Le Tour III

"William H. O'Hara, III" <[email hidden]> wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

I have this Le Tour III that I ride almost daily.

Quoted message said:

I would like to hear some suggestions for improving the speed of the bicycle and I'm not overly
worried about low gears as hills are only moderate here.

If you can find them, put a pair of lightweight high-pressure tires on the bike. Really nice tires
are hard to find in 27" sizes, though. Also, have someone look at your riding position. You may want
to get a longer and/or lower stem for a more aero riding position that allows you to use more
muscles when pedalling.

If you haven't recently, repack all your bearing, especially the hub bearings and true your wheels.

Of course, nothing improves speed like lots of training miles. Have fun.

William H. O'Hara, III wrote

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have this Le Tour III that I ride almost daily.

I would like to hear some suggestions for improving the speed of the bicycle and I'm not overly
worried about low gears as hills are only moderate here.

"Ken" wrote

Quoted message said:

If you can find them, put a pair of lightweight high-pressure tires on the bike. Really nice tires
are hard to find in 27" sizes, though.

We bought the entire world's supply of Avocet 27 x 7/8 tires, the lightest, fastest tires ever made
for the 630 rim size. 165 grams for the folding version, 215 grams for the wire bead.

See: sheldonbrown.com630.htmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

Also, have someone look at your riding position. You may want to get a longer and/or lower stem
for a more aero riding position that allows you to use more muscles when pedalling.

That's good advice.

Sheldon "20-630" Brown +----------------------------------------------+
| Check out my wife's tale of her experience |
| in the 1975 Paris-Brest-Paris at: |
| harrietfell.comPBP1975.htmlOpen ↗ |
+----------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

William H. O'Hara said:

I would like to hear some suggestions for improving the speed of the bicycle

Work on the motor. Ride lots.

Art Harris

I had a Super LeTour II, but that was Waaaaaaaaay back in the 1980's. But if yours is equipped
anything like mine was (a lot of steel "Schwinn Approved" stuff), you can do a lot to improve it
there by swapping out the steel for aluminum alloy. Don't bother with high end stuff, the frame
isn't worth it. Mid grade Shimano, for example will do fine. Less tempting for the bad guys, too.

You can also do yourself a big favor by exchanging the wheels (probably also steel) for a reasonable
pair of alloy 700c rims. This will not only lighten your bike considerably, it'll make it a lot
easier to get tires. You'll have a better choice of BETTER tires too. If you do go to 700's be sure
your brakes can accommodate the slight size difference.

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

Chris'Z Corner "The Website for the Common Bicyclist": geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

"William H. O'Hara, III" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I have this Le Tour III that I ride almost daily.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I would like to hear some suggestions for improving the speed of the bicycle and I'm not overly
worried about low gears as hills are only moderate here.

I'm 6'2" and weigh approx 190 lbs for rider info.

Hooooo doggie... A Schwinn Le Tour III was my first "real" ten speed bike back in high school
(mid-'70's). It's a darn good bike as mid-line Schwinns go.

In terms of improvements, I'll echo what others have said: upgrading parts won't give you all that
much improvement. Relacing the wheels with narrower aluminum rims will make it accelerate better and
allow you to fit narrower 27" tires like the Avocets that Sheldon sells.

For speed improvement, try to find an "aero" clip-on handlebar that works with the existing
handlebar. Some aero bars might not- IIRC, the Le Tour's handlebars were slightly smaller in
diameter than the rest of the world. (I may be wrong- the memory's getting fuzzy.)

Jeff

William,

I too have a Le Tour III. I commute three miles to work and usually ride ten to fifteen home every other day. I love the bike but am fixing it up to save for longer rides. I fixed up another old bike that I'm going to use for commute as original parts for the Le Tour are hard to find. I've been looking for three weeks for an original crank/sprocket as mine is a little worn.

The only help on speed is to ride with traffic and do your best to keep up or pass the cars. I ride in city traffic so the cars are not going that fast and its always a challenge to try to get up to 20 mph or faster.

If you hear anything about chainrings for the Le Tour please let me know. email [email hidden]

badknee