Tour De Tucson Vintage Schwinn Lightweight

[Schwinny]

Looking down the row, this String for Schwinn lightweights doesn't get a lot of attention. Just the couple questions Ive asked this year are still high up. Kinda looks like Im hogging the bandwidth.
Let me know if I am, but I know how things get slow after awhile....

Anyway, I like to build bikes around parts at a hobby pace, and if you read a post below about a stem, that's the part Im going to build the next bike around.
The goal is for me to do the 57 mile run, in the Tour De Tucson next November. Then when that's done, it will be my getting across town bike to replace the nra MASI that holds that place now.
I want to build a vintage racer look-a-like that won't ask too much of my decrepitness and won't be too fragile to ride daily.
Here is the start:



A damaged, repaired and re-conditioned Schwinn track stem and a nearly new Brooks B17S. I wish they wouldn't have stamped that it was a girls model into the leather, but I like a wider, smaller seat rather than a crack filler "racing" seat. Gotta be somewhat period and style also and this one was half price with two rides on it so....

I dont want to take a 3pc crank Frame off the market, so I plan on using an early one piece crank 21-23" lightweight frame.
I've also got a one piece 7" stroke bayonet crank on its way but have thought about an adapter to 3pc for the larger BB. Im dabbling in forks and may have hit on a good one to accept the stem and fit the bill.
Right now, the plan is a sparse bike. 2spd coaster brake. Maybe not even a front Brake. The handlebars have to be tourist, or flipped to track racer style for me to be able to hold on.

So I thought I would put it together here on this thread and solicit advice, experience, ideas and parts If that's ok?

The two biggest things to ponder of course is the frame and the wheels. The best choices for frames are wide. Id like to go early or light. Or... light and early. Or light and late. That might depend on availability of course but ideas are for a pre-war standard frame, or the ultimate might be a Chro-Mo brazed frame like a Super Sport if that will accept an early fork.

Comments, thoughts and beratements?

 

[Schwinny]

The force is strong in this project.
Im going to buy as many parts bikes as I can for parts on this project as well as financing this project. Not a new thing, I do that anyway, but now Im going to dedicate all the returns to this project.
Found this one this morning for $20




February 1964 Ladies Varsity Tourist. WAS full tilt and a fabulous Lime Green, but the Sun is Merciless in Az.
It has virtually no hope of a good cleaning making any difference. But the Chrome is fairly nice.
It will donate its 1963 French, Sprint high flange front hub and perhaps its early 27x1-1/4 S6 rims that are in fantastic shape. I will keep the rims for now until Its time to worry about that.

Anybody need anything? the rest will be stripped, sold and donated to the local bike salvage. The headlamp is Excellent. 27" blade style Ashtabula fork is a sleeper item. Bow pedals are pretty nice but the caps are scuffed pretty bad on the right one....

 

[Eric Amlie]

I think the bow pedals are worth saving, even if they are scratched up.
I'd also save the Sprint derailleurs and shifters. I don't need them, but if you're going to sell them cheap, I'd be interested.

 

[SLM]

The force is strong in this project.
Im going to buy as many parts bikes as I can for parts on this project as well as financing this project. Not a new thing, I do that anyway, but now Im going to dedicate all the returns to this project.
Found this one this morning for $20

View attachment 1390151
View attachment 1390156

February 1964 Ladies Varsity Tourist. WAS full tilt and a fabulous Lime Green, but the Sun is Merciless in Az.
It has virtually no hope of a good cleaning making any difference. But the Chrome is fairly nice.
It will donate its 1963 French, Sprint high flange front hub and perhaps its early 27x1-1/4 S6 rims that are in fantastic shape. I will keep the rims for now until Its time to worry about that.

Anybody need anything? the rest will be stripped, sold and donated to the local bike salvage. The headlamp is Excellent. 27" blade style Ashtabula fork is a sleeper item. Bow pedals are pretty nice but the caps are scuffed pretty bad on the right one....

I would be interested in the handlebars and brake levers !

 

[Schwinny]

I think the bow pedals are worth saving, even if they are scratched up.
I'd also save the Sprint derailleurs and shifters. I don't need them, but if you're going to sell them cheap, I'd be intereste

I think the bow pedals are worth saving, even if they are scratched up.
I'd also save the Sprint derailleurs and shifters. I don't need them, but if you're going to sell them cheap, I'd be interested.

Im going to clean everything up a bit and put what isn't called for here in this thread, over in the parts sales area.

 

[RustyHornet]

Any updates?

 

[Schwinny]

YES !!
Kinda....
Sorting things out on the crank and front hubs right now. I could use some input and other angles of thought on current circumstances.
I'm going with a one piece crank. And with the above Varsity parts bike came Schwinn Sprint parts. The Sprint front, small chain ring is a 39 tooth. Couple that with an 18/17 tooth rear cog and that will give 60/85 +/- inch feet. Perfect for a traveling 2 speed. The sprocket is clean, chrome, and is marked Sprint. Kinda cool. I will be using a longer arm crank. 7" as opposed to the Schwinn standard 6.5.
But...
I want to use the Sprint high flange front hub also. The makings of a "groupo" . It is in perfect condition and freshly maintained.
But...
I have this Sturmey Archer high flange phone dial hub. I bought it complete but found out the innerds were destroyed. Lucky it was real cheap. I have the parts from other hubs enough to put it back to working condition. Then I would have the front and rear hub From SA, considering I intend a Sturmey Archer S2C rear hub. The SA hub is also more of an older Eroica' look.
So I mulling this all over....

In other news...

I have an older Nervor Fork I may be using. Im limited by needing a 22mm steer tube id. for the track stem and I think Ive seen Nervor forks on 50's-60's high end Schwinns haven't I?
I bought another parts bike that was a winner so I'll have plenty of moolah for a frame.

Calling the Universe..... A beat-up 1960's 21" Super Sport would fit the bill......

 

[Andrew Gorman]

Gruppo, en Italiano. I'm not sure what you are doing but i admire your resolve. Find a New World with a 3 piece crank- it will make things easier!

 

[Schwinny]

Gruppo, en Italiano. I'm not sure what you are doing but i admire your resolve. Find a New World with a 3 piece crank- it will make things easier!

Its going to be like a New World replica racer look and still be ridden across town regularly. My goal is to have it done by the bike gathering in November and ride it in the 57 mile "race." Im sure it will done well before then.
Its going to replace my current cross town and Tucson loop, long arm cruiser. I made it the same way but started with different bones. They will be basically the same bike. 2spd sparse.
Even with the Big BB, I could still go 3pc crank with an adapter. Its not really going to be a racing bike of any sort though. Just look like it and not be as fragile.
Only room for two bikes, so the nra MASI will have to find a new home soon. The one Im making has a high mark to meet. It has to be at least as good as this one, and this one, is one fine riding bike.

 

[Schwinny]

Another update on the patient struggle...

The acquired parts list has grown, a couple things have entered the maybe, but maybe not category, and a thing or two will be place holders until the last minute in hopes of finding the parts I want.

There were no Super Sports in the group of old bikes I recently purchased, but there were a few other parts that may enter the ring and several used as trade and monetary padding for the parts Ive bought.

Since I haven't been able to come up with a Super Sport 22" frame as of yet, I got to eyeing one of the Speedster frames Ive run into. I stripped one down to nothing, cleaned it and cut the un-needed bungs off. One of theses frames bare, only weighs 5 pounds. Thats hard to beat. I'll bet a stripped S/S 22" frame weighs more than that. So, for now, I'm going to move forward on the Speedster frame. I still want an S/S frame for the end result bike but this one will make a very unique racer "look alike" type. Thinking back, I've never seen anybody use one of these camelback frames in this way, yet actual racing bikes morphed into this style and shape over the years. Maybe when its all done I will poo-poo a SS frame. Maaaaybe.
From here, Im going to Sandblast the frame, add some very slight welds to a couple key areas, paint it white, and use the Red, White and Blue Racer decals with a top hat seat post decal and an "All American" headbadge.
Other parts standing bye are:

• Brooks B-17S seat
• Schwinn track stem
• Continental seat post clamp
• ChroMo 7" arm Bayonette crank shaft
• 19 tooth rear cog
• Early Weinmann 999 front brake caliper w/ his/hers lever
• Sturmey Archer front phone dial hub
• 27x1-1/8" Aluminum Weinmann wheels off an 85' Prelude with new Pasela's

Still back and forth on the sprocket and fork.
In the interest of a complete FrankenRacer I've been thinking about getting one of those old style cursive "Schwinn Superior" Down tube decals and slicing off the "ior" at the end. It will be pretty "Super," at least to me.

Upcoming are the handlebars, seat post, 2 speed hub, BB and pedals