Passaloutre
On Training Wheels
I've got a late 70s Schwinn Suburban that I've been riding for a couple years now. I bought it cheap, fixed it up, and ride it for leisure. Therefore I'm not looking to spend a lot of money or buy a different bike. It's not pretty enough to be a restoration piece. I've attached a photo of the as-bought condition.
It is currently a 5 speed with Positron Rear Derailleur and Shimano Front Freewheel, and I'd like to upgrade it to 10 speed for some of the hills I have to deal with along my route. In order to make this change I believe I will need the following, but feel free to offer your opinions and tell me if I'm wrong. You'll notice a common theme of sticking with vintage parts or upgrading to more modern standards, which I think it something we all feel. I'm kinda leaning towards modernization, as I've already switched to new dual-pivot brakes and alloy wheels, and I really like what they've done for the bike.
- New crankset: well this is obvious. I need one with two chainwheels instead of one. I'm conflicted because part of me actually likes the front freewheel system (being able to change gears while coasting in anticipation of a hill for example), but part of me wants to move to more modern, lighter, reliable components. There are old two-speed front freewheel systems available on ebay, so I could switch to that pretty easily, or do I just bite the bullet and go with the more standard fixed crankset?
- Front derailleur: well I'll need something to switch between the two chainrings right? Any reason I shouldn't just go with the $10 "Schwinn Approved" GT-250 that would have come on this bike in the first place? What advantages would be offered by a more up-to-date front derailleur? And what shifter would I need? The bike currently has a single front stem shifter lever, do I just get a dual stem shifter, or move to thumb shifters on the handlebars. Using flat, not drop bars on this one.
- Rear derailleur: I kinda like the positron rear derailleur, but if I'm upgrading everything else, should I swap this in the process? If I stick with it I keep my indexed shifting, but have the issue of difficult to find shift cables. Swapping to anything *else* of a similar vintage seems like a downgrade. So it's either keep the positron or modernize: any opinions there? If I modernize the rear derailleur I might as well modernize the front one too...
- Rear freewheel: if I get rid of the front freewheel, then I have to put one on the rear. I think this will work fine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AYB57S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01
Anything else I should be concerned about? What would you do here?
It is currently a 5 speed with Positron Rear Derailleur and Shimano Front Freewheel, and I'd like to upgrade it to 10 speed for some of the hills I have to deal with along my route. In order to make this change I believe I will need the following, but feel free to offer your opinions and tell me if I'm wrong. You'll notice a common theme of sticking with vintage parts or upgrading to more modern standards, which I think it something we all feel. I'm kinda leaning towards modernization, as I've already switched to new dual-pivot brakes and alloy wheels, and I really like what they've done for the bike.
- New crankset: well this is obvious. I need one with two chainwheels instead of one. I'm conflicted because part of me actually likes the front freewheel system (being able to change gears while coasting in anticipation of a hill for example), but part of me wants to move to more modern, lighter, reliable components. There are old two-speed front freewheel systems available on ebay, so I could switch to that pretty easily, or do I just bite the bullet and go with the more standard fixed crankset?
- Front derailleur: well I'll need something to switch between the two chainrings right? Any reason I shouldn't just go with the $10 "Schwinn Approved" GT-250 that would have come on this bike in the first place? What advantages would be offered by a more up-to-date front derailleur? And what shifter would I need? The bike currently has a single front stem shifter lever, do I just get a dual stem shifter, or move to thumb shifters on the handlebars. Using flat, not drop bars on this one.
- Rear derailleur: I kinda like the positron rear derailleur, but if I'm upgrading everything else, should I swap this in the process? If I stick with it I keep my indexed shifting, but have the issue of difficult to find shift cables. Swapping to anything *else* of a similar vintage seems like a downgrade. So it's either keep the positron or modernize: any opinions there? If I modernize the rear derailleur I might as well modernize the front one too...
- Rear freewheel: if I get rid of the front freewheel, then I have to put one on the rear. I think this will work fine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AYB57S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01
Anything else I should be concerned about? What would you do here?