The "HOLY GRAIL" of Schwinn MTB frames!

[Xlobsterman]

I posted this in the Schwinn forum, and thought I would repost the link to it here:

The "HOLY GRAIL" of Schwinn MTB frames! | All Things Schwinn

I just acquired this ultra rare NOS Schwinn MTB frame & fork in the original box with the brake set and headset! These were issued before Schwinn actually sold a complete mountain bike. They were sold as frame sets ONLY, and were listed only in the 1983 dealer catalog. So I am assuming it was a...

thecabe.com

 

[Xlobsterman]

I found myself another NOS frame and fork set the other day. This one has different decals though. It is being shipped to me, and I should get it later this week. I will post more pictures when I get it.

 

[Xlobsterman]

I am seriously thinking of building this one up? But I want to do it with all NOS old school period correct parts that I am sure may be a bit hard to source out? I did find a parts list with part numbers for the parts that were available for the bike during that era. Does anyone have these parts in their parts inventory???????

 

[DrRumack80]

Sounds like a great project. I have parts from that era, but nothing NOS. Derailleurs, cranksets, thumbies, calipers and levers turn up NOS on Ebay from time to time. The hardest to find (and priciest) items will likely be NOS period-correct rims. There will be lots of competition for them from vintage mtb'ers and those with 26" BMX cruisers

 

[Xlobsterman]

Sounds like a great project. I have parts from that era, but nothing NOS. Derailleurs, cranksets, thumbies, calipers and levers turn up NOS on Ebay from time to time. The hardest to find (and priciest) items will likely be NOS period-correct rims. There will be lots of competition for them from vintage mtb'ers and those with 26" BMX cruisers

Yea, I have also pondered the thought of building it up with all new school parts? That would be much easier, and probably less expensive to do.

 

[DrRumack80]

That is also a good option. I sold an '88 Sierra frame to a friend some years ago, who proceeded to have it built up with a Shimano SLX 10-speed group, and period-correct calipers/ brake levers. It really turned out great and is a blast to ride. The rear triangle had to be spread a few mm to accommodate the wider rear hub and cluster

I did something similar with the '92 Trek 750 below. Velo Orange crankset, SLX derailleurs and shifters, 10 speed wide range cassette, and a modern Phil rear hub. It's a nice marriage of the old and the new. The Velo Orange crankset has a great old school look but with narrower spacing and it indexes with modern Shimano Rapidfire pods.

 

[Xlobsterman]

That is also a good option. I sold an '88 Sierra frame to a friend some years ago, who proceeded to have it built up with a Shimano SLX 10-speed group, and period-correct calipers/ brake levers. It really turned out great and is a blast to ride. The rear triangle had to be spread a few mm to accommodate the wider rear hub and cluster

I did something similar with the '92 Trek 750 below. Velo Orange crankset, SLX derailleurs and shifters, 10 speed wide range cassette, and a modern Phil rear hub. It's a nice marriage of the old and the new. The Velo Orange crankset has a great old school look but with narrower spacing and it indexes with modern Shimano Rapidfire pods.

View attachment 2007948

Another thought I had was to find a High Sierra in the right condition, and swap all the parts over from that!

 

[MN_Schwinn]

Another thought I had was to find a High Sierra in the right condition, and swap all the parts over from that!

View attachment 2007980

Congrats! It looks like a fun project. The 84 High Sierra would be a good substitute for all the correct parts (if you can find one that's still stock). The biggest differences between the 83 frame set options and the 84 High Sierra is the crankset. The 84 uses the Sugino TAT, but it has 175mm arms with the triple 28-38-48. From looking online, Ebay has a couple Sugino's that have 170mm arms with the triple 28-45-50, but they are AT and RT's, not TAT's. Everything else would be really close or spot-on, including the chrome-moly triangular handlebar.

You could also look at Bridgestone MB-1's, Miyata Ridge Runner's, or Specialized Stumpjumper's of the same year for parts. They all seemed to be similar from catalog pages found online (but you probably already know that).

 

[Kramai88]

They are out there Came across this a week ago at local bike shop. can’t remember the year but it is NOS bike.

Just found I did take a picture of the badge.

 

[Xlobsterman]

They are out there Came across this a week ago at local bike shop. can’t remember the year but it is NOS bike.

Just found I did take a picture of the badge.

View attachment 2009129

View attachment 2009130

View attachment 2009131

WOW, did you buy that bike?