My $10 Vintage Schwinn find and I want to learn how to rebuild and repair it
 

So I’m brand new at wanting to learn all about Bike maintenance and repair. I’m 52 and have never done much in the past beyond patching up tubes, adjusting brake pads, greasing my chain and putting new bar tape on my old bicycles when I was a kid.

I’m still trying to learn all the lingo when it comes to names of all the parts and stuff but I want to teach myself so I can learn to maintain and fix my own bikes as I get more into riding.

I finally received good news today that I no longer have to worry about my job furloughing me due to Covid so I now have the extra money needed to start learning what I need to.

So I’ve just ordered a bicycle repair stand off EBay and I’m now looking at buying a basic bicycle repair tool kit. Thanks to another member friday1970 he suggested RJ the Bike Guy videos on YouTube and I’m determined to teach myself how to do this.

I picked up a 1984 Ladies Schwinn World Sport off Facebook marketplace for $10 last night and I was going to just have the bike shop help me with getting it street ready but I’ve decided now that I want to learn to do this myself.

I know right off the bat I need new tubes and tires, handlebar tape and pedals but have questions about what else may need to be totally replaced on the bike. I’ve taken some photos and if any of you experts can see something that looks like it needs replacing I would appreciate any advice. I’m not sure how to tell if the wheels/rims themselves are still ok and not bent slightly. I think the rear 6 speed cassette looks in pretty good shape and just needs to be cleaned up. The rear derailleur looks either really dirty or in just bad shape.
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I think $10 was a pretty good price for the bike and I’m excited about learning how to rebuild it.

Looks like it needs a full overhaul. Buy $100 worth of bike-specific tools and search for the required wrenching information on bikeforums, sheldon brown, and youtube. Replace the consumables with new items.

Old Schwinns are tanks. They last longer than forever.

Likely you just need to take everything apart and clean it. It is possible that you could use new bearings in the bottom bracket and wheels

I wouldn't mess wit the wheels is they don't shake side to side when standing still (i.e. They should spin, obviously, and may wobble due to not being straight and true, but when you sit the bike down and hold it, you should not be able to shake the wheels on the axle.)

Since you will be opening the bottom bracket anyway, I would throw in some new bearings and fresh grease. I don't know the specific model but it looks like you might have three-piece cranks---that is, two arms which hold the pedals at one end and attach to the very short horizontal central bottom tube (often balled the BB (bottom bracket) shell) with a shaft connecting them (usually called the spindle.)

The spindle usually rides on two sets of ball bearings (like fat BBs), one at each end, often in a little metal carrier, or sometimes just in a cup, held with grease. They are usually some standard, readily available size. if the come in a carrier, the carrier is usually ridiculously flimsy and might self-destruct, but you could just pack them in with grease and be fine.

You are right about the tires, they look dry-rotted.

I would replace all the cables and housings as well. if they are that dirty and rusted outside I am sure they are in bad shape inside.

Also check the headset---the bearings on which the handlebars and forks ride. You should be able to spin the bars easily and smoothly. if you feel any notchiness, you probably need a new headset (as little as $10 for a decent one for a threaded fork, last time I bought one.... maybe $20 now, but it will last forever.) Also, the bars should not wobble or shake---they should only spin and not move in any other direction.

Also, decide now if you want to paint it or not .... when it is all disassembled painting is easy. Deciding later means taking it apart again.

That's a heck of a bike. That thing will outlive you even if you are very young. Good find, and enjoy the project.

That will be an attractive bike when you get it cleaned up. Do a bunch of reading in the C&V section before you get started, lots of what you'll need to know has been covered there.

That is going to be one heck of a project! Good luck and enjoy. You are going to learn a lot and some the old fashioned way through the school of hard knocks, but it'll be something to be proud of when you're finished.

Evaporust will be useful in getting the rust off the parts. Just place them in a small bucket.

Good luck

I would make sure the wheels are still serviceable, since you might end up needing to replace them if you find serious internal issues. Start by cleaning all the dirt and rust off the bike, and then take the wheels off and feel for play in the axles. I strongly recommend the Park Tool youtube channel for all of your mechanical advice.

If the axles feel wobbly or crunchy when you turn them in the hub, then the hubs will need to be opened up, cleaned out, and new grease applied to the bearings. Since you are new, it might be best to take the rear wheel to a bike shop and let them overhaul the hub, and then try doing the front wheel yourself. You can use the bike shop-repaired wheel as a reference when setting the preload on the bearings in the front wheel.

After the hubs are taken care of, then you can move on to truing the wheels, but note that you cannot reliably true any wheel that has axle play or crunching inside the hub. Once you get the wheels taken care of for good, then you can reliably set up your brakes, before you move onto the bottom bracket & headset. You will see similarities between all of the bearing systems, and you can use what you learn from the wheels to help you take care of the others.

I agree that you got a good bike for $10. Agree that tires need to be replaced.

How well does the bicycle work/ride now? Does it shift, steer, pedal and brake OK? If so it is will probably be street ready (at least suitable for riding about town or or local recreational riding) after replacing the dry rotted tires and checking that all nuts and bolts are tight after adjusting the seat height and handlebar position to a good starting point for later fine tuning those adjustments; standard hand tools are fine for the job.

If the tubes still hold air there is no need to replace them. What is wrong with the pedals?

Replacing brake and derailleur cables is a good idea since they may be well worn or rusted inside the cable sheathing and and can have unpleasant results if they should fail. More than likely the chain is worn out too and will need to be replaced, especially if it doesn't feel right when pedaling.

The surface rust and pitting on the various components is not pretty but does not require overhauling the bike to make it street ready unless you intend to make it pretty, look like new or choose to replace unsightly but serviceable components in order to gain wrenching experience.

Start looking through some of these.

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaA...confirmation=1

https://web.archive.org/web/20190509...TRODUCTION.htm

https://bikehistory.org/bikes/world/#1984-world

Soak those rusty components in Evaporust. Congrats and enjoy the build!

The amount of rust in OP's pictures could be hiding bigger issues. It should be cleaned off to make sure everything underneath the rust is as it should be. And it's doubtful that the grease in the bearing systems is still in good shape on a bike that old and neglected. Only replacing the tires and then riding it around could very well be a recipe for grinding the hub bearings to dust. It would be best to overhaul the bearing systems, especially the wheels and bottom bracket.

Unfortunately the tires are so rotted and the tubes do not hold air, so I first have to get those replaced immediately before I can see how the other components are working. I ordered a repair stand so once I get that and the tool kit I ordered today comes in I can attempt to get new tubes and tires on it to see how it rides.

I still have to learn how to remove the back wheel and get that off in order to change the tube and tire on the back.

A quick look at the picture of the Sugino crank shows a possible date code (174) embossed on the inside of the crank just below where the axle for the pedal. That may mean it was produced sometime in 1974 since most bike companies didn't stock parts for long. It's a bit confusing because Sugino had so many different ways of dating parts according to this Date of Manufacture of Bicycle Components can be used to date a bike: component dating. If you can find dates on any other part, refer back to this site to figure out roughly when the bike was made. It is in pretty tough shape. I would stick to replacing tires, tubes, cable, and the pedals first before you stick $$$ in a bike with so much rust. Then clean, grease and adjust any bearings you can get to. I would try eBay since you can get some parts easily there that an LBS is unlikely to have in stock.
You can buy a pretty comprehensive tool kit on eBay (44 tools for $46 postpaid) and it will have most of the tools you will need for a current bike.
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The one problem is the bike you have is old and some of the components use different tools than come in the newer tool box. For example, you will have a freewheel on this bike, not a cassette that is found on most newer bikes. You need a freewheel tool to remove the freewheel. Those of us who have been around for a while actually have tools for old bikes so if you can find someone who has wrenched for a long time they may have the tools you need. If not, you will need to have a bike shop remove the freewheel before you can replace it or re-grease the bearings in the rear hub.

Until a couple of years ago I owned a Motobecane Le Champion bought in 1973 or 1974 and because it was well cared for it had none of the rust that shows on this bike. It is a shame it wasn't stored more carefully. The tires look like they may have been the original tire that came with the bike.

Actually, you have that backwards. There would be no sense spending money on tires until you are sure you can successfully rehabilitate the mechanical systems on the bike. You might end up with new tires but no bike to install them on

I'd clean and re-grease both hubs as well as the headset bearings and bottom bracket. Chances are the bike has been sitting a long time and grease gets all gummed up. It's not hard with cup and cone bearings and will be a good learning experience. Replace cables and housings, brake pads, tires, tubes, and probably rim strips as well.

Not a lot of money in parts and some time invested in rust removal and cleaning should get you a bike that works pretty good.

One potential problem I see. Looks like an aluminum quill stem that is mated to a steel fork. I had a bike like that years ago and the stem totally seized in the fork. No amount of heat, penetrating liquids, or brute force seemed to have any effect on it.

Not really, the thing is I want to actually learn how to rebuild and rehab a bike from the ground up so if it needs lots of new parts I want to learn everything. So even if I just start out with the frame and go from there I’m ok with that.

That bike's from the mid '80's. Suntour AR came out in 1982 ish and Taiwan Cro-mo frame is 80's, decal font, as well as 6 speed freewheel scream mid 80's. My guess is 1984.

https://bikehistory.org/bikes/world/#1984-world

It should be ride-able if you re-lubricate the bearings, derailleurs, and cables. Aluminum rims are a plus. If the wheels are true, that's a big plus. Given the relative lack of wear on the rims and brake pads, it might not have gotten much use before being stored in a dusty garage or shed. Whatever grease Schwinn used lasts a long time, but maybe not that long. My preference when approaching a bike like this is to get it working as-is before deciding what needs to be replaced, if anything. The rubber will have hardened just due to the passage of years. The biggest expense will be new tires, but you might as well ride it gently on the existing tires if possible, to see if the bike is worth keeping. Put a drop of penetrating oil in each spoke nipple, in case truing the wheel is ever in the future.

Any part that is totally unworkable to the point where it has to be replaced, aside from the tires and pads, would surprise me.

I've had great luck with the Jagwire Basics brake pads.

Good luck! I ride a couple of Schwinn frames of that vintage, that were nowhere near as nice when I got them.

Yes you are correct it is a 1984
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I don't think anyone has specifically said to replace the chain but I would. You will need a chain tool for that, it should come with a basic bike tool kit as suggested, Also a crank puller.

Others have mentioned Sheldon Brown website, vids by Park Tools and RJ the Bike Guy and those are all fantastic references. You might want to consider a book to put on your shelf. Amazon for used copies you would want one from the 90s or so. I like the manuals by Leonard Zinn, another is by Glenn. Overall your bike isn't complicated and I think a good choice to learn on. I would scrub the wheels and spokes with a bristle brush and soapy water and of course clean, replace the bearings and re-grease the hub bearings. You can buy packages of lose ball bearings on Amazon not very expensive. RJ the Bike Guy has a lot of content on fixing up hubs and packing bearings.

Good luck and I commend you on taking this project on. Once you get it running you will take additional pride in your work and you will know how everything works on the bike. You would be surprised just how many cyclists, some that are high mileage riders, don't know a thing about fixing their bikes.

Thank you so much for everyone that commented with suggestions and advice! I really appreciate it! I did order that tool kit off Ebay earlier today and thought it was a great deal for $45

I am going to take apart the entire bike and clean up everything as much as possible or buy new parts if necessary.

I think it will be a good project for the winter months

Thank you so much for all chiming in with such helpful advice

The World Sport is a nice little bike. I was assembling and selling them in '84. It will be a good one on which to learn the basics. If you have a local REI or bike co-op they might offer classes on bike repair. Worth checking out. Most importantly, have fun!

From what I see in your photos (nice job btw), you won't need to buy anything other than tires, tubes, rim tape (maybe), cables and possibly brake pads.

The best way to learn is to simply start disaassembling it, remove everything down to the tiniest ball bearings and remove all of the old grease and grime with soap and water. Use a solvent such as kerosene or mineral spirits for the freewheel. The crank and bottom bracket will need to be removed with some specialzed tools, but they are not expensive. The hubs will require some thin metric wrenches.

Here's a link to some threads documenting my 1970's 10 speed overhaul.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-rehabbed.html

It is a GIANT bicycle re-badged for Schwinn. It is a decent basic bicycle with SUNTOUR derailleurs front and rear. Beyond the closure of Chicago factory, Schwinn increasingly turned to importing much more. Schwinn's contracts with GIANT propelled GIANT into a major player in the bicycle industry such that they soon overtook Schwinn in both status and importance.

Your GIANT built Schwinn is not quite as simple as say a VARSITY-CONTINENTAL-SUBURBAN-COLLEGIATE-SUPER SPORT that has the one-piece forged steel ASHTABULA crank which any 11 year old kid can service with a large Crescent wrench and a large Flathead screwdriver.
Your "GIANT" is a fine bicycle and it will be about the same as servicing most any Japanese or Taiwanese bicycle from the late seventies through the mid eighties.
It is a good basic bicycle. It might have less perceived prestige than say a RALEIGH or a PEUGEOT but at least as good as their compareable offerings of that time, if not better. You will find that it will be a nice rider that will serve you well. Don't listen to those that say that it isn't high-line enough to bother with. Yes, perhaps if your only aim is to build a really super-light racing bicycle, but otherwise don't worry because that WORLD SPORT (GIANT) will easily keep up with the B - group Riding Group even if you have never ridden and are the weakest rider among that B-group. Once serviced, and fitted with new cables, tires, tubes, brake pads and grease, that World Sport will be durable enough that you will not need for any service work other than brake pads, tire tubes & tires for probably three to four years, this assumes that you ride 1000 miles per year. Basic bicycles might not have the lightest weight components but the rugged durability is an acceptable trade-off for the typical bicycle rider. Now if you're wanting to be like Lance, such a basic bicycle is like comparing a stock 2020 Honda Accord to the 2020 HONDA powered Indy 500 Race Winner. You can make basic upgrades easily if you wish, given that there is a lot of stuff that has been refined in the past forty years than can easily interchange & swap with your existing equipment. Just don't attempt to make a competitive racer out of it. Just because there are people that race old PINTOS and old Corollas on dirt tracks, and even sometimes in drag racing too, does not mean that those are the best choice for a racing platform, given the multitude of better choices that were developed later..

I was going to speculate that the bike was a Giant frame. I have a Nishiki Sport from that era also Giant and it is a solid frame. Light enough and stiff, lighter than Schwinn normally used. The Sugino cranks are an improvement over what Schwinn would have historically used at the price point.

One thing that you might want to consider as an upgrade and I would put this off for consideration until after you get it running right would be quick release for the wheels. This will involve new axles and skewers,