Doohickie, host of The Mixte Gallery, has offered another of his own for our enjoyment. This is his 1987 Schwinn Prelude complete with re-purposed Lederhosen bar wrap.
Cameron,
While I’m thinking about it… I don’t believe I sent you pictures of my most recent acquisition.
In February I was doing my normal cruise through pawn shop/thrift store alley on the city’s west side when I spotted a drop bar racer. I took a closer look and found a Schwinn Prelude. It was a diamond in the rough (see last picture). The original downtube shifters had been replaced by the sorriest stem-mounted friction shifters I’d ever seen. Plus there was some rust on the frame. I decided it was worth the nominal price they were asking and brought it home.
I lucked out at a swap meet and found a set of early Shimano Indexed Shifters that would operate the rear cogs (this is a 1987 model- the first year of indexed shifting for Schwinn), plus picked up a saddle bag. I picked up a pair of skanky leather pants at a thrift store and cut them into strips to wrap the handlebars. It’s a real ghetto cruiser but it came out great and performs well.
Thanks Doohickie
Installment #2 of Back-to-back twofers from Art F in Rockville. This time it’s an OTSG First GreatSport Aquarius, and a miniaturized 24″ Schwinn Collegiate.
Hi Cameron,
Here is one of the crappy bikes I promised you I would submit . The headbadge says GreatSport the model is Aquarius and it says 10 speed right on the top tube so you don’t need to count gears .Must have been a bike sold at woolworths or Kresge’s . I can’t find info on it anywhere . I think I picked it up for about $15 at a thrift store because it looked shiny, all the cables were attached, the wheels were true and the tires had air in them . When I put it on the repair stand there were no surprises other than derailleurs needing a little tweaking and the brake levers mounted on the lowest part of the bar. But when I took it for a test ride it was just YUCK . It’s no fun riding a gas pipe special when You have to lay flat on the top bar to work the brakes . I think I’m getting old . I miss the suicide levers when you can’t ride with your hands resting on the brake hoods. I put it on craigslist for $85 . I want it gone so I can concentrate on the good stuff in the backyard like Peugeots, Motobecanes, Schwinns and Kabukis .Regards,
Art
Hi Cameron
This is a miniature version of my Schwinn collegiate 5 speed
http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/owner-submitted/art-f-schwinn-collegiate/
It has 24 X1-3/8 tires but the equipment is just about the same as the full size version. this thing is probably indestructible . I think it weighs about 50 lb . Must be the gas pipe frame tubes and the wheels that are like motorcycle rims . I thought I could sell it on craigslist DC for $95 but no nibbles after a week .
Addendum:
Now that I look at the 2 pictures side by side , it looks like the only similarities were the name Collegiate . the smaller one had dropped handlebars and pieplate crank protector while the larger one had sweptback handlbars and full chainguard. . But both had that great Scwinn chrome that cleans up so nice and the derailleurs that usually only took a 1/4 turn of adjustment screws to fine tune them.
Art
Thanks Art
Back-to-back twofer posts courtesy of Art F in Rockville. Below we have an OTSG First C Itoh “WFBPM” and a nondescript Falcon.
Hi Cameron,
Today was a good day for the old bike flipper . I sold two Nishikis ( a Sport and an Olympic 12 ) and a C Itoh 10 speed . I think this was only the second C Itoh I’ve ever had. The first one was an organ donor and the derailleurs and brake assemblies are either in my parts pile or riding around on a bunch of Schwinns . This one looked very solid and I decided to rebuild it to sell . What was especially encouraging was the writing on the downtube that said ” World’s Finest Bicycle Precision Mechanism” . that’s an even better endorsement than”Campy equipped” . The first problem I ran into was the rear wheel was bent up and had rusted on the spoke nipples . So i couldn’t get a good brake adjustment. This is really critical to get wobble down to about 1/16″ when you have suicide brake levers and steel rims . So I brought the wheel over to Mr Oh at the local bike shop who is a pro at truing wheels with a hammer . I got the wheel back and changed out tires , handlebar wrap, chain , and a derailleur pulley. Pumped the tires up to 80 psi and put the bike aside to wait for the snow to melt to give it a test ride. A week later I went to take it out and noticed that the rear tire had popped off the rim but the brake caliper was holding the tire in place so the tube didn’t blow out. Decided to add a few more rim strips to the front and back wheels which is a trick that usually works to make tires fit better. Pumped up the tires again and a few hours later heard a loud pop from the basement . This time the front tire blew off . Replaced the tube and was real careful about keeping tire straight as I pumped it up. then I decided to do a little more tweaking of the spokes on the rear wheel . One spoke was really tight and snapped as I turned the nipple. this was on the freewheel side so I decided I didn’t want to fight the tire crookedness again and remove and replace the freewheel so I brought the whole bike into the bike shop and said “fix it’ . When I went to pick up 2 days later Mr Oh told me that the wheel was hopeless with too many spokes cut by the rim holes so he replaced the wheel and the freewheel with used ones from his parts pile and charged me $25 .the tire problem was partly due to not completely seating the valve stem. I bring the bike shop all my difficult repair jobs like straightening forks so he gives me a break on prices. A wheel replacement for his other customers would probably cost around $80 . Last week I finally took the C Itoh for a test ride and it shifted and braked nicely . I listed it in Washington DC craigslist for $120 and sold it in 1 day . I’m not sure if I made any profit on it but it will probably be still running while I’m pushing up daisies . How do you like the electrical tape frame decoration put on by a previous owner . I left them on for a bit of class . And the frame color is perfect for hiding the bike on the beach.
Art F.
Hi Cameron,
Nothing special about this one except it’s the second Falcon from the United States to be submitted to the Old Ten Speed Gallery. I got it when it was traded in on a Bridgestone MB-6 mountain bike I sold in December. I’m amazed that it hasn’t been snapped up by some vintage lover reading craigslist for only $150 with it’s cottered crank and Simplex rear derailleur . But I’m told that it doesn’t have the distinctive Falcon paint job as it is all refrigerator white. Somewhere along the way somebody did a repaint job and it is very good quality but doesn’t let the lugwork stand out. I’m sure I’ll sell it because it has a 25″ frame good for someone 6’4″ . super large frames like this are hard to find.
Art
Thanks Art
Feel free to enjoy Doc Sprocket’s ’88 Centurion in which ever variant you prefer. There is the original 1988 Miami Vice inspired pink and yellow; there is the 1999 patriotic fade, and then then there is the 2010 Twilight Black powdercoat! A little something for everyone.
WHELL HERE IT IS CAMERON, OLD PHOTOS & NEW
NEW IN 1988 IN 1999 WHENT WITH PATRIOTIC COLOR SCHEME
STRIPED TO BARE FRAME IN 2009, & IN 2010 TWILIGHT BLACK
OUTBOARD BEARING SET WITH NEW COMPACT CRANKS
THIS COLOR IS A MULTI PRISMATIC POWDER I LOVE THE DEEP BLUE FLECK YOU SEE IN LIGHT
POLISHED THE ORIGINAL POST & BINDER BOLT & PAINTED FOR DETAIL EFFECT UP GRADED HEAD SET
ORIGINAL BRAKE SET, WENT WITH NEW TT BARS & TEN SPEED BAR END SHIFTERS
NEW CARBON FORK. FINISHED WEIGHT 23.25 LBS. I DONT KNOW IF YOU WILL PUBLISH THES PHOTOS AFTER WHAT YOU SEE. BUT I JUST COULD NOT LET HER GO AWAY, AFTER THE REBUILD SHE WENT TO A BUDDIE OF MINE WHO IS PART OF THE TEAM IN TRAINING,& WANTS TO START DOING TRIATHLON’S. THE REMS WERE GIVEN TO ME BY A GOOD FRIEND WHOS WIFE RAN OVER THE BIKE THEY WERE ATTACHED TO & WITH A LOT OF TIME IN THE TRUING STAND & A FEW SPOKES A AXEL & NEW BEARING’S THERE AS GOOD AS ALMOST NEW ( SHIMANO-535 WHL ). I JUST LOVE THE OLD FRAMES THEY ARE A TRUE PIECE OF CRAFTSMANSHIP WITH ATTENTION TO DETAIL EVERY ONE WHO HAS SEEN THE BIKE CANK BELIEVE IT’S THE SAME ONE I SOLD HER FOR $ 700.00 I ALMOS COULDNT PART WITH HER HOPE YOU & EVERY ONE AT OLD TIME TEN SPEED ENJOY THE PHOTOS.
SO LONG FROM DOC SPROCKET IN SUNNY CALIFORNIA.
O A NEW REAR DERAILLEUR & KEPT THE ORIGINAL FRONT 105 SO ITS A BIT RETRO
Thanks Doc
