# can you help me identify this schwinn continental?



## dkrstic79 (Aug 27, 2014)

According to the serial date code, bicycle I have should be 1984 Schwinn Continental, however, my research indicates that last Continental was produced in 1982.  

I am including pictures, and serial number of my bike. 

Any help is appreciated:

SN is BV519412


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## rustjunkie (Aug 27, 2014)

What are the #'s stamped into the badge?


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## dkrstic79 (Aug 27, 2014)

rustjunkie said:


> What are the #'s stamped into the badge?




It just says "Chicago" on the badge.  However, there are numbers on the bottom bracket: R613.


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## rustjunkie (Aug 27, 2014)

Looks like there's 4 #'s stamped into the badge next to the "i"...?


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## schwinnman67 (Aug 27, 2014)

The decals are newer than 1982.... I asked about what the last year a Continental was built on the SBF, here is the link to the post...

http://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/index.php?topic=6188.msg28840#msg28840


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## GTs58 (Aug 27, 2014)

What does the decal on the top tube say, I can't read it but it doesn't look like Continental. That bike has side pull brakes and the Conti's had center pull brakes.

Okay, I copied the picture and blew it up. That is a Conti decal. Original? Getting the build date off the head badge and a shot of the drive side would help.

I see some stampings on the bars, both sides of the stem. What does that say?


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## schwinnman67 (Aug 27, 2014)

I had those same bars on my dad's 81 (they were original). One side says Sakae Custom Japan and the other SR Road Champion.

If that is an 84, it would have been Huffy built, maybe they used side pulls the last year??


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## GTs58 (Aug 27, 2014)

schwinnman67 said:


> I had those same bars on my dad's 81 (they were original). One side says Sakae Custom Japan and the other SR Road Champion.
> 
> If that is an 84, it would have been Huffy built, maybe they used side pulls the last year??





Schwinn was producing lightweights like the Le Tour down south in Greenville during this time. I think it was Murray that produced a few antiquated lightweights for Schwinn, not Huffy.

I wish I could view your link Lee. Any idea why I was banned from the SBF and why Jennifer blocked my IP so I can't view the forum as a guest? I was given no reason why to anything by anybody.


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## schwinnman67 (Aug 27, 2014)

GTs58 said:


> Schwinn was producing lightweights like the Le Tour down south in Greenville during this time. I think it was Murray that produced a few antiquated lightweights for Schwinn, not Huffy.
> 
> I wish I could view your link Lee. Any idea why I was banned from the SBF and why Jennifer blocked my IP so I can't view the forum as a guest? I was given no reason why to anything by anybody.




You're right, I don't know why I posted Huffy.....


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## dergymy (Aug 28, 2014)

*This is actually my bike*

All,  thanks for posting.  My friend dkristic79 posted this for me.   First, I will get some better pictures over the weekend.

I am pretty sure I bought this bike in '84 to replace my canary yellow continental which had been stolen.  I bought it in Evanston Illinois.  I am pretty sure I have the original manual and probably receipt I will try to find.  I bought it as a "continental".  I wanted another one.  At that time I was riding every day to commute to work and this big heavy bike was right for me along the Chicago bike path. I do not remember them telling me they were no longer made.  

So I will see what I can find and follow up.  Thanks!


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## dergymy (Aug 28, 2014)

*Original receipt*



dergymy said:


> All,  thanks for posting.  My friend dkristic79 posted this for me.   First, I will get some better pictures over the weekend.
> 
> I am pretty sure I bought this bike in '84 to replace my canary yellow continental which had been stolen.  I bought it in Evanston Illinois.  I am pretty sure I have the original manual and probably receipt I will try to find.  I bought it as a "continental".  I wanted another one.  At that time I was riding every day to commute to work and this big heavy bike was right for me along the Chicago bike path. I do not remember them telling me they were no longer made.
> 
> So I will see what I can find and follow up.  Thanks!




Found the receipt right away.  Purchased 6/21/1984


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## GTs58 (Aug 28, 2014)

Wow, very interesting! Did you have to wait a short time before you could pick the bike up after telling the shop you wanted a Conti? I'm thinking the shop built you a one off special. What is the number on the headbadge? Most all the 84 lightweights had a round head badge. Your seat stays have a bend about 5-6 inches down from the top of the seattube which is very unusual IMO. The Sidewinder frame is similar and it also has the oval badge and a one piece crank. Also the lightweight cable guides on most all the 84's were on top of the top tube. That sure was a stupid deal there and I can't see any big advantage for that build detail. 

Post some detail shots of the components. And always take pics of the drive side when showing off a bike.


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## Metacortex (Aug 28, 2014)

That appears to be an '84 Continental, the last year they were made. A BVxxxxxx frame would have been made in Feb. '84 and if that is the case then both the frame and bike were built by Murray in Lawrenceburg TN, the Schwinn Chicago factory closed in mid-'83.

You can identify the Murray-built bikes by the bottom bracket. Chicago built frames have the slag rings on the chainstays near the bottom bracket plus the weld seam on the lower part of the bottom bracket shell, while the Murray built frames do not (they are smooth in those areas). Post some pics of the top and underside of the bottom bracket area and that should confirm.

Note that the Continental changed to side-pull brakes in '84, and the decals shown as well as the oval badge are also correct for the bike. The 4-digit number stamped on the headbadge will identify the actual day the bike was assembled.

This was not a one-off special, it was a production bike listed only in the "Familly Bicycles" and "Full Line" catalogs that year: http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...sale-schwinn-1984-what-heck.html#post12908722


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## dergymy (Sep 2, 2014)

*more pics*

The 4-digit number stamped on the headbadge is 1244
And there is no  "weld seam on the lower part of the bottom bracket shell" so it seems this is a Murray-built bike.  
I was just confused as at first in my searching I did not see that the Continental was produced after 1982.

I also did find the "manual" which is more like an advertising brochure.  It seems to be for a few lines of bikes, mostly the Varsity but does mention the Continental.  I'll scan it and post it just for completeness.

Thanks everybody for your interest.


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## Metacortex (Sep 2, 2014)

dergymy said:


> The 4-digit number stamped on the headbadge is 1244




That means the bike was built on Thursday May 3rd, 1984.



> And there is no  "weld seam on the lower part of the bottom bracket shell" so it seems this is a Murray-built bike.




Yep, by the date it would have to be but the bottom bracket shell construction positively confirms it.



> I also did find the "manual" which is more like an advertising brochure.  It seems to be for a few lines of bikes, mostly the Varsity but does mention the Continental.  I'll scan it and post it just for completeness.




That would be good to see! Thanks for posting those pics of the bike. I was wondering if you could please post some pics of that crankset? Does it have any Schwinn stamps or logos? I'm trying to research all of the Schwinn made cranksets and this is a design I haven't seen before, it appears to be unique to these last Continentals.


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## dergymy (Sep 3, 2014)

Metacortex said:


> That means the bike was built on Thursday May 3rd, 1984.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thanks!  I'll try to take pictures tonight and also of the so called manual.


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## bike (Sep 3, 2014)

*Two things*

1) the date is when THE FRAME WAS STAMPED the bike may not have been built for a long time

2) The lock w clamp cost 15% what the bike cost amazing


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## Metacortex (Sep 3, 2014)

bike said:


> ...the date is when THE FRAME WAS STAMPED the bike may not have been built for a long time




Very true. In this case we know the frame was built in 2/84, the bike was built on 5/3/84, and finally it was sold on 6/21/84.


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## dergymy (Sep 4, 2014)

OK, here
-  is a scan of the front and back cover of the manual.  I scanned the whole thing and can post it if you want
- 6 pictures of the crankshaft.  Of not is that there IS a seam on it.  Was so dirty before I didn't see it plus as you may have figured out by now my eyes and camera aren't all what they should be anymore.
- lastly is a little diagram of what I see if the pictures don't show it on the bottom of the bottom bracket.

The numbers 

2
6
1
3

Then perpendicular to that column of numbers the letters

"R     "
"     O"

The "R" is stamped over (or under) the "2".  I know in the picture it doesn't exactly look like a "2" but I looked at it long and hard and am pretty sure it is.


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## Metacortex (Sep 4, 2014)

Unfortunately I don't know what those numbers stamped on the BB shell mean, but thanks for posting them! For comparison here is a pic of the top of the BB shell on a Chicago-built Continental frame, note the two slag rings on the chainstays near where they attach to the BB shell:





Here is the underside, note the thick weld seam:





Another minor difference between Schwinn Chicago and Murray-built frames is that on the Chicago frames the chainstays are somewhat narrowed (flattened) at as they curve in to meet the BB shell:





I think when you read my last post you took "crankset" to mean the bottom bracket shell. Can you post any close-up pictures of the crankset and chainrings? The crankset and chainrings are what the pedals attach to, like this:





Are there any logos or stamps on the chainrings? If so please post any pics you can of logos or markings. I'm really curious because I've never seen that crankset before (and it doesn't look like any aftermarket replacement I've ever seen), it may be unique to the '84 Continental.





Thanks!


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## dergymy (Sep 5, 2014)

*crankset*

oh I see.  here is one I had but didn't post.  let me know if you want more.


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## schwinnman67 (Sep 5, 2014)

That looks like a Murray style sprocket....


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## Metacortex (Sep 5, 2014)

schwinnman67 said:


> That looks like a Murray style sprocket....




Indeed it does, however the crank arm does appear to be Schwinn-made (Ashtabula). It would be interesting to see the date code marks on the crank arm, but that would require removing it. 

The sprockets and guard appear to be rivited together. Dergymy can you see any logos or stamps anywhere on the sprockets, on either side? 

I documented another Murray built Continental built just 6 days after this one with Schwinn sprockets, so this may have been a temporary shortage substitution.

EDIT: That is definitely a Murray sprocket, here is one on a '79 Murray bike: http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/owner-submitted/dave-ms-1979-murray-spectra-spectacular/

Here's another Murray-built bike with the same sprocket: http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?30364-Western-Flyer-10-speed


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## dergymy (Sep 9, 2014)

*no crankset stamps but ...*

After cleaning it up I see this "$13.50" written on the inside in blue wax pencil.  Nothing else anywhere.  So I have been wracking my brains if I actually took it in and had it replaced.  All I can vaguely remember is at one point on a bike I owned my chain would slip a lot when I would really hammer down on it.  So maybe I was dissatisfied with the way this bike would respond compared to my original continental??  But there is no way I can be sure.

Also included another one of my bad pictures trying to show what I would call the "end cap" on the pedal which does say "Schwinn Approved".


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## Metacortex (Sep 9, 2014)

dergymy said:


> After cleaning it up I see this "$13.50" written on the inside in blue wax pencil.  Nothing else anywhere...




Very interesting, I'd say that shows that this Murray sprocket set was almost certainly a replacement at some point in the past. It would be very easy to find a Schwinn double plateau sprocket should you desire to return it to original.


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## dergymy (Sep 10, 2014)

*Thanks!*

Thanks for all the insight on my bike.  Really appreciate it!


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## Connie Hunter (Apr 18, 2018)

Thanks to all that contributed here.  I purchased a used black Schwinn that had none of the original decals left and I was having a hard time trying to determine what model it was. The joints looked like they might be fillet-brazed.  Nice chrome forks, but it has side pull brakes which seemed to indicate it wasn't a Conti from other posts/websites. 
I also have a BV date code - BV517780.  Oval stamp of 0674.  I do have a different sprocket guard.  Pic included, along with a pedal shot that may indicate I don't have original pedals.  Included the front sprocket clamp pic thinking it may be worthwhile.


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## rhenning (Apr 19, 2018)

Show pictures of the whole bike and it will be easy.  Parts mean nothing as they can be changed.  BV would be February 1984 and  0674 would mean the 67th day of a year ending in 4 or March 1984.  It isn't fillet brased and is probably electro forged.  Full bike pictures will tell if it is a Varsity or a Continental or other Schwinn.  Side pulls genrally mean a Varsity.  Make your pictures so they are smaller and can be seen and show the complete bike.  They are so big I can't seen on my 21 inch monitor.  Roger


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## Connie Hunter (Apr 19, 2018)

My apologies for the size of the pics.  I was hoping the Forum app would auto-size them.  That may have been an unrealistic expectation.  The motorcycle forum I frequent just flat out prevents over-sized pics from being uploaded.  Here are pics of the bike, the curves at the head tube that had me hoping it was a Chicago era bike, and the crank from the other side.


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## Metacortex (Apr 19, 2018)

Connie Hunter said:


> Here are pics of the bike, the curves at the head tube that had me hoping it was a Chicago era bike, and the crank from the other side.




That's an '84 Continental. The serial no. indicates the frame was stamped in Feb. '84 and the badge indicates the bike was built on Wed. March 7, 1984. Note that '84 was the last year for the Continental and that year they were built for Schwinn by Murray in Lawrenceburg TN (the Chicago plant closed mid-'83). Here was the catalog page for that bike:

http://www.bloggingadeadhorse.com/images/bmx/schwinn/catalogue/Schwinn_Family_84_03.jpg


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## Connie Hunter (Apr 19, 2018)

Thanks!  Not exactly what I was hoping for or looking for, but it will still make a good neighborhood rider.


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## MarkKBike (Apr 19, 2018)

They do make nice riders.  I reconditioned this one for my father a few years ago. After giving it to him, I was able to get him ridding again after decades of not touching a bike. He loves it!


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## Oilit (Apr 20, 2018)

Connie Hunter said:


> Thanks to all that contributed here.  I purchased a used black Schwinn that had none of the original decals left and I was having a hard time trying to determine what model it was. The joints looked like they might be fillet-brazed.  Nice chrome forks, but it has side pull brakes which seemed to indicate it wasn't a Conti from other posts/websites.
> I also have a BV date code - BV517780.  Oval stamp of 0674.  I do have a different sprocket guard.  Pic included, along with a pedal shot that may indicate I don't have original pedals.  Included the front sprocket clamp pic thinking it may be worthwhile.
> 
> View attachment 791399
> ...



The joints look like they are fillet brazed by design. The whole point of the "Electroforged" frames was making welded frames look fillet brazed. Marc S. Muller gives a good explanation in "Inside the Varsity":
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/varsity.html


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