schwinnlax
Finally riding a big boys bike
Here's one you don't see every day, or even every month. I picked this up last week. The Suburban 3 speed was made in 1970 and 71 only with a Sturmey-Archer AW 3 speed hub. The three speed Suburban came back in 1979 (one year) equipped with a 3 speed coaster brake rear hub and caliper brakes only on the front wheel.
This one is a 1971, February stamped frame. Schwinn switched from 19, 21, and 23" men's frames in 1970 to 20, 22, and 24" frames in 1971. This one is a 22" frame. I take a tall frame, so would prefer a 23" or 24" frame, but finding any 3 speed Suburban is pretty hard. Still on the hunt for a tall frame 3 speed. Seller said it had been serviced at a bike shop in the past two years. Can't imagine what they did. I had more dirt in the cleaning solvent than I think I have had with any other vintage bike when doing a complete overhaul. Once I started in I found a broken rear spoke and the rear hub making screeching sound when coasting. Overhauled headset, crank, front hub, and then last the rear hub. Once I got that open, I discovered one of the planetary gears was missing several teeth. No idea how that happens. I've never seen that before. Anyway, after lots of cleaning, the re-assembly went well and now she runs very smooth. One surprising thing, this appears to have the original tires. Usually the gum walls on these old tires are mostly disintegrated and turned to goo, but these appear good. Maybe these are original Schwinn replacements from a later time? Nice touch with the "gold" colored wrap on the 3 speed shifter cable. Pretty nice chrome rack too.
Fun stuff! The Suburban is one of my favorite riding bikes, though I think I still prefer my '59 Racer. Can't put my finger on it, but it just "feels" like a nicer ride.
This one is a 1971, February stamped frame. Schwinn switched from 19, 21, and 23" men's frames in 1970 to 20, 22, and 24" frames in 1971. This one is a 22" frame. I take a tall frame, so would prefer a 23" or 24" frame, but finding any 3 speed Suburban is pretty hard. Still on the hunt for a tall frame 3 speed. Seller said it had been serviced at a bike shop in the past two years. Can't imagine what they did. I had more dirt in the cleaning solvent than I think I have had with any other vintage bike when doing a complete overhaul. Once I started in I found a broken rear spoke and the rear hub making screeching sound when coasting. Overhauled headset, crank, front hub, and then last the rear hub. Once I got that open, I discovered one of the planetary gears was missing several teeth. No idea how that happens. I've never seen that before. Anyway, after lots of cleaning, the re-assembly went well and now she runs very smooth. One surprising thing, this appears to have the original tires. Usually the gum walls on these old tires are mostly disintegrated and turned to goo, but these appear good. Maybe these are original Schwinn replacements from a later time? Nice touch with the "gold" colored wrap on the 3 speed shifter cable. Pretty nice chrome rack too.
Fun stuff! The Suburban is one of my favorite riding bikes, though I think I still prefer my '59 Racer. Can't put my finger on it, but it just "feels" like a nicer ride.
