[Geodude]

The owner must be Italian...

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[Arjay Bee]

The owner must be Italian...

Or possibly Iranian... Great setup whatever.

[mattb123]

One of the harder trails in the local system. Not a line I ride...

[scratchpaddy]

I messed up the teal Schwinn (1988 Traveler) on a ride two weeks ago. I was paying too much attention to traffic and not enough to my position at a crossing, and hit a very tall curb instead of the crossing exit. I managed to stay off the ground, but I hit so hard it bent the fork and the frame. I could still ride it home after adjusting the brakes, but it handles weird and looks shameful with the forks bent back. After tens of thousands of miles on bikes over the years, I'd never actually destroyed a bike before. I won't be hitting 10,000 miles with this bike after all.

I couldn't find what I wanted locally, so I found a replacement frameset on eBay, another Schwinn by coincidence. It's a 1986 Prelude, which was much higher up the product line than the Traveler, with a frame built from Columbus tubing, from Italy. It came on Monday. Each day after work, I've been gutting the Traveler and getting all the pieces cleaned, polished, and lubed for the "new" bike.



Obviously no shortage of transportation options in the meantime, but that was really my favorite bike.

[scratchpaddy]

I finished putting the Prelude together last week, and I've been trying it out this weekend.




I took it on a 40-mile ride to Mesa this morning. It's good to have my '80's Schwinn back, sort of. The same, but a little better.

[noelcmn]

Even Teddy is heeding the call to wear face masks during the Covid-19 lockdown.

[paulh]

It's good to have my '80's Schwinn back

Looking good! Enjoy your new/old ride

[mattb123]

I finished putting the Prelude together last week, and I've been trying it out this weekend.




I took it on a 40-mile ride to Mesa this morning. It's good to have my '80's Schwinn back, sort of. The same, but a little better.

Looks sweet! Great pics too. What groupo?

[Geodude]

I finished putting the Prelude together last week, and I've been trying it out this weekend.




I took it on a 40-mile ride to Mesa this morning. It's good to have my '80's Schwinn back, sort of. The same, but a little better.

I like your set-up, very '80s looking. The blue-orange is very complementary (color opposites). As a matter of fact I had a tandem custom built back in '79 with the same color scheme. The complete bike weighed in at 32 lbs (with empty H2O bottles). Later in years I've modified it with more upright h-bars and a wider-range cluster. We rarely ride it, anymore, so I may put it on the market. It's all Reynolds 531.

[scratchpaddy]

Looks sweet! Great pics too. What groupo?

Thanks! I kept the basic stuff that the Traveler came with, a mix of SR (defunct Japanese company, I think stood for "Sakae-Ringyo") and Shimano. The freewheel is 6-speed, and the downtube shifters are indexed, which I really appreciate. I installed SR Ovaltech chainrings, which are the same as Shimano's Biopace of the time. They effectively reduce the gear ratio on the power stroke. It's a cool idea I wanted to try out, but the difference is slight. Oh, I also added some generic modern dual-pivot brake calipers. Because of a birth defect, my left hand doesn't have enough strength to use the Dia-Compe single pivot sidepulls the Traveler came with.

I like your set-up, very '80s looking. The blue-orange is very complementary (color opposites). As a matter of fact I had a tandem custom built back in '79 with the same color scheme. The complete bike weighed in at 32 lbs (with empty H2O bottles). Later in years I've modified it with more upright h-bars and a wider-range cluster. We rarely ride it, anymore, so I may put it on the market. It's all Reynolds 531.

I do like leaning into the '80's "look". I was considering several different frames on eBay, and runner-up was red, but I figured blue had better choices for color coordination, plus it contrasts well with the warm colors of the landscape here in pictures. Color opposites was exactly the reason I went with orange for the tape and seat. Bold colors make me happy.

That's an awesome tandem! I can't believe it weighs so little. I'm sure you wouldn't have a hard time selling it right now. There's a lady I know in passing from my morning dog walks. I saw her on a bike ride last weekend. We talked for a bit, and it turns out her husband owns a bike shop in Scottsdale. She was headed there right then to help him assemble new bikes, at 6 AM on a Sunday. The bikes just fly out the door as soon as they hit the floor. I went the Walmart the other day, and there were no bikes. Completely sold out.

[mattb123]

Getting some miles in on my new ride. Really loving this bike and setting lots of PRs on Strava which is fun. Did The Big Loop today.

[mattb123]

Thanks! I kept the basic stuff that the Traveler came with, a mix of SR (defunct Japanese company, I think stood for "Sakae-Ringyo") and Shimano. The freewheel is 6-speed, and the downtube shifters are indexed, which I really appreciate. I installed SR Ovaltech chainrings, which are the same as Shimano's Biopace of the time. They effectively reduce the gear ratio on the power stroke. It's a cool idea I wanted to try out, but the difference is slight. Oh, I also added some generic modern dual-pivot brake calipers. Because of a birth defect, my left hand doesn't have enough strength to use the Dia-Compe single pivot sidepulls the Traveler came with.
.

I used to run Biopace on a 90's MTB. Never felt quite right to me. I currently also ride a 1971 Peugeot that has been rebuilt into a fixie. I put fenders and a rack on it and it makes a fun commuter townie.

[paulh]

Doc keeping an eye on me from the patio deck. You can also see my old Diamondback Outlook - not high-end at all, but it was a tall frame and perfect for my needs. I had to sell it when I moved.

[paulh]

Sunset traction

[mattb123]

Good ride today