HARPO
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Thank you for clearing that up!!! Hard to believe that Schwinn would have let that go through, though, not realizing it was a poor way to do it.
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Schwinn Varsity tourist question
- Thread starter bikecrazy
- Start date
#eBayPartner Most Recent BUY IT NOW Items Listed on eBay
Thank you for clearing that up!!! Hard to believe that Schwinn would have let that go through, though, not realizing it was a poor way to do it.
HARPO
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Serial number shows it to be a '66...
DrRumack80
I live for the CABE
What month? Is it late '66?
coasterbrakejunkie1969
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Give that front fender brace a little tweek, awesome bike!December '66. So @GTs58 pegged it as a '67 model year, especially because of the shifters.All cleaned up now!
View attachment 1870750
DrRumack80
I live for the CABE
Superb job! That one really cleaned up. The grips and saddle really pop.
Arnold Ziffel
Finally riding a big boys bike
About that UNDESIRABLE plastic ferrule that is seen exiting the Weinmann/diacompe brake levers....
The inexpensive but very good BELL PITCREW 600 replacement Cable Set COMES WITH THE ALUMINUM ALLOY FERRULES. (so no need to scrounge around trying to find or buy the proper aluminum ferrules when for example you have acquired a USED set of Weinmann/diacompe TOURIST BRAKE LEVERS from Ebay or elsewhere that Do Not have the ferrules included.)
If you're changing LEVERS anyway because you are converting a VARSITY , CONTINENTAL or other traditional "Ten Speed" to upright-Tourist configuration with tourist handlebars (..such as the 7881 handlebars or any other tourist handlebar that you love..)
.....if you are changing the to Tourist Brake Levers & Tourist Handlebars, YOU WILL BE REPLACING YOUR BRAKE CABLES ANYWAY, so do remember that those $12 Bell Pitcrew 600 replacement Cable Set, do come with two supplied ALUMINUM ALLOY FERRULES that attach perfectly to those old ancient Weinmann-diacompe brake levers, and they look good too!!! ..... Yes, the Bell Pitcrew 600 Cable Set is available in black cable color only, as I have not seen any other colors so I am assuming that black in the only color offered. ............well, what if you see your bike's brake cables and you don't want them painted black.................I see the stock Schwinn color and I don't want them to turn black........
Ahh, "paint it black, you devil..." okay NO .......please allow me to keep them the color Chicago intended..........doot doot doot dah doot do dah do........
......Well you can find new replacement outer sheath (cable's housing), in the color nearest to original equipment Schwinn color or whatever color choice you might prefer to color coordinate with your bicycle. Yes, such replacement Cable Housing is extremely inexpensive NEW from the hundreds of Shen Zhen and USA based mega bike parts(new parts sellers) on ThE bay.
You can find such cable housing on Amazon too but thE bay stores will probably have lower prices for those.
Now, as you can imagine, the quality of just these outer sheath (Cable Housing itself) is not going to be the world's greatest in terms of inner lining, etc BUT IF YOU DO LUBRICATE THE NEW REPLACEMENT CABLE slightly AND IF YOU PRE-LUBRICATE THE NEW SHEATH BEFORE INSTALLING/INSERTING THE NEW CABLE INTO IT ( do this by greasing a significant length of old throwaway cable that is decent enough for the job of GREASING the inner sheath with synthethic waterproof grease....obviously the old throwaway cable Must have fresh cut ends and must not be excessively kinked, frayed, or too corroded and heavily caked with rust).
...........If you do lubricate all within the insides of the NEW cable housing, even the world's worst new cable housing will be perfectly acceptable and provide flawless operation for probably many years. The cheapo inexpensive, no-name, Chinese manufactured, NEW CABLE HOUSING is actually in my opinion of very decent quality, and way way better than most anything that was original equipment on any 1940's, 1950's, or any early 1960's bicycle. If it does the job reliably and functions flawlessly each and every time, it does not matter what it cost. Now, there are items that do make a difference and that in my opinion is the quality of the BRAKE PADS (..the acorn nut, approx 40mm brake pads that fit the ancient Weinmann-Diacompe and other ancient Caliper hand brakes)
Most will do an OKAY job, though some may excessively squeal and some may wear quicker than others, IF YOU EVER RIDE IN THE RAIN OR ON WET STREETS & PATHS, YOU PROBABLY WANT THE BEST REPLACEMENT PADS .
They aren't expensive, and if you live in or routinely ride in a geographic location with many hills and/or winding downhill roads, you do want the best pads because a Chromed Steel Wheel does not provide the best stopping "grip" surface compared to an aluminum wheel. The MOST IMPORTANT consideration is that A WET CHROMED STEEL WHEEL provides nearly zero stopping "grip" compared to a perfectly dry chromed steel wheel......................may be exaggerating slightly as you still have a "little bit of brakes" but it just seems like you've lost all your braking ability when you are lost in the rain in Juarez, going down a hill too....
Around 1975, Schwinn started placing a yellow decal that was approximately the size of a traditional postage stamp that was placed in a highly viewable area on the frame that read something like: CAUTION Wet Rims Require Increased Stopping Distance !!!
Remember that if you do ride in the wet -OR- if you ride in a hilly area, you do want the best quality replacement pads that are known to work the best with chromed steel wheels. Saving $4 or saving even $12 or whatever trivial dollar amount for pads that aren't the best, if you need the best, is just absolutely insane. You'll wish that you'd installed the "good brake pads" when the first time you get scared silly going downhill after your wheels have been wet by somebody's lawn sprinkler overspray.
Other than that, most any fresh new inexpensive cheapo brake pad will function fine in DRY areas without big hills.
The inexpensive but very good BELL PITCREW 600 replacement Cable Set COMES WITH THE ALUMINUM ALLOY FERRULES. (so no need to scrounge around trying to find or buy the proper aluminum ferrules when for example you have acquired a USED set of Weinmann/diacompe TOURIST BRAKE LEVERS from Ebay or elsewhere that Do Not have the ferrules included.)
If you're changing LEVERS anyway because you are converting a VARSITY , CONTINENTAL or other traditional "Ten Speed" to upright-Tourist configuration with tourist handlebars (..such as the 7881 handlebars or any other tourist handlebar that you love..)
.....if you are changing the to Tourist Brake Levers & Tourist Handlebars, YOU WILL BE REPLACING YOUR BRAKE CABLES ANYWAY, so do remember that those $12 Bell Pitcrew 600 replacement Cable Set, do come with two supplied ALUMINUM ALLOY FERRULES that attach perfectly to those old ancient Weinmann-diacompe brake levers, and they look good too!!! ..... Yes, the Bell Pitcrew 600 Cable Set is available in black cable color only, as I have not seen any other colors so I am assuming that black in the only color offered. ............well, what if you see your bike's brake cables and you don't want them painted black.................I see the stock Schwinn color and I don't want them to turn black........
Ahh, "paint it black, you devil..." okay NO .......please allow me to keep them the color Chicago intended..........doot doot doot dah doot do dah do........
......Well you can find new replacement outer sheath (cable's housing), in the color nearest to original equipment Schwinn color or whatever color choice you might prefer to color coordinate with your bicycle. Yes, such replacement Cable Housing is extremely inexpensive NEW from the hundreds of Shen Zhen and USA based mega bike parts(new parts sellers) on ThE bay.
You can find such cable housing on Amazon too but thE bay stores will probably have lower prices for those.
Now, as you can imagine, the quality of just these outer sheath (Cable Housing itself) is not going to be the world's greatest in terms of inner lining, etc BUT IF YOU DO LUBRICATE THE NEW REPLACEMENT CABLE slightly AND IF YOU PRE-LUBRICATE THE NEW SHEATH BEFORE INSTALLING/INSERTING THE NEW CABLE INTO IT ( do this by greasing a significant length of old throwaway cable that is decent enough for the job of GREASING the inner sheath with synthethic waterproof grease....obviously the old throwaway cable Must have fresh cut ends and must not be excessively kinked, frayed, or too corroded and heavily caked with rust).
...........If you do lubricate all within the insides of the NEW cable housing, even the world's worst new cable housing will be perfectly acceptable and provide flawless operation for probably many years. The cheapo inexpensive, no-name, Chinese manufactured, NEW CABLE HOUSING is actually in my opinion of very decent quality, and way way better than most anything that was original equipment on any 1940's, 1950's, or any early 1960's bicycle. If it does the job reliably and functions flawlessly each and every time, it does not matter what it cost. Now, there are items that do make a difference and that in my opinion is the quality of the BRAKE PADS (..the acorn nut, approx 40mm brake pads that fit the ancient Weinmann-Diacompe and other ancient Caliper hand brakes)
Most will do an OKAY job, though some may excessively squeal and some may wear quicker than others, IF YOU EVER RIDE IN THE RAIN OR ON WET STREETS & PATHS, YOU PROBABLY WANT THE BEST REPLACEMENT PADS .
They aren't expensive, and if you live in or routinely ride in a geographic location with many hills and/or winding downhill roads, you do want the best pads because a Chromed Steel Wheel does not provide the best stopping "grip" surface compared to an aluminum wheel. The MOST IMPORTANT consideration is that A WET CHROMED STEEL WHEEL provides nearly zero stopping "grip" compared to a perfectly dry chromed steel wheel......................may be exaggerating slightly as you still have a "little bit of brakes" but it just seems like you've lost all your braking ability when you are lost in the rain in Juarez, going down a hill too....
Around 1975, Schwinn started placing a yellow decal that was approximately the size of a traditional postage stamp that was placed in a highly viewable area on the frame that read something like: CAUTION Wet Rims Require Increased Stopping Distance !!!
Remember that if you do ride in the wet -OR- if you ride in a hilly area, you do want the best quality replacement pads that are known to work the best with chromed steel wheels. Saving $4 or saving even $12 or whatever trivial dollar amount for pads that aren't the best, if you need the best, is just absolutely insane. You'll wish that you'd installed the "good brake pads" when the first time you get scared silly going downhill after your wheels have been wet by somebody's lawn sprinkler overspray.
Other than that, most any fresh new inexpensive cheapo brake pad will function fine in DRY areas without big hills.
DrRumack80
I live for the CABE
@Arnold Ziffel - good to see you back on the forums!
