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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle - After |
When I was a kid,
about fifth grade in 1988, I was given a Schwinn Varsity by my aunt. It was red, my size and the greatest gift I
had gotten, who cares that it was at least 12 years old the handlebar tape was
falling off, tires shot and tubes dead. I went right out and bought new
tires, tubes and that really cool thick
black foam handlebar tape, or at least it was cool in 1988, wait I take that
back, it was never cool!
I loved that
Schwinn Varsity and I still have it! I broke my race legs in on it, I could
get everywhere on it, I became fast on it. I could get to my friend Jason's house 3.28
miles away in no time flat, with a record of 12 minutes 14 seconds, you can do
the math on that!
The thing was the
Varsity was bottom of the line but it was mine, my friends had the Schwinn Continentals,
a full four pounds lighter at 36 lbs, awful weight for both! A few even had Le Tours and one even had a
Trek 420, but I always had my eye on the Schwinn Superior!
I wanted a Superior
so bad when I was young; it was 28 lbs., had such nice components and just
looked so much cooler with the hooded brake levers, real hooked rims, a real
nice Sports bike! I never got a Superior of my own but have been lucky
enough to work on a lot of them.
Later my thoughts
changed, yes to girls and cars but also more sexy bikes like Bianchi's,
Paramount’s, Miyata's, Treks and so forth. For the riding I do now a Superior
would be perfect, maybe someday I will find one for myself that fits my 6 foot
4 frame, maybe even a 1982 Baby Paramount Superior like Dave's which can be
seen by Clicking Here.
The 1977 Schwinn
Superior is black and chrome, my favorite combination, check out my mom's
Schwinn Super Le Tour I restored for her by Clicking Here, black and chrome,
the best! This Schwinn Superior will be getting a complete restoration
along with new tires and tubes, cables and cable housings, what could be
consider a new old stock touring saddle, new brake lever hoods, and new
synthetic brown leather handlebar tape. It will look amazing, like an old
classic sports touring bicycle with black, chrome and leather.
This Schwinn
Superior is a little deceiving though, it is not to beat up, it is dirty but it
is hard to see against the black but the real problem is the crank barely
spins, the headset is super tight and a lot of components are frozen in
place. I think though a good restoration
will take care of it all.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Before -Handlebars Before |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Bicycle Before - Stem |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Bicycle Before - Front Brake |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Derailleur |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Bicycle Before - Crank |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Derailleur |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Wheel
Hub |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Bicycle Before - History Stickers |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Before - Wheel Rim |
The Schwinn Superior was a little deceiving, it looked fairly clean, normal dirt and wear but getting the Superior apart was nightmare. The stem was frozen, the crank dust covers where solid aluminum and frozen in place, the crank bolts where frozen, the bottom bracket bearings where shot and some general broken things here and there. Also a bolt was broken in the brake caliper.
The stem sucked getting out because it was not a normal slant wedge it was a round stopper type so if you hit it from the bottom it just wedges in farther.
When I finally got the bicycle broken down I found the frame to be dull, dirty but not to many chips for a bike this old. Photos do not do black paint justice, the before photos are worse then they appear and the after photos are not as good, the black polished is beautiful. Black just does not photograph well. Again, the after photos do not do it justice, the black is like liquid black! Black in person is always the greatest transformation before and after but worst in photos.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Frame Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Frame Before
Rear Brake Bridge |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Frame Before
Head Tube |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Fork Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Frame Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Frame Polished - Schwinn decal |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Frame Polished
History Stickers Removed |
At this point all the polishing of the components is finished, most of the assembly also, I just ran out of time to get more photos up right now. The brake caliper before photo did not turn out so these will have to do. In the exploded view in the middle you can see one of the longer bolts is broken, it was amazing the caliper stayed together, it is the one with the nut still threaded on a small part of the bolt. i am starting here with the brake calipers because I didn't want all those parts laying around so I polished them first and assembled them first and installed them on the frame alter.
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Brake Caliper - Before |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Brake Caliper - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Calipers - Exploded View |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Calipers - Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Calipers - Complete |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Front Brake Caliper - Installed |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Rear Brake Caliper - Installed |
I actually installed the headset and bottom bracket before the brake calipers. The bottom bracket was awful, corrosion and the old bearings and cages where useless. the grease turned into a hard substance like amber. I replaced the bearings with new and just went with loose bearings and removing the cages. This allowed for a few more bearings and will work well with this type of bottom bracket. The bottom bracket polished very nice and spins so smooth with the new bearings but ti should its a nice quality bottom bracket.
The headset took a lot of polishing but turned out nice, it also spins very smooth.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Headset & bottom Bracket - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket - Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Old Bottom Bracket Bearings |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - NewBearings |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bottom Bracket - Complete |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Headset Cups - Pressed |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Headset Bearings - Packed |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Headset Complete |
The stem was frozen in place, it took some doing to free it. The stem and handlebars polished beautifully, I am very happy about that. When things are frozen in place by corrosion little things tend to be damaged, in a photo below you can see me repairing the threads on the stem wedge, they where corroded and the stem bolt would not thread back in but all was good after a re-thread.
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Stem Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Stem Polished |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Stem Wedge Re-Thread |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Stem & Handlebars - Installed |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Stem & Handlebars - Installed |
The crank is a beautiful crank, it is complicated though, in the 1970's they made beautiful cranks they just where not as refined as they became in the 1980's. I disassembled the crank and its many bolts and spacers and polished each. the crank turned out beautiful and really pops against the black frame.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Crank - Before |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Crank Exploded
Lots of bolts and spacers! |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Crank Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Crank Complete |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Crank - Installed |
Next was the derailleurs, the derailleurs are pretty nice, the rear derailleur needed a lot of disassembling, after polishing they both look great and after a lot of flushing and lubricating the pivot points work great.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Derailleurs - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Exploded |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Derailleur - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Derailleurs - Complete |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Derailleur - Installed |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Rear Derailleur - Installed |
The brake levers turned out amazing but I was worried about them. The Schwinn Approved brake levers from that era have huge adjustment barrels on the top. The brake lever hoods where shot so replacements where needed and they don't make brake lever hoods that easily fit the large adjuster anymore. I polished the brake levers and oiled the pivot points and that turned out fantastic. I then greased the new brake lever hoods heavily and hoped they would fit. i did not want to trim the hoods either because that would for sure cause a tear. In the end everything fit and looks amazing, I couldn't be happier!! To bad you can't transfer the awesome patina from the old hoods!
One more thing about the brake levers, it pays off to save every little part and keep all the parts very organized. I was able to replace the old cracked plastic barrel adjusters with polished metal adjusters, it makes a world of difference. When ever I see a box of old parts at Flea Market or bike swap and its really cheap I buy it not even knowing whats in it. I then organize it into my collection and it is amazing how often i go in it for random parts.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Levers - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Levers - Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Levers - Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Levers - Complete |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed |
At this time I polished the seat post and seat post collar and cable hanger, this is an area I wish Schwinn would have done better on the Superior, the seat post collar is heavy, steal and huge. They could have saved a lot of weight here and streamlined the look a lot better but I guess then again they could have just gone with a lugged frame! The seat post and collar polished beautifully though and look awesome against the polished black frame.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Seat Post - Before |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Seat Post Collar - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Seat post Collar - Complete |
I think that just leaves the shift levers for components, I need to take a photo of the shift elvers so I will post those tomorrow.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Superior - Components Complete |
The wheels are in okay shape, the front wheel is alloy and the rear is steal, I don't think that would be original but maybe, for some reason I see a lot of Superiors for sale missing the front wheel.
The rear wheel freewheel I think is toast, it did not spin at all. Getting the freewheel off was also a choir, the freewheel is a really strange one. I was so lucky I have the really obscure freewheel removal tool that fit this freewheel, I could be the only one in Illinois that has it or at least that knows they have it.
I found the freewheel removal tool at a flea market about three years ago, not even a bike swap. I found it in a bottom of a box of old sockets, I recognized that it was a freewheel removal tool right away but never saw one like it. I asked how much, the guy said a quarter and i said sold. You can see it had been rounded off, it only works now with a pipe wrench.
I have flushed and soaked the freewheel all day and am getting no where, I will see what happens over night but might have to talk to the Superior owner about a replacement.
The rear wheel polished very nice and spins great, the new Kenda gum wall tires are a perfect match for the Superior.
The front wheel is alloy, it polished beautifully, I am very happy with it. The front wheel hub is a high flange hub, high flange hubs are my favorite, they have a great classic look.
The freewheel is done, flushing and oil soaking for two days did not help it at all.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Wheel - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Freewheel - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Freewheel & Freewheel Removal Tool |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Wheel - Old Grease |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - New Grease |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Wheel - Complete |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Wheel
Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Wheel Rim - Before |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Old Grease |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Polished |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Front Wheel - Complete |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
New Kenda Gum Wall Tires |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Wheels Complete |
Yesterday I was able to finish up the Schwinn Superior, I ran the cables and housings, installed the saddle, installed the handlebar tape and tuned the Superior. Today I was able to take final photos.
The handlebar tape looks fantastic and is perfect for the Superior but I was not impressed with the tape overall, it came in a roll that was way to short, it took a lot of stretching to cover half the tape so the handlebar make logo wouldn't show ever inch. I guess I am unhappy that it was to short other then that it needed to be heated a little bit to get it to stretch and lay flat which is no big deal.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - New Bits & Pieces |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Brake Levers - Wired |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Front Brake - Wired |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Rear Brake - Wired |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Wired |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Saddle - Installed |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Handlebar Tape - Installed |
Again, the final photos deserve to be outside with better light in the bicycles natural environment but this winter is just to brutal.
I am thrilled that I got to restore a Schwinn Superior, it is everything and more I thought it was when I was a kid. The black and chrome and leather color handlebar tape is just perfect, such a classic look. The superior turned out incredible, the crank is bright chrome, the brake calipers pop against the black, the wheels look great and now the bike functions great!! The new brake elvers hoods are perfect for the bike. I do not think their could be a better Superior out there other then Dave's baby Paramount Superior but then that is comparing apples and oranges because they are not the same bicycle.
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| 1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Handlebars |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Brake |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Wheel Hub |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Stem |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration
Bicycle Complete - Front Half |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Saddle |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Drive Train |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Brake |
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1977 Schwinn Superior Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Wheel Hub |
Thanks for the interest and thanks to the owner for bringing me the Superior, It was a joy!
John Z.
