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Schwinn Superior

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I'm not aware of other filet brazed Schwinn lightweight offerings after these described below.

Aside from the limited run of 28" continental's which is a factory custom of sorts because electroforged components were not produced for the head tube for a frame of this size. But this couldn't be described as a filet brazed frame in the traditional sense.

This is wrong?

"Schwinn bicycle names such as "Super Sport" and "Superior" have been re-used for different models over the years, in part to hold on to copyrighted names by periodically re-using them. This may explain why the Sports Tourer was renamed the Superior in 1976. After Schwinn's fillet-brazed line came to an end in 1978...

...In 1979 Schwinn offered one last fillet-brazed CrMo bicycle: The "Sport Limited."...

Unfortunately some of that information is incorrect. While that article is outstanding, it needs a few updates and corrections. For example the Sport Limited was built during a few weeks in late 1977 and not in '79 as stated. As you said the 28" Continental had a fillet-brazed headtube in '82 and '83, and while it wasn't a complete fillet-brazed bike I do believe it counts. But there are several other more significant fillet-brazed model omissions including the '80-'82 Sting (BMX) and '81-'82 King-Sting (ATBs also available in 5- and 10-speed models).

Then there were the fillet-brazed tandems including the Twinn, Deluxe Twinn, Mini-Twinn and Paramount Tandem which was built from '69 through '79, But what I believe was the last *Chicago* fillet-brazed bike would be the Twinn Sport, introduced in 1978 and built into 1983. Here is the '83 Twinn Sport catalog page:

Schwinn_Family_83_09.jpg


A notable post-Chicago fillet-brazed model was the '85-'89 Cimarron, which I believe was built in Greenville MS, however like the 28" Continental the Cimarron had fillet-brazing only on the headtube. It used ovalized top and down tubing there similar to the Sting and King-Sting:

1987Cimarron.jpg
 
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I really hate these hair splitting disagreements but I think it's safe to say the 1978 Schwinn Superior WAS Schwinns last filet brazed lightweight as Schwinn filet brazed frames became to be known. Once you have to start putting in all kind of asterisks in the description, you're talking about something else.

Kind of like the 1982 being last model year for Chicago built EF bikes. It was because the 83's had no official Schwinn model designations or catalogs saying such, clearly early 83 dated bikes are an extension of the 1982 model year. Kind of like 69 Camaro's built in early 1970 because of a delay in generation 2 Camaro's. No one thinks of a 69 Camaro as a 70 Camaro because it was built in 1970. It was a carry over because of production problems and it is in reality a 1969 model car.
 
I really hate these hair splitting disagreements but I think it's safe to say the 1978 Schwinn Superior WAS Schwinns last filet brazed lightweight as Schwinn filet brazed frames became to be known. Once you have to start putting in all kind of asterisks in the description, you're talking about something else.

It sounds like you are putting in the asterisks with the *lightweight* designation. In that case I guess it depends on your definition of "lightweight". The '82 King Sting 10 had a 4130 fillet-brazed frame and weighed only 26 lbs. It looks to me like a lightweight with tourist handlebars, kind of like a fillet-brazed Suburban without fenders:

1982_25.jpg


Kind of like the 1982 being last model year for Chicago built EF bikes. It was because the 83's had no official Schwinn model designations or catalogs saying such...

1983 was the last year for Chicago EF bikes and they were in the "official" Family Bicycles catalog that year (same as the Twinn Sport), I have a Chicago-built '83 Continental with a Feb. '83 frame stamp and April 20th build date. Here is the "official" '83 Continental catalog page:

Schwinn_Family_83_03.jpg


The Continental was also built in '84 but no longer in Chicago, here is the '84 catalog page:

Schwinn_Family_84_03.jpg


For '85 the Continental was gone, leaving the Varsity as the last EF lightweight bike, *not* built in Chicago. Here are the '85 Varsity catalog pages:

Schwinn_Family_85_02.jpg

Schwinn_Family_85_03.jpg


I can get that you don't want to consider the Tandems as "lightweight" bikes, but they *were* fillet-brazed and the 10-speed models (especially the Paramount but also the Twinn Sport) are basically tandem "lightweights" built using the same components as other similar 10-speed lightweights, except for the fillet-brazed frames. ;)
 
I did not know that there was fillet brazing in the Mississippi plant, but then I never really looked at that later era in any detail. Did skilled workers move with the company to the new plant, or did they have to train new people to do the work? I've always heard the Greenville bikes were not of the best quality, though I've never had any complaints about the ones I've encountered.
 
I have believed that the Cimarron was made in MS, but considering the quality of the build and the poor reputation of Greenville it *may* have been built in Waterford WI. It was very similar to the Waterford built '87 Paramountain frameset except for the fillet-brazed headtube. Unfortunately I haven't found any further details.

87atb03b.jpg
 
I stand corrected on the 83 models. Not sure what you would call the construction of the 84's and 5's but like the classic filet brazed lightweights, they are not EF's as we knew them, as we discussed before.

I'm satisfied with the authors article about filet brazed frame lightweights.
 
[QUOTE="Metacortex, post: 621016, member: 43802"






I can get that you don't want to consider the Tandems as "lightweight" bikes, but they *were* fillet-brazed and the 10-speed models (especially the Paramount but also the Twinn Sport) are basically tandem "lightweights" built using the same components as other similar 10-speed lightweights, except for the fillet-brazed frames. ;)[/QUOTE]

The tandems appear to be a mix of filet brazing, welding and some electroforging. Is this true? never examined one close up.

cups+press.jpg


finished+bike+rear+hub.jpg

front+chain+installed.jpg
 
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I don't get the poor reputation of the Greenville bikes. I own a bunch of them, mostly '87-'88 models and I think they are great bikes.
They ride much better than any of my older Schwinns that came out of the Chicago plant, except the Paramounts of course.
My '87 & 88 Tempos, '87 Super Sport, '87 Circuit, '87 Peloton, & '87 Prologue make riding my fillet brazed Chicago bikes seem like riding a "truck".
Apologies if that offends the purists here, but that is my seat of the pants impression from riding the various bikes.
 
The tandems were nearly all fillet-brazed construction. The only exceptions were the chainstays, the seat tube at the rear bottom bracket shell and the rear part of the upper seat stays. On the Twinn Sport several of the joints were left unfinished, see the center of the headtube, the bottom brackets and the center seat stay as examples:

2w7iys7.jpg

qph2co.jpg

2w3t9i0.jpg

2rq1tfc.jpg


Here is a Twinn frame blasted where you can see all the brass:

blasted.jpg
 
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