Help with bike rehab...

DJA said:

Wheels/Hubs

You can often find wheelsets on sale for 100ish dollars at nashbar.com and
other sites. If you can drop your brake pads 3mm or so, get 700c wheels,
since those have a better tire selection. You'll have to respace your
dropouts unless you can find a wheel spaced for an older dropout. You can
probably just spring it apart. Sheldon Brown has an article on this, I've
done it. Freaky, scarey, and quite easy.

You'll need a cassette of cogs. I like the silver Sram for 25.

Quoted message said:

Tires

Again, try Nashbar--I'm extremely pleased with the house brand prima plus
2's for about 10 each. There's always something decent on sale for that
amount.

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Derailleurs

If your old one works, keep it, it will shift much better on a modern
cassette and chain. Otherwise grab a sora, 20 bucks, or 105 derailleur for
35 or so.

The front should be fine, or get a new one for a ten spot.

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Shifters

Do the existing ones work? You can use the old friction kind with a new
derailleur just fine. A set of Shimano downtube clicky shifters will cost
you $30. Upgrading to STI will cost a couple hundred just for the levers.
Eek. If you want STI, get a new or used entry level bike. 😉

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Chain

Sram: $10

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Cables

Cableset: $10

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(Bearings?)

Cheap :P

so to add up:
100 wheels
20 tires
25 cassette
10 cables
30 Sora derailleurs
30 new clicky downtube shifters

which comes to $225 bucks, and you'll have basically a new bike. Go for
it. 😄 When it comes to moving bits. I'd skip the derailleur replacement
unless it's trashed and see how the old one works with the new parts. My
1979 Shimano Titlist (pre 600) shifts great on a new cassette. Gears just
"pop" into place virtually silently.

"DJA" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've decided to try to resurrect my 20+ year old Schwinn Traveler road
bike. This bike has been sitting in a basement for at least ten years
and the frame is fine but some of the components are trashed. I need to
replace some of the key components with mid-grade stuff and I'd like
some advice. This will be used occasionally for short rides (10 - 30
mi.) on paved trails. Any specific recommendations or advice would be
appreciated..

Some pics... http://home.comcast.net/~iflyfish/bike.htm

David
(dja at myway dot com)

Wheels/Hubs
Tires
Derailleurs
Shifters
Chain
Cables
(Bearings?)

It's not really worth swapping out everything unless you're *really* fond of
that bike... I'd suggest new tires, tubes, chain, bar tape, brake pads and
shift cables. You might want to re-lube the wheel hubs and bottom bracket, but
that may be getting into more than you want (tools, etc.).

If you go further, you'll build a new bike around that frame, which just isn't
cost effective.

DJA said:

I've decided to try to resurrect my 20+ year old Schwinn Traveler road
bike. This bike has been sitting in a basement for at least ten years
and the frame is fine but some of the components are trashed. I need to
replace some of the key components with mid-grade stuff and I'd like
some advice. This will be used occasionally for short rides (10 - 30
mi.) on paved trails. Any specific recommendations or advice would be
appreciated..

Some pics... http://home.comcast.net/~iflyfish/bike.htm

David
(dja at myway dot com)

Wheels/Hubs
Tires
Derailleurs
Shifters
Chain
Cables
(Bearings?)

Schwinns take a lickin and keep on ... rollin <gotta work on that one>

New chain
New Tires (tubes??)
New cables

Take everything apart. Clean. Inspect. Replace if actually pitted,
rusted beyond use or broken. Relubricate. Rassemble. Ride!!!

Most likely the bike will ride as well as the day it was made. Save
your money on newer components for when you decide to get a better
bike. The cost of new wheels, derailleurs, shifters, etc would
overshoot the value of the Traveler. Good bike. Heavy, but sturdy 🙂

DJA said:

I've decided to try to resurrect my 20+ year old Schwinn Traveler road
bike.

Great for you I use a same era "Schwinn Traveler" myself as commuter bike!

Quoted message said:

This bike has been sitting in a basement for at least ten years
and the frame is fine but some of the components are trashed. I need to
replace some of the key components with mid-grade stuff and I'd like
some advice
Some pics... http://home.comcast.net/~iflyfish/bike.htm

Quoted message said:

Wheels/Hubs

They looked good to me... just lubricate the hubs.

Quoted message said:

Tires

You do need new ones... might I suggest the 27x1/8" Nashbar models?

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Derailleurs

Use very fine grit sandpaper to remove the corrosion on your bike's metal parts, then lubricate and use the existing ders.

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Shifters

Those friction shifters look fine to me... again, lubricate them.

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Chain

Get a new one from Nashbar.

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Cables

Get new cables and lube them.

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(Bearings?)

Just repack 'em with some new grease (if needed).

Your total cost should be less than thirty bucks.

"DJA" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've decided to try to resurrect my 20+ year old Schwinn

Traveler road

Quoted message said:

bike. This bike has been sitting in a basement for at least ten

years

Quoted message said:

and the frame is fine but some of the components are trashed. I

need to

Quoted message said:

replace some of the key components with mid-grade stuff and I'd

like

Quoted message said:

some advice. This will be used occasionally for short rides

(10 - 30

Quoted message said:

mi.) on paved trails. Any specific recommendations or advice

would be

Quoted message said:

appreciated..

I was faced with a similar project, and I went fixy. It's a
lot of fun.
1984 Trek 560, considered a racing geometry in its day, I
suppose. Derailleurs, rear brake, and free wheel all gone. It's my
around-town commuting bike, now. (But I live a half mile from
school and no more than three miles from anything else I bike to.
I use the Trek 720, with freewheel, for the multi-hour rides.) I
still haven't decided what to do about the pedals -- Look cleats
are no good for walking the halls at school, and I don't want to
pop for SPD's or equivalent yet. I'll probably wait until I
upgrade my pedal shoe combo on all three bikes and go for a
recessed/flat sole option at that time....

Rico X. Partay said:

Look cleats are no good for walking the halls at
school, and I don't want to pop for SPD's or equivalent yet

I just spent under 60 USD for cleats and road shoes at Nashbar till I can
find what I really want...but the combination is so comfy I might not
bother. Recommended. Nashbar road shoes and Nashbar ATB pedals (not the
cheapest but the next tik up, they're actual spd compatibles). The shoes
are made by Lake and the pedals are cheap and cheerful Wellgos, rebranded
with the "N"

But--for the short ride you're doing--I'd get some old fashioned block
pedals--they're awesomely comfy and you can ride in bare feet. :P

DJA said:

I've decided to try to resurrect my 20+ year old Schwinn Traveler road
bike. This bike has been sitting in a basement for at least ten years
and the frame is fine but some of the components are trashed. I need to
replace some of the key components with mid-grade stuff and I'd like
some advice. This will be used occasionally for short rides (10 - 30
mi.) on paved trails. Any specific recommendations or advice would be
appreciated..

Some pics... http://home.comcast.net/~iflyfish/bike.htm

David
(dja at myway dot com)

Wheels/Hubs
Tires
Derailleurs
Shifters
Chain
Cables
(Bearings?)

I can't tell what is trashed. The bike looks pretty much all there.
How does it ride right now?

Buy tires, tubes, cables, cable housings, and brake pads. And
degreaser! Open up and clean as many parts of the bike that you can
and put it all back together. Ride until something breaks, then decide
whether you want to replace it or go for a new bike.

I'd avoid replacing the chain because that most likely means a new
freewheel, which means either NOS or new wheels, which means respacing
and then you might as well go index so new shifters and then you'll
need derailleurs to match the shifters and the chainrings look pretty
sad now so new chainrings to match the chain and the bottom bracket is
probably shot and maybe the cranks are non-standard- Suntour might
have done that- and getting new chainrings might be a drag so why not
just a new crank and BB... and then you look back one day and realize
that you have put $300 into a $75 bike and you have to wonder.....

Get new cables, brake pads and tires and ride it until it drops or you
drop it 🙂

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 15:07:17 -0400, DJA <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

and the frame is fine but some of the components are trashed. I need to
Some pics... http://home.comcast.net/~iflyfish/bike.htm

What is "trashed" about the components? A quick inspection of the
photos looks fine...

Quoted message said:

Wheels/Hubs

Unnecessary. Repack the bearings with new grease, and maybe new
balls; check for even and sufficient spoke tension and trueness of
wheels.

Quoted message said:

Tires

The tires are probably rotted. They don't look bad in the photos,
though.

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Derailleurs

I don't see anything wrong with them.

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Shifters

These are mounted oddly; I usually see this style mounted at the top
of the stem.

Quoted message said:

Chain

Minor rust. Probably okay with some lube. New chains are cheap,
anyway.

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Cables

Try 'em. They may feel okay. The housings are probably a bit
deteriorated, and I saw at least one frayed cable end. Worth some
new cables and housings.

BTW, Wal Mart has [cheap] tires, chains, cables and housings, and
brake pads to fit your bike. They are cheaper than you'll find at
any specialty bike retailer. These items work fine, although you may
want higher quality brake pads for peace of mind. The 27 x 1 1/4
tires at Wal Mart take 95psi and feel nice, and are something like
$6.
--
Rick Onanian

Thanks everyone for the good advice. I will tear everything down & start
with the parts that I NEED and gradually add things that may need an
upgrade.

David