TJ's 1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration/Overhaul

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle After

Today is the start of TJ's 1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration/Overhaul.  Restoration/Overhaul because the Le Tour is in fantastic condition.  There is one major problem I need to figure out, the rear derailleur hanger is stripped, it should be no problem repairing but it will be figured out.

We are going to do a complete restoration and bring the Le Tour up to better then show room condition.  The paint is in fantastic condition, all the alloy is in good condition.  The Le Tour will receive all new cables and housings, tires and tubes, saddle, pedals and toe clips.  It will be a real show stopper when its finished.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before - Handlebars

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Bicycle Before - Stem

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before- Front Wheel

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before - Shift Levers

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Bicycle Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Bicycle Before - Crank

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Bicycle Before - Front Derailleur

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Brake

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Wheel

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Bicycle Before - Derailleur Hanger
Stripped

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Derailleur
Stripped Bolt

Things turned out pretty good for the rear derailleur, I talked that problem before starting and tear down.  I taped the threads on the frame to clean them up a little, there is not much material left.  I found a third bolt in my collection with cleaner threads yet so that has helped.  There isn't much material left in the threads but the derailleur screwed in tight and is holding strong.  I would take care not to remove it very often though.  I am glad this solution worked, brazing more material would mean damaging the paint, and from here solutions become more complicated.

With the derailleur solved I broke down the Le Tour.  Before and after photos are not going to be very dramatic but the polishing does make a difference.  With a good restoration the results are always in the details like small bolts, nuts and parts.  Things you don't notice but make all the difference over all.  Below is a photo of small parts after and in this Le Tour these small details are going to put it way over the top!

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - The Details

  The frame was slightly dirty and kind of dull but no chips or scuffs that I could find, amazing!  I cleaned the frame and polished the frame.  The frame turned out absolutely beautiful.  Its hard to see in the photos but the depth in the paint really came out, fantastic.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before - Down Tube

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before - Seat Lug

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom bracket

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Frame Before - Drop Outs

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Frame Before - Fork

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Polished
Head Tube

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Polished - Seat Lug

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Polished
Bottom Bracket

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Frame Polished - Brake Bridge

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Fork - Polished

The headset and bottom bracket showed no wear at all but the grease is like super glue, I do not believe there is more then 50 miles on this Le Tour.  The grease was extremely stubborn, first time ever the crock pot method did not work, I had to soak the bearings and components in BP Blaster for about 6 hours to get the grease removed.  The headset and bottom bracket polished very nice but then they started in pretty much unused condition.  I am pleased with the results.

Another detail that will really make the Le Tour pop is the reflector brackets, reflector brackets don't hold up the best but this one has and after polishing looks better then new.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bottom Bracket - New Grease

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bottom Bracket - Complete

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Headset Cups - Pressed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Headset - Complete

The handlebars in good shape, only one small nick on the under side, no one will see it.  The stem definitely need some polishing and turned out beautiful.  The polished handlebars and stem will rearlly stand out on the Le Tour.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars & Stem
Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem - Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem & Handlebars
Complete

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Stem - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Handlebars - Installed

The crank was next on the list.  The crank was in very good shape, the non-drive side arm had some staining, I polished away the staining the best it would, it would be a little better but I do not want to polish the decal away.  In the end I just gave the crank a lite polishing because I did not want to loose the textured finish it has.   This crank, the Sugino BP is my favorite in function and design, I recently installed one I have been saving for a long time on my personal bike the Poor Man's Rivendell Project.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank - Exploded

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank - Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank - Complete

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Crank - Installed

The brakes are next, they are nice Die-Comp 500's.  The brake look in good shape to start, I think you will see in the before and after photos how far they really came.  I am very proud of the results.  This is another instants where a polished reflector bracket makes a world of difference.  I do like Die-Comp 500's, they come back pretty nice.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brakes - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brakes - Exploded

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brakes - Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brakes - Complete

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Front Brake - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Rear Brake - Installed

The seat post is my favorite and by favorite I mean any fluted, although this particular seat post is my true favorite.  It polished nice and with some grease to protect it from freezing it installed nice.  Actually on looking at the seat post installed photo it looks fantastic, just had to through that in there!

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Seat Post - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Seat Post - Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Seat Post - Installed

The shift levers I like very much, they only made them for a short time, index shifting became big right when they made these.  Want makes these shift levers unique is that as you shift the rear derailleur the front derailleur shift lever with a cam like action slides down and up micro adjusting the front derailleur so there is no chain rub as you go through the rear cogs.  it is a very simple and clever way to handle it.

The shift levers cleaned and polished very nice.  The photo of the shift levers installed really show how nice the levers and the paint turned out and is pretty much how nice the bike is all around that does not show up well in other photos.  Very happy!

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Shift Levers - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Shift Levers - Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Shift levers - Installed

The derailleurs cleaned and polished very nice, the only real difference that can be seen is the front derailleur clamp, it went from dull to nice and shiny.  I do not have a photo of the rear derailleur being overhauled, I overhauled it as I worked on the rear derailleur hanger and must have forgot to take photos.  The rear derailleur did get cleaned, polished and completely overhauled.  This same front derailleur I have been saving for my Poor Man's Rivendell Project and I like it very much. (Another shameless plug!)

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Derailleurs - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Derailleur - Complete

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Front Derailleur - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Rear Derailleur - Installed

Last is the brake levers, I missed taking a brake elver before photo, but it really wasn't to much different then the after photo.  The levers took just a little cleaning and polishing.  They look great installed!

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - I found the before photo.
Which one is witch?

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Levers - Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed

That is all the main body components, the wheels will be done in the morning tomorrow and posted later in the day.  Thanks for the interest! Check back soon.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Main Body - Complete

Today I restored the wheels.  The wheels where in amazing starting shape, no nicks, scratches or anything.  However the old grease was also like glue. Took a lot to get it cleaned.  After some light polishing of the wheel hubs and light polishing of the rims the wheels look fantastic.  TJ chose some Schwalbe Marathon 27 x 1 1/3 tires, one of my all time favorite tires.  I installed the fender and then the wheels.  There will need to be some modifying of the fender bracket that fits under the fork and under the rear brake to get the fenders high enough.  I am a little worried that this will be a problem.  for now I need to go to bed to tackle it when I am awake.  The wheels and tires look fantastic installed.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Fenders - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel - Old Grease

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel - Bearings Packed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
New Schwalbe Marathon Tires

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Rear Wheel - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel - Old Grease

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Polished

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel - Bearings Packed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Wheels - Installed

The tires did prove to be to big, modification of the fender brackets did not supply enough clearance.  TJ chose new Kenda tires with the same reflective stripe, they gave just enough clearance for the fenders.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
New Kenda Tires

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Tires Installed

At this time I installed the new cables and cable housings.  I choose a classic dark gray kind of silver gray,  the gray I think works perfect with the Champagne color, white would stand out to bright and black would contrast to much.

I also installed the new saddle, TJ selected an Origin 8 leather saddle, it looks quite a bit like a Brooks Swallow and I am impressed with the quality.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Bits and Pieces

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Cables - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Front Cable - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Rear Cable - Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Derailleur Cable
Installed

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
New Origin 8 Saddle - Installed

The handlebar tape came next.  The handlebar tape is a very nice black synthetic leather handlebar tape, it is perfect with the color of the frame and the Origin 8 saddle.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebar Tape
Installed

In the morning I need to finish of the pedals, fit the line of the fenders a little better and do finally detailing of the Le Tour.  Then a good test ride to brake the Le Tour in and take the final photos.  I am very excited for the final photos.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bike as of Now

This morning I polished the pedals.  Pedals are always tough to get right, if you use the power polisher you can not get the wheel in the tight areas so you have high polished areas and hand polished areas, it is an ugly blotchy look.  I hand polished the pedals, they where in really nice starting shape so the hand polishing cleaned them up really nice.  I should say that is a problem with alloy pedals, chrome pedals your can use a Dremil tool pretty easy.

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Pedals Before

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Pedals Before & After
After on Left

I did all the fine tuning this morning. Adjusted the fenders, installed the pedals and did the detailing.  I then went for the test ride,  the Le Tour was so smooth, it road beautiful and that is even me being so tall on a small bike.  I road the Le Tour about four miles round trip and the only fine tuning I needed to do was level the saddle a hair.  I was so concentrating on the ride that I did not notice I was riding with the wind, I turned around right into a gale and the Le Tour still performed like a champ.

I really like the Origin 8 Saddle, I am going to see about getting a demo saddle.

I took the final photos, the toe clips where not installed in the final photos because for the test ride I can not use any toe clips or clipless pedals because of an old foot injury.  I can not be connected to the pedals in one spot and I ride with my foot quite a bit forward.  The toe clips turned out nice, there is some surface bubbling from corrosion which happens too all clips.

The Le Tour turned out beautiful, I love the black handlebar tape and the black leather saddle and the gray/silver cable housings, I think the look is perfect with the champagne color.  All around this Le Tour is mint and looks fantastic.  The black fenders also really add a lot to the bike, PERFECT!!!

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front View

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Handlebars

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Bicycle Complete - Front Brake

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Bicycle Complete - Front Half

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration
Bicycle Complete - Saddle

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Drive Train

1984 Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear View