 lugged Cr-Mo.
https://alexscycle.com/collections/road-seatposts/products/nitto-s84-lugged-seatpost-1
The details on building the bike and some supplier info are here (and a few details on living with it for a year) :
http://thecabe.com/forum/threads/ot-modern-lightweight-with-classic-style.71042/
(one of those threads that moved from the old board and duplicated photos)


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## Eric Amlie (Jun 8, 2016)

Metacortex said:


> Here's another not as nice but much cheaper: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=321323914566



Thanks for the link Metacortex.
The chrome-moly one is nice, but the '63 Schwinn Traveler that I'm talking about here is not a bike that warrants that quality & price. I'll looking into the other one and probably buy one.

Bulldog, very nice build on your bike, and I'm sure it makes a great rider. I made a tourist version of a '76 Schwinn Superior that puts me in a much better riding position than the '63 Traveler. I'm sure the secret is a longer top tube and a handlebar with less reach back. I set it up with wide range gearing and it works really well for me.


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 8, 2016)

good-looking bike, and a useful gearset, but your're missing a 70" gear, which is a great cruising gear.  
You could probably get it with a smaller big ring.


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## Eric Amlie (Jun 8, 2016)

Conventional wisdom says that 70" is a good cruising gear, but it also says that the ideal cruising gear is your height in inches, or your reach(usually about the same). I'm 5'7" on a good day, so 67", add to that, that I'm old, about to turn 64 years old, and the 64" cruising gear works out pretty well for me.


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 9, 2016)

throught I'd throw this in since we've transformed this to an upright thread. 
Rivendell builds frames with geometry ready to go for upright and back-sweeping bars. 
A recent blog found at least one surprise in that riding position: 
http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2016/06/brifter-bliss-for-swept-back-handlebars.html#more 
But upright is not just for townies and cruisers.  While they're certainly not for racing, a well-thought-out upright is great for all-road riding, long-distance touring or rando.


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## momo608 (Jun 9, 2016)

Personally I can hardly tell the difference of any of the sport road bikes I have when riding them, electroforged to the lightest racing bikes. Lifting them on to my bike carrier is a different story. Tourist models are much more comfortable especially with a nice mattress saddle as apposed to the ass hatchets found on sport road bikes. I don't have any tourist models because of their bad looks, I'd rather have a cool looking bike than being comfortable. I wonder as I get older with more unexplained body pains if I will drop my superficial guard. I think I would rather be dead than ride a girls/mixtie bike. I would have lost too much of my manhood at that point to be alive anyway. What metrosexual pajama boy came up with a mixtie?


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 9, 2016)

it's a shame there's no dislike function - do we get to pidgeonholeasswipeswhopidgeonhole others?

Padded saddles are the worst.  Think sitting on a quilt jammed into all your private parts and sweating profusely.  Do that for 3-4 hours of travel.  Strange you would choose this while accusing someone else of questionable sexual practices. 
It's why there is an industry in padded bicycle diapers and chafing cremes.
The 120-y-o design hammock leather saddle is still the best. It supports without pressure to soft tissues and provides cooling.

A some point, old people are either going to quit riding, or they're going to get a step-through frame.
Quite simply, die or live and pedal longer.


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## momo608 (Jun 9, 2016)

Yeah, manhood died with the birth of the baby boomer. The children of baby boomers can hardly wipe their own asses without psychological trauma. we're doomed!


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 9, 2016)

hey, you're the one who stuffs quilts in your crack
you think maybe the world will improve when you're not here to pollute it?


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## momo608 (Jun 9, 2016)

Not yet. I take it you ride a girls mixtie bike.

This is exactly what I'm talking about, everyone has to agree or shut your mouth because someone might be offended. Ride what you want, what some guy on the internet thinks should't make any difference to you if you are secure in your beliefs.   

Someday I'll get into what I think about the dork helmets that people wear.


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## Eric Amlie (Jun 9, 2016)

Cool idea on the upside down thumbies!
I may have to try that on my Superior.


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