Recently I started the restoration on Ted's Schwinn Le Tour. The Le Tour came up all the way from Florida. I love the Schwinn Le Tours, I think they are a very underrated bicycle. Set up right they are do everything bicycles. They have a very relaxed geometry that make them very comfortable. The Le Tours also can be wonderful set up as stock or they can be treated like a blank canvas for some really nice builds.
Ted's Schwinn Le Tour is going to be going the blank canvas direction. The first big change is going to be a new black paint job with red cables. In my book there is nothing better then black paint and a lot of polished pieces. Through in red accents and you have one mean looking bike!
The next big change is the 27 inch steel rims will be replaced with 700c alloy rims. The change to 700c rims will have many benefits, the first is the alloy rims will be quite a bit lighter. Alloy rims will also stop a lot better in wet conditions. The best part is there are unlimited tire choices in the 700c size and the wide clearance of the Le Tour frame will allow for some pretty wide tires if wanted.
The drive train will be left as is but restored. The drive train on a Le Tour is pretty much bullet proof so no need to mess with it. A long with the total restoration and the new paint and rims the Le Tour will receive all new cables, cable housings, new bearings, new brake pads, new red handle bar tape, new tires and tubes, new decals and a new saddle.
I can't wait to see the results and give the Le Tour a test ride. I think it is going to be one mean bike!!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Handlebars |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Stem & Handlebars |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Shift Levers |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Brake |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Wheel Hub |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Brake Levers |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Fork Crown |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Wheel Hub |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Top Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Down Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Chicago Decal |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Seat Tube Decal |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Derailleur |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Crank |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Derailleur |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Seat Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Cable Hanger |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Rear Brake Caliper |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Rear Derailleur |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Before Rear Wheel Hub |
I broke down the Le Tour and started the paint stripping process on the frame. The blue paint is not is to bad of shape but there are some bad areas on most of the lug lines that any fix would just be a band aid in those locations. And in the end you can't beat black paint!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Head Tube Lug |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Top Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Down Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Seat Lug |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Chicago Decal |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Bottom Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Bottom Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Bottom Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Chain Stay |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Seat Lug |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Seat Stays |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Chain Stays |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Chain Stay |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Drop Outs |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Fork |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Fork Crown |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Fork Crown |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Fork Crown |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Fork Blades |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Fork Chrome |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Before Fork Chrome |
Out of the paint stripper the frame looks very good. A little clean up work and some prep and it will be ready for paint. The black paint powder is on its way, hopefully it will arrive quickly.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Stripped |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Stripped Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Stripped Fork |
Component polishing is under way. Check back for more soon!
While the frame is being painted I did all the component restoration.
I started with the headset and bottom bracket. The headset bearing cups have some damaged to the chrome. I polished the cups out but I am going to see what I can find for replacements. So far my quick searches through the parts collection has turned out empty. The rest of the pieces to the headset and bottom bracket turned out very nice. New bearings and grease will have them spinning super smooth.
The shift levers are also part of the headset. The mail big middle piece has some chrome damage. That piece will be hard to replace then headset bearing cups. For now I brought that piece back as far as it will go and we will see what we can find for replacement. The rest of the shift lever pieces restored beautifully! As a whole the shift levers look great!
The stem, handlebar and brake elver unit is in good starting shape. I broke everything down and gave everything a deep cleaning. With everything clean I worked through the polishing wheels. The stem polished fantastic. The handlebars polished very nice and the brake levers look amazing. The handlebars had two light gouges near the stem. I filed them smooth with a very fine file and they polished very smooth. They are shinier then the surrounding textured finish but they look much better. I may look to see if I have better condition handlebars but in the end it will be really hard to beat the condition of these. Overall I love the results! I love this stuff!
Center pull brakes always restore nice, although over 50 parts in the pair take a while. These center pull brakes turned out very nice. With new brake pads they will stop very nice also. I like center pull brakes because they restore so nice and actually work as a brake. I am still treating the cable yokes so they are not in the after photo.
I started with the headset and bottom bracket. The headset bearing cups have some damaged to the chrome. I polished the cups out but I am going to see what I can find for replacements. So far my quick searches through the parts collection has turned out empty. The rest of the pieces to the headset and bottom bracket turned out very nice. New bearings and grease will have them spinning super smooth.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Head Set & Bottom Bracket Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket Polished |
The shift levers are also part of the headset. The mail big middle piece has some chrome damage. That piece will be hard to replace then headset bearing cups. For now I brought that piece back as far as it will go and we will see what we can find for replacement. The rest of the shift lever pieces restored beautifully! As a whole the shift levers look great!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Shift Levers Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Shift Levers Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Shift Levers Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Shift Levers - Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Shift Levers - Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Shift Levers - Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Shift Levers Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Shift Levers Complete |
The stem, handlebar and brake elver unit is in good starting shape. I broke everything down and gave everything a deep cleaning. With everything clean I worked through the polishing wheels. The stem polished fantastic. The handlebars polished very nice and the brake levers look amazing. The handlebars had two light gouges near the stem. I filed them smooth with a very fine file and they polished very smooth. They are shinier then the surrounding textured finish but they look much better. I may look to see if I have better condition handlebars but in the end it will be really hard to beat the condition of these. Overall I love the results! I love this stuff!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Handlebar Unit - Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem & Handlebars Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars Before Slight Gouges & Dirt Above |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Levers Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Levers Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Levers Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars & Stem Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Stem & Handlebars Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Levers - Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Levers Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Levers - Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Handlebar Unit Complete |
Center pull brakes always restore nice, although over 50 parts in the pair take a while. These center pull brakes turned out very nice. With new brake pads they will stop very nice also. I like center pull brakes because they restore so nice and actually work as a brake. I am still treating the cable yokes so they are not in the after photo.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration -Brake Calipers Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Calipers Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Calipers Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Calipers Complete |
The crank is a nice early Super Maxy. A very nice crank. I broke down the crank and cleaned all the pieces. With everything cleaned I worked through the polishing wheels. The pieces polished very nice. The chain guard is pretty good, it has a textured surface which makes it difficult. Over all I am happy with the crank.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Derailleur Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Derailleur Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Derailleur Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Derailleur Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Derailleur Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Derailleur Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Derailleur Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Derailleur Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Derailleur Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Derailleur Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Derailleur Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Derailleur Complete |
The seat post and cable hanger is in ok shape to start with. With some cleaning and polishing they look great. The seat post shim like all of them was rusty but turned out pretty good.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Seat Post & Cable Hanger Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Seat Post & Cable Hanger Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Cable Hanger & Shim Polished |
The wheel hubs are currently being restored. Here are some before photos.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Wheel Hubs Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Exploded |
I have not updated the post since the frame came out of paint. The frame gave me a lot of trouble during painting. There ended up being some goop or dirt inside the seat tube that when I heated the frame for curing that area would not heat properly and bubble or get very rough. When I finally found the problem things started going much better.
The frame turned out very nice. I love black! It does take a good deal of patience to get black to look good and smooth. I am happy that I have the black paint looking very good!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Down Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Down Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Seat Lug |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Bottom Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Bottom Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Bottom Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Seat Stays |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Chain Stays |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Drop Outs |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Fork |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Fork Crown |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Fork Crown |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Fork Blades |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Fork Blades |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Frame Painted Fork Blades |
With the frame complete I have been installing the components. The components where restored in the post above so I am just going to show photos here of the components installed. I love black frames and polished chrome and alloy. The Le Tour really starts to come together here.
The headset and bottom bracket are first. Both spin great with new bearings and grease.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Pressing Headset Cups |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Headset Cups Pressed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Headset Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Headset Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Headset Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Bottom Bracket Bearings Packed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bottom Bracket Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bottom Bracket Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket Complete |
The handlebars, stem and brake levers have are been assembled as a unit now they have been installed to the frame. I love all that shine and black paint! I love this stuff!!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Handlebars Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Crank Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Crank Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Front Brake Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Rear Brake Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Calipers Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Seat Post Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Seat Post Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Rear Derailleur Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Derailleur Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration Front Derailleur Installed |
That is the mail body complete. I am still looking for a shift lever bracket that fits the headset that isn't rust damaged.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle So far |
I put the before photos of the wheel hubs that where up above here too. I broke the wheel hubs down, polished the pieces on the polishing wheels and assembled the wheel hubs with new grease and new bearings. They spin great.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Wheel Hubs Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Exploded |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Rims New Spokes - New Spoke Nipples New Tires |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Wheels Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Rom Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Front Wheel Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Wheel Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Wheels Complete |
The rear freewheel doesn't seam to show any wear just gritty and dirty. I spent a good deal of time flushing and lubricating the freewheel. The completed freewheel spins like butter an looks great. I also installed a new chain and the polished pie plate at this time. The photo of the freewheel with the chain installed is always one of my favorite photos of a restoration because that is the heart of a bicycle.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Freewheel Before |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Freewheel Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Pie Plate Polished |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Chain |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Chain Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Freewheel Complete |
Next was to wire the Le Tour. I finally found a shift lever bracket that was not rust damaged but that just came today. For now I can only install the brake cables. I love red cable housings and black paint!! I love this stuff!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration New Brake Cables & Housings |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Cables Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Cables Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Brake Cable Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Brake Cables Complete |
It took me for ever to find a new shift lever bracket. I found many very nice ones on complete bikes. (I will not pirate parts from complete bikes.) or someone was asking a crazy crazy price for a set of Altus shift levers. I finally found this bracket. In the photos below I already switched the original shift elvers over. Looks so much better. The other major find was the bottom bearing cup for the headset, looks so much better. I then wired the shift levers. These red cable housing against the black paint is looking wicked!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Shift Lever Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Shift Lever Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Old Shift Lever Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Headset Cup |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Red Shift Lever Housing |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Shift Levers Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Shift Levers Wired |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Shift Levers Wired |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Rear Derailleur Wired |
With the shift levers complete it was time to wrap the handlebars. What better then red synthetic leather look? I love this stuff! That is a mean looking bike.
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Handlebar Tape |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebars Tape Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Handlebar Tape Complete |
Recently I have been using these seats, they are billed as the worlds most comfortable road bike seat and I kind of agree. Looks great installed!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - New Seat |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Seat Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Seat Installed |
For the Le Tour I am using Super Le Tour 12.2 decals. I am not using the 12.2 part but I am using the Super Le Tour part because this Le Tour is now even better and more upgraded then a Super Le Tour. The quality of the decals is good once installed. I had a bear of a time with the clear backing sticking to the letters. I also wasn't thrilled that the font is quit a bit larger then original but ounce installed I love the larger font. I think they could have done a little better work on the art work of the Schwinn decal but over all they are nice. Installed they look incredible! I love the Chicago decal on the seat tube!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Decals from Velocals.com |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Top Tube DecAL aPPLIED |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Top Tube Decal Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Schwinn Down Tube Decal Applied |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Down Tube Decal Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Chicago Decal |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Cro-Molly Decal Installed |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Fork Decal |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Seat Tube Decals |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Decals Complete |
I test rode the now Super Le Tour. It road beautifully after a little fine tuning on the road. The Marathon tires are perfect and the new rims are fantastic. It rides like a Cadillac with a little pep! I took it down the bike path and got many many compliments and questions. The pedals I thought would be good for the Le Tour where ugly so I took them off for final photos.
The best part of the Le Tour is the looks. This is one mean looking bike!! There is something sinister about black paint and chrome with red accents! The big Marathon tires add to the look very nicely and they look great wrapped around the polished aluminum rims. I was not real happy with the decal maker and their larger font decals but now I love it! I think that is going to be something for future bikes. The bigger font adds so much to the look. I love this stuff!!
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Handlebars |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Stem & Handlebars |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Front Brake |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Polished Front Wheel Hub |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete New Wheel Rim |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Stem & Shifters |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Handlebars |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Head Tube |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Front Half |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Saddle |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Chicago Decal |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Bottom Bracket |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Drive Train |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Crank |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Rear Derailleur |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Rear Brake |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete Rear Wheel Hub |
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| Ted's Schwinn Le Tour Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
John Z.
