Suburbans...I forgot how great they ride

[Drosentreter]

My 1973 Tall frame 5 speed that I have since sold to @irideiam

 

[fotomatt1]

I just picked up this 1977 Suburban 5 Speed (FFS) last week pretty inexpensively. It's 99% original. The only thing replaced were tires and tubes according to the original owner simply because they dried out and cracked. He said it mostly sat in his living room as a decoration for most of its life and his wife was tired of looking at it. I'm in the process of building a Klunker from a 1953 Schwinn Panther frame and it got me wondering what the possibilities are for the Suburban? Anybody do a gravel conversion or a restomod? I can lave it completely original and be happy with it, but I think it would be a cool frame for a project, especially in the condition it's in. Thoughts?

 

[Siestabikes]

Nice Bluburban. I would leave it as is. That lightweight red Superior might be a better candidate for a gravel conversion because of the weight and options for 3 piece cranks.

 

[Schwinndemonium]

My lime 1974 small frame. Beautiful bike in the first year for it in this color! It is a duplicate of a bike I ordered new in the spring of 1974, but was forced to sell it a year later so I could buy my first car. I picked this one up at a Quakertown, PA antiques mall in 2009 to replace it. My original lime Sub was a 22 inch frame bike with a regular Schwinn Ashtabula drop forged blade fork, instead of the normal tubular fork, which made it a bit odd, as they were supposed to have the tubular. I guess their supplier at the time could not keep up with tubular forks for my Sub, so it was equipped with the Ashtabula unit. I was a bit disappointed when I got the bike, and it was not as it was supposed to be. The bike shop owner said if I wasn't happy with it, they would buy it back from me and I could have walked away from it, but I decided to keep it.

 

[fotomatt1]

My lime 1974 small frame. Beautiful bike in the first year for it in this color! It is a duplicate of a bike I ordered new in the spring of 1974, but was forced to sell it a year later so I could buy my first car. I picked this one up at a Quakertown, PA antiques mall in 2009 to replace it. My original lime Sub was a 22 inch frame bike with a regular Schwinn Ashtabula drop forged blade fork, instead of the normal tubular fork, which made it a bit odd, as they were supposed to have the tubular. I guess their supplier at the time could not keep up with tubular forks for my Sub, so it was equipped with the Ashtabula unit. I was a bit disappointed when I got the bike, and it was not as it was supposed to be. The bike shop owner said if I wasn't happy with it, they would buy it back from me and I could have walked away from it, but I decided to keep it.View attachment 1693998

So funny. My blue one posted above is also from the Quakertown Antique Mall from Carl’s Antique Bikes. It was Carl’s personal bike. Lol

 

[Schwinndemonium]

View attachment 1694011 Oops!

 

[Schwinndemonium]

Side shot! This bike is in all but perfect

shape!

 

[Monarkman]

I personally would leave it as it is, original.

 

[Oilit]

I just picked up this 1977 Suburban 5 Speed (FFS) last week pretty inexpensively. It's 99% original. The only thing replaced were tires and tubes according to the original owner simply because they dried out and cracked. He said it mostly sat in his living room as a decoration for most of its life and his wife was tired of looking at it. I'm in the process of building a Klunker from a 1953 Schwinn Panther frame and it got me wondering what the possibilities are for the Suburban? Anybody do a gravel conversion or a restomod? I can lave it completely original and be happy with it, but I think it would be a cool frame for a project, especially in the condition it's in. Thoughts?
View attachment 1692695

View attachment 1692696

View attachment 1692697

View attachment 1692698

View attachment 1692699

View attachment 1692700

View attachment 1692701

View attachment 1692702

View attachment 1692703

View attachment 1692704

That one is nice enough that I would have a hard time modifying it. I have a green five-speed that the chrome is pretty rusty so just about anything you could do would be an improvement. If we were closer you could have it.

 

[DrRumack80]

I picked up this January, 1971 Suburban 5 speed from the original owner. It's all original, including cables and brake pads, but with new tires. Note the gold dot and red dot brake levers - perhaps this was a transition period? I also noted an error in the lacing of the rear rim - spokes cross by the valve stem. The front and rear wheels are both S-6's with "1-71" date code hubs. Either it's a factory error or a replacement S-6 was laced to the old hub. Bow pedals are in excellent condition. The decals are intact, but the gold lettering has become faint and difficult to see.

Having ridden mostly 24" frame Continentals and Varsities, the 22" frame on this bike feels a bit small. (I'm 6'1). After taking these photos, I added a longer seatpost and a vintage Brooks sprung saddle (B66? not sure) I had laying around. The bike rides fine, but looks a bit awkward to my eye with an additional 1" of seatpost sticking out.

Are gold replacement decals available? I only see the white and black decals on Ebay.