# Great paint 75 Continental



## momo608 (Jan 23, 2017)

Bought this today. Bid the $75 dollars on a whim and hoped I was going to be outbid so I didn't have to drive so far to get it. No such luck for this unloved Great paint Continental. Glad I have it, it is a time capsule with its maybe original tires,1975 saddle bag and probably original bar tape. The pedals have no road rash if you can believe that and the paint is nearly scratch and chip free. Too bad someone swapped out the front derailleur. I bought it as a companion for my 74 original paint varsity which I also drove stupidly far to get. Must have been in damp storage for a loooong time, can't have everything.


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## Metacortex (Jan 23, 2017)

Nice find! What is the frame serial on that one (for dating purposes)?


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## momo608 (Jan 23, 2017)

I'll get it later. Bike is so honest I didn't even bother to check yet. What do you think about those tires?


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## Metacortex (Jan 23, 2017)

momo608 said:


> What do you think about those tires?




That 90psi version of the HP Sport tire was available from 1987 through 1990.


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## GTs58 (Jan 23, 2017)

I can't believe the flawless paint. And no nut scuffs on the top bar.


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## momo608 (Jan 23, 2017)

GTs58 said:


> I can't believe the flawless paint. And no nut scuffs on the top bar.



Yes, even with crappy Ebay pics it got my attention.


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## momo608 (Jan 27, 2017)

MK503302

So we got a December 74 bike or the frame anyway. When I see a bike with these spoke reflectors I always think 75.  I know at some point they were no longer used on 76 bikes. Catalogs are not much help so It's hard to know exactly when they started and stopped but pretty much a one year offering, wonder why they switched so fast. Personally I like the white better but being one year only is definitely cool. 

The seller never claimed to know the year of this bike, I saw the color and spoke reflectors and made an educated guess.


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## PCHiggin (Jan 27, 2017)

Nice,Thats a tall one,27" frame?


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## Metacortex (Jan 27, 2017)

momo608 said:


> MK503302
> 
> So we got a December 74 bike or the frame anyway...




Thanks, that's definitely a '75 built bike as noted by the Sky Blue paint. I'd be interested to know the fork date (assuming you take it apart to service the headset) as well. Many other parts on that bike will also be date stamped. One thing I find curious are the skewers, which *should* have the plastic winged nuts. Are the skewer levers both curved "Schwinn Approved/Maillard"?


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## momo608 (Jan 27, 2017)

Metacortex said:


> Thanks, that's definitely a '75 built bike as noted by the Sky Blue paint. I'd be interested to know the fork date (assuming you take it apart to service the headset) as well. Many other parts on that bike will also be date stamped. One thing I find curious are the skewers, which *should* have the plastic winged nuts. Are the skewer levers both curved "Schwinn Approved/Maillard"?



Only a matter of time before I give it the full service, I would never ride a bike I thought had dried out bearings. It's all I would think about. Its got the curved skewer handles and apparently this was the transition year for the plastic wing nuts, so maybe early bikes had the metal cone style? I'm keeping an eye out for a front derailleur, might even have one but probably not the 260. Seat clamp bolts are funky as well. Most of this stuff I got. I'll do a Schwinn499 on it and keep it as original as possible but that dented "pie plate" has got to go. I have a less than perfect nos extra one.


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## Schwinn499 (Jan 27, 2017)

momo608 said:


> I'll do a Schwinn499 on it and keep it as original as possible...




Ooh! I get my own style now...fancy...


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## Metacortex (Jan 28, 2017)

momo608 said:


> Its got the curved skewer handles and apparently this was the transition year for the plastic wing nuts, so maybe early bikes had the metal cone style?




The curved levers with plastic winged nuts were introduced in '74, the '73 models were the last to use the metal knurled nut which leads me to believe those skewers (or at least just the nuts) had been replaced.


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## momo608 (Jan 29, 2017)

Metacortex said:


> The curved levers with plastic winged nuts were introduced in '74, the '73 models were the last to use the metal knurled nut which leads me to believe those skewers (or at least just the nuts) had been replaced.



You can see metal skewer nuts in the 74 catalog, you can see the black plastic in the 75. I asked this guy, he said "yep"


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## rhenning (Jan 29, 2017)

I wouldn't depend on catalog pictures to be correct as far as what production bikes used.  Many times they were last years bike or a preproduction bike.  I have seen to many errors in the catalog pictures to use them except for a general reference.  Roger


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## momo608 (Jan 29, 2017)

rhenning said:


> I wouldn't depend on catalog pictures to be correct as far as what production bikes used.  Many times they were last years bike or a preproduction bike.  I have seen to many errors in the catalog pictures to use them except for a general reference.  Roger



I'm not, but I'm not dependent on unproven assertions either.

Do a search on 1974 Continentals, many have the metal cone nuts. Were these all replacements for the plastic type? seems unlikely. I have the 1974 Schwinn Parts & Accessories catalog, the plastic nuts are not even listed or illustrated. I'm not saying they were not used but definitive assertions seem a bit premature as to cut off time lines. 

No one likes to be told they are wrong about as much as they don't like having their stuff picked apart with dubious information. If I'm proven wrong fine, I'll admit it but beware of those that can never admit they are wrong because they have just made themselves into a permanently unreliable source of information.


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## Metacortex (Jan 30, 2017)

The transition to the curved lever skewers with plastic winged nuts definitely happened in '74, perhaps not at the very beginning of the year but definitely no later than mid-year. There would be no question about them on a '75 though.


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