Road Test/Bike Review (1979) Three Top American-Made Touring Bikes
10-04-19, 08:55 PM
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Road Test/Bike Review (1979) Three Top American-Made Touring Bikes
This article reviews the SCHWINN Le Tour IV, the ROSS Super Gran Tour, and the TREK 714.
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10-05-19, 01:15 AM
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I always felt my Ross Super Grand Tour (Professional) was the stiffest steel bike I've ever ridden. Very heavy and dead feeling, too. Reading this article certainly brought back some memories. 
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● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
10-05-19, 04:49 AM
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Nice read. Those low gears hurt my touring knees.
10-05-19, 08:59 AM
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Right? I feel your pain.
Next post later today featuring triples should make it better.
Next post later today featuring triples should make it better.
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10-05-19, 09:07 AM
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I didn't have the time to ride much and didn't pay attention to cycling during the late 70s to early 80s, so I was surprised to learn Ross was a popular brand when I returned to the sport around 1984.
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10-05-19, 09:33 AM
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I am surprised that none of these used cantilever brakes. I thought that was a pretty common differentiator between a "touring" frame and a "road" frame. I guess not; at least not with these three.
10-05-19, 09:49 AM
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Not so common in the 70s. The "grand" tourers made their appearance in the 80s and they largely (but not entirely) used cantilevers.
10-05-19, 09:52 AM
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I enjoyed reading the review. I have a 1979 Trek 510 in the build queue. The geometry is the same as the 714 reviewed here but the 510 is built from Ishiwata 022. It was a less expensive bike back in the day but certainly not a step down in terms of the quality of the steel used.
Not only is the geometry the same but so was the build:
https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/Trek79.pdf
I'll go with the suntour derailleurs in building the bike up but definitely use a 110/74 bcd triple in the build.
Not only is the geometry the same but so was the build:
https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/trek/Trek79.pdf
I'll go with the suntour derailleurs in building the bike up but definitely use a 110/74 bcd triple in the build.
10-05-19, 03:25 PM
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Buy it? No nonononononono. No.
It was given to me by a woman cleaning out her barn. (Two of those Ross SGTPs, in fact, matching black his-and-hers in 25" and 21" sizes). I harvested the Arabesque 600 stuff, put some generic bits on the smaller one and gave it to a needy person, then built a cheap fixie out of the larger one and sold it to big, heavy guy who thought it was awesome.
Oddly enough, the bike I rode through the first two years of college was a LeTour. Possibly the one mentioned in the same article above, but probably older. It had been spray bombed and I never knew what year it was and have no way to find out now. No pics or serial numbers remembered or anything like that.
It was given to me by a woman cleaning out her barn. (Two of those Ross SGTPs, in fact, matching black his-and-hers in 25" and 21" sizes). I harvested the Arabesque 600 stuff, put some generic bits on the smaller one and gave it to a needy person, then built a cheap fixie out of the larger one and sold it to big, heavy guy who thought it was awesome.
Oddly enough, the bike I rode through the first two years of college was a LeTour. Possibly the one mentioned in the same article above, but probably older. It had been spray bombed and I never knew what year it was and have no way to find out now. No pics or serial numbers remembered or anything like that.
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● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
● 1971 Grandis SL ● 1972 Lambert Grand Prix frankenbike ● 1972 Raleigh Super Course fixie ● 1973 Nishiki Semi-Pro ● 1979 Motobecane Grand Jubile ●1980 Apollo "Legnano" ● 1984 Peugeot Vagabond ● 1985 Shogun Prairie Breaker ● 1986 Merckx Super Corsa ● 1987 Schwinn Tempo ● 1988 Schwinn Voyageur ● 1989 Bottechia Team ADR replica ● 1990 Cannondale ST600 ● 1993 Technium RT600 ● 1996 Kona Lava Dome ●
