'72 Supersport for tall rider....

[nortonguy]

Sold a local bike-shop some tools and this bike was in their basement and they did not want it so took it on trade since it was my size. Have been slowly cleaning and tuning it up. Today put the pie-plate chainguard back on the cranks after giving it a good clean and polish. Next it will need a set of good tires, and it of course will need a lot of other CLA work as time goes on. I have been advertising it on local classifieds but not much interest in it so I keep working on it and taking it for short rides to see how it is working. A clunky heavy old bike, but it is similar to what most of us rode back in the 70s so it has nostalgia for me.

 

[juvela]

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IIRC the specification pedal on these for this year was the Atom 440

'72 was peak boom and they substituted these KKT RTSF when they could not get enough of the 440

situation was the same for the Sports Tourer model


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[nortonguy]

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IIRC the specification pedal on these for this year was the Atom 440
'72 was peak boom and they substituted these KKT RTSF when they could not get enough of the 440
situation was the same for the Sports Tourer model

I have seen these same pedals on a lot of 70s ten-speed bikes. I am not a fan of them because sometimes they get upside-down under your foot, so I usually throw them out and put flat pedals on bikes I ride that are the same on both sides so I don't have to worry about that happening. I notice Schwinn used a lot of parts from France in the 70s. When I was younger I raced a motobecane and was not a fan of it because of all it's special French threads. After I crashed it and bent the forks I enjoyed cutting it up with a hacksaw and throwing it in the trash-bin at the city park across the street while vowing never to own another French bicycle.

 

[Oilit]

Sacre bleu!

 

[nortonguy]

I did get the pie-plate back on the crank after polishing it up, and will put some matching tires on the bike soon too. Then my main goal will be to CLA the bottom-bracket and rear derailleur, and someday the wheel bearings.

 

[juvela]

I did get the pie-plate back on the crank after polishing it up, and will put some matching tires on the bike soon too. Then my main goal will be to CLA the bottom-bracket and rear derailleur, and someday the wheel bearings.

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manufacturer of hubs is Etablissements Maillard of Incheville France

factory closed 1991 so repair parts such as replacement cones, should they be required, can be a challenge


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[nortonguy]

Got a matching front tire on the bike the other day and took a new pic, now it is looking okay. I took it for a 23 mile ride today and it was tough keeping up with the guys on newer road bikes with the short 165mm cranks on this thing, way to short for the tall people this frame will fit. ;

 

[Quakertownrich]

2 years ago I danced on North Carolina/South Carolina border with my recently restored '72 Kool lemon SS. I definitely notice a difference between my Sports Tourers and the SS's at distances of 20 miles or more.

 

[nortonguy]

I have another early-70s ten-speed bike that is probably heavier than this old Supersport and also came with 165mm one-piece cranks, I found some longer one-piece cranks out of an old BMX bike and they completely transformed the bike making it much easier to pedal, and making the bike much faster on the level and going up hills.